Let’s start by saying that Houston area teams were on point and did well in the championship and consolation bracket. I had a chance to check up on a couple squads during the final day of the tournament.
Houston Teams do it big
The surprise of the entire tournament was Cy Fair by a landslide. And though Cy Fair is a good team, I’m not sure anyone expected the Bobcats to advance to the championship game. Headlining team was Tevin Champagne and Christian Cook, both of whom looked good throughout the tournament. Both made the 7 on 7 State All-Tournament Team.
After surviving a close game against Arlington Lamar in the second round, Cy Fair went on to handle Coppell 38-19 to advance to the championship game. Of course the final game was nothing less than a thriller with Stony Point pulling it out in the end.
Jersey Village also had an impressive run in the tournament. The Falcons went undefeated the first day and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Stony Point team. Tight end Ronnell Lavigne was impressive throughout the tournament making plays all over the field. Lavigne is a big, athletic receiver and will be one to keep an eye on for this upcoming season.
Plenty of speed Jersey Village had at the receiver position, and that caused problems for defenses throughout the tournament. The Falcons went on to beat an undefeated Birdville squad 26-21 in what proved to be a close an exciting game. Then, the Falcons fell to champion Stony Point, which too was a team loaded with talent
Staying within the Houston area, The Woodlands had a good run as well beating a tough Plano team in a 39-33 overtime thriller in the first round. Then, after the Highlanders seemed to be in the driver’s seat in the first half of the Coppell game, they fell short in the end 34-20.
Moving on to Pearland Dawson, a team that featured many solid players. One of which is Marcus Vaughn. The Eagle receiver was responsible for putting a lot of points on the board, and had an impressive showing on offense and defense. In the game against Abilene in the first round, Vaughn made a game winning interception in the end zone over Abilene’s Herschel Sims to end the game. Their day ended when a loaded Desoto handed them a 37-32 loss.
Quarterback Will Bryant, who was the district passing leader in 2008, led Langham Creek to the second round of the final day after destroying Edcouch-Elsa 47-12 in the first round. Then the Lobos found themselves in a dogfight against Lake Travis in Round 2.
It turned out to be somewhat of a track meet and there was not much defense played at all. Emotions were high for this game and some players were even flagged and ejected for rough play. In the end, Lake Travis pulled off the 45-39 victory.
Most Exciting Finish on the Day
It seemed like almost every game Saturday was a thriller, but this one was the best for me. And what makes this interesting, it was in the first round.
In a match up between Arlington and Abilene Cooper, there were only a few seconds left in the game. Arlington scored and was down by one point. It was decision time for the Colts, one for the tie and two for the win. Arlington opted for the latter.
After an incompletion, which was ruled pass interference on the play, the Colts moved to the 2-yard line with the penalty mark off and converted for the win. Wow.
Players to watch out check out this Fall
Here are just a few players below that had good tournament showings and could have big seasons this upcoming year.
Ryan Polite – QB, Desoto
David Porter – WR, Desoto
Will Bryant – QB, Langham Creek
Connor Crain – WR, Denton Guyer
Denzelle White – WR, Plano East
Michael Brewer – QB, Lake Travis
Skip Caldwell – WR, Whitehouse