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Football: Plano Senior wins 7-on-7 title
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
Just a week prior to the 2012 Division I Fox Sports Southwest 7-on-7 State Championship Tournament Friday and Saturday, Hebron's squad competed in the Red Bull Game Breakers National Tournament at Jesuit, qualifying for the final weekend of the event in which Tyler John Tyler eventually claimed the title.
Seven days later, the Hawks were back on the gridiron in College Station and faced a tough test to open state when they squared off against the red-hot Lions.
This time, however, Hebron had the edge on John Tyler, topping the Lions in pool play to open the tournament, 47-41.
Hebron wasn't the only local squad to qualify for the championship bracket as they were joined by Plano Senior, Plano West and Southlake Carroll, among others.
The Wildcats, led by quarterback Richard Lagow, went on to win the state title with a victory over Manvel in the finals, 45-28, while the Dragons also bowed out in the opening round against Wylie East, 37-15, and the Wolves advanced to the second round before succumbing to La Porte, 36-33. Rounding out the semifinalists in the championship bracket were Arlington Bowie and Abilene.
"There really aren't any words to express how happy I am for the guys," said Tank Stallings, Plano 7-on-7 head coach. "To think of where we started this summer and how we were then on the middle of Kyle Field winning a state championship, it was just awesome.
"I'm excited for the guys and the hard work they've put in paid off."
Lagow earned MVP honors on the strength of his efforts.
"To be named tournament MVP is such a great honor," he said. "I'm so blessed to receive that, but I never would have gotten it without my receiving core. They were the best receivers in that whole tournament."
After opening the tournament with a win over John Tyler -- which went on to win the consolation bracket -- Hebron and quarterback Carson Proffitt fell just short against El Paso Montwood, 35-33. But while Montwood finished pool play with a perfect 3-0 mark, Hebron still qualified for the main draw on the strength of a 41-31 win over Katy Taylor.
"They played pretty well against John Tyler and throughout the tournament," said Brian Brazil, Hebron head coach. "They were down most of the game and came back to win overtime. But then we turned around in the next around and weren't able to hold a 13-0 lead against Montwood. It was a back-and-forth game, but they made a couple of their conversions and we missed ours."
Brazil added Hebron played well in its pool finale against Taylor before running into an athletic Lamar team in the championship bracket.
"They kind of jumped right on us and we had to battle back," he said. "That's a tough position to be in, especially in 7-on-7 where there is a running clock."
Brazil spoke on many other differences between 7-on-7 and typical football, including the lack of a pass rush or running game and different schemes both in rout-running and coverage. However, he added that the game serves its purpose.
"It's so different," he said, "especially when you look at it from the perspective where you don't have those nasty uglies up front chasing you around.
"But one thing it does do is helps out with your receivers and quarterbacks. Even though the routes and coverage aren't typical, the receivers and backs are getting good help on footwork and catching the ball and it really gives the quarterback some extra time to continue to develop and gain confidence in the receivers. For the teams that have young receivers or quarterbacks, or that typically don't throw the bal a lot, I think it can really be beneficial."
Offensively, Brazil credited the play of receivers Austin Morgenstern and Vandy Parkes throughout the summer, and was pleased with the repetitions Proffitt received at quarterback.
Defensively, Brazil was impressed with what he saw in coverage from outside linebacker Paul Hammer, who is transitioning outside from inside linebacker.
"On the outside, you have to be able to turn and run with receivers a lot more," he said. "I liked what I saw from Paul from that perspective. I really think we are going to benefit from moving him outside."
Carroll, meanwhile, rebounded from an opening 33-12 loss against Houston Stratford to defeat Calallen, 44-37, and Collins, 45-12, to advance.
Coppell also made the trek south to College Station, but was relegated to the consolation bracket after compiling a 1-2 record in pool play. The Cowboys outlasted Elkins in their opener, 46-40, but followed with losses against Odessa Permian, 27-20, and Whitehouse, 25-20.
In the consolation bracket, the Cowboys advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Belton, 33-26. Coppell's wins included victories over Flour Bluff, 21-13, and Waco, 42-21.
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