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Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Lions, Lee Compete For 7-On-7 State Tournament Title
By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer
COLLEGE STATION — John Tyler and Robert E. Lee begin play today in the FSN Southwest 7-on-7 State Tournament at Penberthy Fields on the Texas A&M University campus.
Staff Writer
COLLEGE STATION — John Tyler and Robert E. Lee begin play today in the FSN Southwest 7-on-7 State Tournament at Penberthy Fields on the Texas A&M University campus.
Celebrating its 11th year and sponsored by Adidas and Academy Sports & Outdoors, the event brings together the top 64 5A and 4A teams in the state. All reached this point by finishing as champion or runner-up in a separate qualifier tournament.
The Lions will take the field at 1 p.m. against Spring in the first of three Pool B games. The Red Raiders begin Pool L play at 2 p.m. against Brady.
JT’s remaining pool games are slated for 3 p.m. against Katy Cinco Ranch and 5 p.m. against Arlington Lamar.
Lee is scheduled to battle Richland at 4 p.m. and Cypress Falls at 6 p.m.
After round-robin play, the top two teams in each pool qualify for the championship bracket with the third and fourth-place squads going into the consolation bracket. Single-elimination play in both brackets begins Saturday morning with the consolation and championship finals tentatively scheduled for 4 and 5 p.m., respectively, that afternoon at Kyle Field.
Lee is making its 10th consecutive appearance at the state tournament.
The Red Raiders won it all in 2004, but have not made it past the first round of championship bracket play since. Last year, Lee was stopped 12-6 by Katy Seven Lakes in the consolation bracket first round.
GOING FOR IT ALL: The Robert E. Lee 7-on-7 football team has already won a league title and will now aim to capture its second state crown in four years as it begins play today in the FSN Southwest 7-on-7 state tournament at Texas A&M. Team members are: Front row (left to right) Gilbert Sutton, Josh Aubrey, T.J. Scholler, Luke Wagner, Junior Cain, Taylor Reed, Bayley Florence, Trey Smith, C.J. Johnson, Chase Wiley; back row (left to right) Coach Randy Womble, Marquis Mosley, Jordan Aubrey, Hayden Tomlinson, Tyler Huffstickler, Joey Turner, Coach Andy Bergfeld, Steven Ragin, Blake Roberts, K.J. Jones, Derell Tate, Sklar Talley, Coach Lonnie Uzzell. Team manager George Bergfeld. Not pictured: Da Da Brown.
“This thing has evolved,” said Lee 7-on-7 coach Randy Womble. “It’s been 11 years this tournament has been going on. Every year the competition is getting stiffer. We did win it all in 2004, and I do feel like this is the strongest group we’ve had since ’04.”
This weekend in College Station, it’s all about airing it out and running up the score. There are no linemen, no running plays and no defense.
But JT and Lee may take issue with that last part of the statement.
The Lions successfully navigated the Tyler Lee state qualifying tournament by using big defensive plays in their semifinal win over Whitehouse B. Despite being held to 27 points, JT stood tough in the final minutes, twice stopping Whitehouse scoring drives to preserve the win.
“No doubt defense is our strong point,” said JT 7-on-7 coach Reginald Coleman. “Like I tell them our defense has to set the tone because we have four or five guys back on the defensive side of the ball who played 7-on-7 last year.”
Lee’s defense could be considered even more impressive, based on their results in Trinity Mother Frances SportsCare league play. The Red Raiders ended the season on a nine-game winning streak, due in large part to their defense forcing almost three turnovers per game.
“We’ve got quite a bit of speed on defense and this game is so much built on speed and quickness,” Womble said. “This 7-on-7 is a passing league to try and score, and if you are fortunate enough that you can get some stops on defense, your chances of winning increase greatly.”
Lee reaching the state tournament isn’t a surprise, but how it happened caught even the coaches off guard. In early June, the Red Raiders were competing at the A&M Consolidated qualifier, but were missing most of their defensive starters.
A group of sophomores took up the slack, winning pool play and defeating Cypress Creek 26-16 in the semifinals to reach the championship and lock up a spot.
“The sophomores that are in this group are just such a great group of athletes. They play beyond their age when it comes to competing,” Womble said. “You have to have a lot of endurance. On Saturday (in single-elimination), a lot of times it comes down to conditioning. You have to have five games to get (to the championship).”
The Lions are making their fifth appearance at the state tournament.
Prior to falling short of A&M in ’07, JT enjoyed four consecutive trips to state, reaching the championship bracket each time. In its most recent action in 2006, the Lions were stopped 27-21 by Rockwall (finished as state finalist) in the round of 32. In 2005, JT battled wind and rain to fall short 7-0 against Celina in the same round.
JT got back to Texas A&M this year, thanks to a strong performance at the Tyler Lee state qualifying tournament.
During pool play, the Lions held Rockwall, Arlington Lamar and Katy Morton Ranch to 27 points or less. Against the Vikings, JT gave up 26 points in the first half, but blanked Lamar the rest of the way, rallying back to win the game in overtime, 27-26.
“Arlington Lamar, we had to come back and win that when time expired with an interception in overtime,” Coleman said. “They were up on us at halftime and we shut them out in the second half.”
The defense made its mark to get JT here, but at state, Coleman believes JT quarterback Jeremy Johnson will be the focal point.
“Jeremy Johnson is the man. He is the key to the ignition,” Coleman said.
The Lions will face a stiff test in Pool B against last year’s 7-on-7 semifinalist Lamar and 2002 state champ Cinco Ranch.
Coleman believes his team is battle-tested, due in large part to its competition in TMF SportsCare league play.
“Playing Lee and Jacksonville and Lindale (in league), you get to see good talent (each game),” Coleman said. “Arlington Lamar, I think they are picked to win it. We have one of the hardest brackets in this tournament, but it seems like it’s been like that every year I’ve been coach.”
The Red Raiders defense is also grabbing headlines, but Womble believes junior quarterback Luke Wagner and his receiving corps could be the difference.
“Luke is such a competitor; he’s probably his biggest critic when he doesn’t make a throw. He has that intangible as a quarterback in that he wants to succeed,” Womble continued. “But we’ve also got a great group of receivers. Joey (Turner), Derell (Tate), Da Da (Brown), Steven (Ragin), K.J. (Jones) and Marquise (Mosely) — when you have those kids that can keep going each game without wearing down that definitely helps your quarterback too.”
On paper the Red Raiders seem to have an easier road to the championship bracket, but Womble cautions that REL can’t take any of the Pool L teams lightly.
“With the teams we’re up against…they all come out of strong tournaments,” Womble said. “When you come out of Austin, Dallas and Houston, (that is not easy), so we are going to have our work cut out for us.”
———
Glance At JT and Lee’s Opposition
Pool C (John Tyler)
Glance At JT and Lee’s Opposition
Pool C (John Tyler)
Katy Cinco Ranch — The Cougars are making their seventh appearance at the 7-on-7 state tournament. Cinco Ranch reached state by winning its own state qualifier, defeating Katy Seven Lakes in the final. Cinco Ranch won the 7-on-7 state title in 2002, defeating Abilene, 42-26. At least year’s state tournament, Cinco Ranch quailed out of its pool for the championship bracket, but lost to Mercedes, 33-27 in the first round.
Arlington Lamar — The Vikings are one of two teams that have participated in all 11 7-on-7 state tournaments. The other is Colleyville Heritage. But unlike their fellow tournament veteran (Colleyville Heritage won state in 2006), Lamar has never reached the finals of the championship or consolation brackets. Lamar has been on the cusp three times, reaching the semifinals in ‘98, ’06 and ’07. Last year, Lamar fell to Houston Stratford (35-31). The Vikings reached the state tournament by finishing as runner-up at the Arlington Bowie state qualifier.
Spring — The newbie in the four-team group. Spring has qualified for state, but it was seven years ago. During that run in 2001, Spring advanced as far as the consolation bracket quarterfinals, falling to Cinco Ranch. The Lions also made it to College Station in 1998. To get back to state, Spring finished as runner-up in the Woodlands Tournament.
Pool L (Robert E. Lee)
Brady — The Bulldogs compete in Class 2A, and had the option to play in the small school tournament, but since Brady qualified for state at the 5A-4A state qualifier at Lake Travis, the team decided to stay at this level. Brady has reached state five times, but this is its first appearance in four years.
Brady — The Bulldogs compete in Class 2A, and had the option to play in the small school tournament, but since Brady qualified for state at the 5A-4A state qualifier at Lake Travis, the team decided to stay at this level. Brady has reached state five times, but this is its first appearance in four years.
Richland — The Rebels are making their fifth appearance at the state tournament. Richland has been bounced out in the first round twice, but has also reached the second round (’04) and consolation quarterfinals (’03). The North Richland Hills school made it this far by taking second at the Coppell SQT.
Cypress Falls — The Eagles are back in College Station for the eighth time. Cy-Falls lost to Amarillo Palo Duro (14-7) last year in the first round of the consolation bracket. Cy-Falls made it to the semifinals in 2006, falling to eventual champ Colleyville Heritage. Cy-Falls reached the consolation quarterfinal in 2002, losing to Brownwood. The Eagles reached state by winning their own state qualifier.
All Pools
Pool A — Arlington Bowie, Langham Creek, Stephenville, Laredo Alexander
Pool A — Arlington Bowie, Langham Creek, Stephenville, Laredo Alexander
Pool B — Katy Cinco Ranch, Arlington Lamar, John Tyler, Spring
Pool C — Klein Oak, Duncanville, Temple, Coppell
Pool D — Rockwall Heath, Katy Seven Lakes, Beaumont Westbrook, Round Rock Westwood
Pool E — El Paso Montwood, Lewisville Hebron, Belton, Klein
Pool F — Colleyville Heritage, Klein Forest, Lake Travis, Abilene
Pool G — Mesquite, Pearland, Beeville Jones, Wichita Falls
Pool H — Houston Memorial, Denton Guyer, Sulphur Springs, Lufkin
Pool I — Ed-Couch Elsa, Georgetown, The Woodlands, Wyle
Pool J — Round Rock Stony Point, Weslaco, Plano West, Baytown Lee
Pool K — South Garland, Fort Bend Elkins, Abilene Cooper, A&M Consolidated
Pool L — Richland, Cy-Falls, Robert E. Lee, Brady
Pool M — Arlington, Schertz Clemens, Mercedes, Cy-Fair
Pool N — Garland Naaman Forest, El Paso Del Valle, Katy, Gregory-Portland
Pool O — Houston Stratford, Pleasanton, Tomball, Plano
Pool P — Garland, Arlington Martin, Austin, Houston Chavez.
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