High School Sports

By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer

COLLEGE STATION — Robert E. Lee turned in their best state performance in five years before it ultimately ended in the quarterfinals Saturday at the FSN 7-on-7 football state tournament on the campus of Texas A&M University.

Lee fell 33-27 against Arlington Lamar.

John Tyler also made the championship bracket, but was stopped in the first round by Baytown Lee (25-21).

The Red Raiders, who hadn’t won a championship bracket game since their state title in 2004, overwhelmed Katy Seven Lakes (46-20) in their first round game and hung on to defeat Temple (33-32) in the second round.

Despite the quarterfinal loss to Lamar, Lee head coach Mike Owens was pleased with the teams’ performance this season.

“I really think this summer has provided an opportunity for our young guys to get better,” Owens said. “I think this year’s 7-on-7 helped us more than ever before.”

JT extended its streak of reaching the championship bracket at state. The Lions made it for a fifth time and were one play away from beating Baytown Lee. Trailing 25-21 with under a minute, the Lions drove to the goal line, but quarterback Jeremy Johnson’s last-second pass was knocked down in the end zone.

“Overall, on 7-on-7 we want effort and competing,” said JT head coach Dereck Rush. “As far as our competitiveness, it was there. We just came up short in that last game.”

Lee fell behind quickly against Lamar, but clawed back to take the lead, 27-25, thanks to a touchdown catch by Steven Ragin and conversion by Marquis Mosley.

Lamar answered with a touchdown to take the lead back, 31-27, and tacked on a two-point conversion to increase its lead to six, 33-27.

With just over two minutes left, Lee took its time driving down the field, but a dropped pass set up third down with under a minute. Wagner rifled a pass, but a diving Lamar defender got enough of a deflection to force an incompletion and end the game.

Along with Lee, fellow 11-5A team Mesquite advanced to the quarters, making it the lone league with more than one team making it that far. Also, Pool L winner Richland (Lee was runner-up) advanced to the state final against Mesquite.

“Another reason I think they performed so well is because we had good teams in our pool,” said Owens about Lee’s group, which also included Cypress Falls and Brady.

Anton Arthurs caught two second-half touchdowns as Richland came from behind to defeat Mesquite 35-32 in the championship game.

Tyler Cotton threw five touchdowns and converted all five extra points for Richland. Two of his receivers made the all-tournament team, including Arthurs and Phillip Gonzales, who was named MVP despite sitting out the championship game with an injury.

Mesquite led 26-14 at halftime after scoring on its first four possessions. But Mesquite was nearly shut out in the second half before scoring a touchdown with 20 seconds left. Luke Halpin threw five touchdown passes, two each to Darien McNealy and Marcus Trice.

In the consolation final, Abilene defeated Langham Creek 34-33.

Arlington Lamar 33, Robert E. Lee 27

The Red Raiders were quickly two touchdowns behind at the start, thanks to Lamar quarterback Michael Poynter connecting with Travis Smith and J.T. Douglas. The Vikings had only allowed seven points in their first two championship bracket games — a 26-0 victory over Plano West and 34-7 win against ’06 state champ Georgetown — but Lee showed its resolve as Luke Wagner hit Da Da Brown for a touchdown. He completed the extra-point pass to Derell Tate, cutting the deficit to 13-7. Then came the play of the game for Lamar as Wagner’s first-and-goal pass was picked off by Jamal Elston, who returned it for a touchdown. Lee scored once more before halftime on a Wagner strike to Tate to trail 19-13 at halftime.

The Red Raiders went ahead 20-19 at the start of the second half. Again Tate provided the touchdown with Mosley catching the extra-point pass.

Lamar answered back to lead 26-20. Lee grabbed the lead back, but couldn’t hold it to ultimately fall short.

Second Round

Lee 33, Temple 32

The teams traded barbs in the first half to be tied 20-20 at halftime, but the real drama occurred in the second half. Wagner rifled a pass to Mosley, who split the Temple defense for a touchdown. Joe Turner caught the extra point to make the score 27-20. The Red Raiders looked to be in command when Josh Aubrey intercepted Temple on its next possession, but then Wagner was picked off by Temple, which returned it for a touchdown. The point-after failed, leaving Lee in front by one point, 27-26. Wagner rebounded to hit Brown for a 30-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 33-26. Temple’s Tevin Reese caught a 40-yard scoring strike in response, but the two-point conversion failed, keeping REL in front by one, 33-32.

Another pick by Temple gave the Wildcats possession, but REL’s defense stopped them on fourth-and-goal. The third Lee pick of the half gave Temple the ball back, but Lee’s defense held the Wildcats to three-and-out.

The Red Raiders then turned the ball over on downs, giving Temple one last chance with a minute left. The Owls tried three Hail Mary passes, but the last one was intercepted by Lee‘s Bayley Florence to end the game.

First Round

Baytown Lee 25, John Tyler 21

JT quarterback Jeremy Johnson tossed touchdowns to DeTrich Morgan and Charlie Jackson to give the Lions a 13-12 edge at the half. Baytown Lee went in front at the start of the second half and added another touchdown to build a 25-13 advantage. JT maintained its focus with Johnson helping the Lions cut the deficit, connecting with Morgan for a touchdown and Jackson for the two-point conversion. The Lions now trailed 25-21, but needed the ball back. JT’s defense rose to the challenge, forcing Baytown Lee into a three-and-out. Needing a touchdown with time running out, Johnson led JT into the red zone. His first pass hit off the fingertips of his receiver. JT barely got off the snap before the final siren sounded to end play. Johnson rolled out and looked to have an open receiver, but a Baytown Lee player reacted to knock the ball down and end the game.

Lee 46, Katy Seven Lakes 20

The Red Raiders’ game against Katy Seven Lakes turned on a defensive play by a wide receiver. With the score tied 14-14 and Lee at the goal line, Wagner’s pass was intercepted by Seven Lakes, but the defender then tried to lateral to a teammate. Lee’s Turner read the attempt and intercepted the lateral, giving possession back to REL. The Red Raiders took over after that. Wagner connected for a 40-yard touchdown to Brown to give Lee a 20-14 halftime lead. He followed it up with second-half touchdowns to Ragin, Brown, Tate and Chase Wiley. KSL responded to one of the scores, but an interception by Junior Cain ended any more comeback thoughts.