CLEBURNE YELLOW JACKETS
Move in silence
As new Yellow Jackets Head Coach A. J. Sheppard and six senior players sat at the table for their interview previewing 2025, the elephant in the room of an 0-10 record last season and a total of three wins in the past three years was a topic Cleburne didn’ t want to hide from.
“ Embrace it,” said Sheppard of the program’ s struggles.“ Hit it head on.”
Smiles came across the faces of the Yellow Jackets, who balance the knowledge they gained from 2024 and excitement for one last opportunity to leave a legacy in Cleburne.
“ We learned from all those mistakes we made, especially in the beginning of the season,” said left tackle Elias Tarango.“ Small mistakes that added up lost us those games.”
Wide receiver / defensive back Malachi Cunningham furthered Tarango’ s view on last season and mentioned the instant anticipation for 2025 and the drive to prove everybody wrong.
The first three games stood out to the Yellow Jackets as very attainable games that would’ ve put Cleburne at 3-0; however, the mistakes were too much against Corsicana, Burleson and Waco.
“ It felt like we were a better team, we just made more and more dumb mistakes,” admitted quarterback Luke Stewart.
By the end of the winless season, linebacker Kaj Anderson felt there wasn’ t much belief in the coaching staff.
When Cleburne made the decision to hire Sheppard in late January and introduced himself to the community at the meet and greet event, Cunningham and others knew they found the right man for the job.
Energy and positivity instantly changed for the Yellow Jackets, Cunningham noted.
For Stewart, he’ s admired the level of accountability the new coaching staff has brought to Cleburne.
“ We know our coaches believe in us, but I think a good thing they’ ve done is getting us to believe in ourselves,” said Stewart.
Small victories are of the utmost importance to Sheppard as he gets set to lead the Yellow Jackets for the first time. Once the team hungers for the small wins, the new head coach expects the bigger ones to follow.
“ I don’ t care who you are or how passionate you are about it; if you don’ t see any victories, then why do it?” said Sheppard.“ As a coaching staff, we’ re not too cool to celebrate things.”
One of the first small victories seen within the program is in the weight room. Anderson recalled everybody“ maxing out” when Sheppard arrived and noticed a different vibe.
The music sounded better and the energy was up. Stewart felt a family environment that he said was missing last season.
The biggest hurdles for the Yellow Jackets heading into 2025 begin with the“ wait and see approach” of a community desperately wanting to see the players succeed, Sheppard noted.
Visiting 78 homes of players during the offseason, Sheppard didn’ t take offense to the hesitancy of Cleburne supporters. Leaving the houses, though, Sheppard felt support from each one.
The other obstacle for the Yellow Jackets is putting meaning into the words they’ ve preached for seven months.
“ It’ s coming together and playing as a team for real, instead of saying we’ re playing as a team,” stated running back Hayden Leifeste.
As for the product on the field, Cunningham believes the senior class is the most athletic group he’ s been a part of. Sheppard reiterated that belief by saying the seniors’ athleticism“ jumps off the page.”
Offense
First and foremost, Cleburne wants to execute offensively without the presence of negative plays, penalties and turnovers; all were issues in 2024, especially in the first three games.
By the end of spring ball, the Yellow Jackets were confident in how the offense looked.
“ It’ s been a really easy transition because of the same style of offense,” said Stewart.
For Sheppard, it’ s about getting the ball to his playmakers.
14 johnson county gridiron 2025