To say any team needs to qualify for the state 7-on-7 tournament might be a stretch – especially when they’ve made it four consecutive years. Stratford coaches and players probably won’t say they need to be in College Station Friday and Saturday, but in a year the Spartans are trying to groom a successor to Andrew Luck, the trip could be especially helpful. Then another school’s misfortune became Stratford’s ticket. The Spartans, who finished third at the Cinco Ranch SQT in early June, were awarded a berth into the field last week when future District 18-5A rival Hastings had to withdraw. “We had heard through the grapevine that it might happen,” Spartans 7-on-7 coach Kyle Mosley said.

Second Baptist is the only Houston-area team to participate in the Division II (Class 3A and under) state 7-on-7 tournament, starting Thursday afternoon at College Station.

  Your midsummer football fix is three days away. The state 7-on-7 tournament takes place Thursday through Saturday at Texas A&M University.

  The Texas State 7-on-7 Association on Monday morning released the pools and brackets for the state tournament Thursday through Saturday in College Station. Every pool in the Division I tournament (4A and 5A schools) has one Houston-area team with the exception of Pool B, which has Cinco Ranch and Spring, and Pool O, which has both Stratford and Tomball. Other local teams and their pool assignments are: Pool A – Langham Creek; Pool C – Klein Oak; Pool D – Seven Lakes; Pool E – Klein; Pool F – Klein Forest; Pool G – Pearland; Pool H – Memorial; Pool I – The Woodlands; Pool J – Baytown Lee; Pool K – Fort Bend Elkins; Pool L – Cypress Falls; Pool M – Cy-Fair; Pool N – Katy; Pool P – Chavez. Teams in Pools A-H play their games at 1, 3 and 5 p.m.

The news late Wednesday that Hastings had to withdraw from the upcoming state 7-on-7 tournament created a plethora of questions. It seems to happen every year that a team drops out of state, but why the Bears? Especially when it was their first state tournament in front of a season many think will be productive in their new district? Money, money, money, and some poor scheduling on the part of a few players.

{mp3}080703-Podcast{/mp3}   Spread offenses are all the rage in Texas high school football, but at least one football fan wonders why we don't see more of the West Coast offense. In this week's podcast, sportswriters Chad Washington and Dave Purpura talk about the offenses they like - or wish they saw more of in high school football.

  Only after Hastings qualified for the state 7-on-7 tournament did they start learning the extent of what it took to get there. And now, due to several complications, not all of which are related, the Bears won’t make it to College Station after all. Insufficient funds doomed the trip, as did the possibility several players might not be able to attend, said Cedric Hardeman, a former Hastings player assisting the team this summer. “We’re disappointed and sad but at the same time it’s what happens sometimes,” Hardeman said Thursday morning.

  Just when they were out, a chance occurrence pulled the Stratford 7-on-7 team back into the state tournament.   The Spartans were awarded a berth Wednesday when Hastings withdrew, Spartans coach Eliot Allen said.   No further information was immediately available.

  This is the fifth story of a series previewing local 7-on-7 teams before the state tournament July 11-12 at Texas A&M University. The Athlete’s Connection will provide complete coverage of all local teams before and during the two-day event. Those who will get their first look at the Katy football team since its spring game in next week’s 7-on-7 state tournament likely will be getting their first look, period. The Tigers who take the field July 11-12 in College Station will look substantially different than the Red and White teams who played to a tie two months ago at Rhodes Stadium.

  This is the fourth story of a series previewing local 7-on-7 teams before the state tournament July 11-12 at Texas A&M University. The Athlete’s Connection will provide complete coverage of all local teams before and during the two-day event. Kurt Juergens didn't directly say it, but the feeling was Langham Creek's 7-on-7 team would have considered not qualifying for next week's state tournament a profound disappointment. Not only did the Lobos' junior varsity team go 9-1 last year, but that team's quarterback and four receivers have been a cohesive unit for several years and are being counted on to succeed Army commit Max Jenkins and a veteran receiving corps. "We have a new quarterback (junior Will Bryant) and this receiving corps is second to none," said Juergens, the Lobos' 7-on-7 coach.

    This is the third story of a series previewing local 7-on-7 teams before the state tournament July 11-12 at Texas A&M University.

  Second Baptist earned a berth in the state 7-on-7 tournament Saturday in a Division I state qualifying tournament at Navasota. Hitchcock claimed the other spot for the tournament July 10 and 11 at Texas A&M University.   Also on Saturday, Morton Ranch fell short of earning a state berth at the Hays Consolidated SQT near Austin.   The Eagles join Cypress Falls, Klein Oak, Chavez, Fort Bend Elkins, Langham Creek, Tomball, Klein, The Woodlands, Katy, Memorial, Pearland, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes, Spring, Baytown Lee, Hastings, Cy-Fair, Klein Forest as Houston-area teams in the field. Second Baptist will play in Division I with UIL schools from Conferences 1A to 3A. All other area schools are in Division II, which features 4A and 5A schools.

    He wasn't the most imposing participant at the Cory Redding and Friends Football Camp Saturday, but Delmon Smithers may have earned the biggest cheers. The 14-year-old freshman-to-be at North Shore earned rave reviews during the "Running and Chasing" drill, in which participants had to dodge rolling tires to score touchdowns, used his slight 5-foot-4 build to his advantage, evading a much large defender to high-step his way into the end zone during the camp at Galena Park ISD Stadium. "They were trying to distract me but I just moved like I was supposed to.

  It’s almost Fourth of July weekend, which means we are less than two months away from the start of football season. We’re almost there, folks, so just hold on for eight more weeks.

    This is the second story of a series previewing local 7-on-7 teams before the state tournament July 11-12 at Texas A&M University.

Reliant Stadium will host Class 5A's two state football championship games Dec. 20, the University Interscholastic League announced Wednesday. The Division I and II games were held in San Antonio each of the past two years.

  {mp3}080627-Podcast{/mp3} Our third straight weekly podcast - which comes out Wednesday this week, a little earlier than usual - focuses on teams we think might be dark horses for the upcoming high-school football season. We know we didn't cover everyone.

{mp3}TOP10-KatyFB{/mp3}   Original stories by Dave Purpura, Heather Burr and Ahmard Vital   Katy added to its long football tradition with a state championship run that saw the Tigers dominate all of its opponents with a star running back, a gritty quarterback and a stifling defense. The Tigers rumbled through the season with hardly a scare.

          UTEP football coach Mike Price knows it’s tough to get to El Paso.

  Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was guarded Wednesday when discussing his 2008 Sooners.

  As we reach summertime, we reporters reach that moment where we both try to relax and recharge from a busy year, as well as prepare for what should be another exciting year of high school football. Right now, I’m planning my short vacation in July before the impending rush of getting ready for football season in August.   The season is only three months away, but there’s plenty to ponder about the upcoming high school football season.

  Baytown Lee coach Dick Olin helped create the state 7-on-7 tournament five years ago.

  Following is the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD's official 2008 football schedule, which was released Thursday. Home games are split between the Berry Center and Ken Pridgeon Stadium.   One game remains with a to-be-determined time - Cypress Falls vs.

    {mp3}TOP 10-Shane Turner{/mp3} From Thursday, Oct.

The beginning of Bayou Bowl week gave me two distinct impressions. One, Texas' players didn't know as much about the all-star game against Louisiana as their counterparts, and were treating it as something of a business trip. “I didn’t really know much about the game until I was chosen to play,” Cypress Falls’ Shane Turner said during media day last Tuesday.

It was just one 7-on-7 tournament, but things could be turning around at Seven Lakes. After two rough years in 4A, the Spartans showed that they can win against top competition in the Houston area after clinching a spot in the 7-on-7 tournament at Cinco Ranch last Saturday.

  Given that their teams had been together for only five days entering Saturday’s Bayou Bowl, coaches from both Texas and Louisiana planned to rely on their defenses in the annual game. In the end, they looked like seers. Texas’ defense saved a game heavy on offense early but short on big plays late, holding Louisiana to less than 200 yards of offense in a 24-14 victory at Baytown’s Stallworth Stadium. For their performance, the Texas defense earns the Athlete’s Connection’s CollegeBallorBust.com Athlete of the Week award, the final award for the 2007-08 school year. The defense’s most memorable play came with 3:20 left, when defensive end Derek McGahee intercepted Blaine Gautier’s screen pass and returned it 8 yards for the insurance touchdown. But that was preceded by several huge efforts earlier.

      Having held Louisiana to a handful of big gains through the first three quarters of Saturday night’s Bayou Bowl, Team Texas may have figured their opponents would go for some gusto down three deep in their territory late in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Texas coaches correctly guessed Louisiana would call a screen pass, which they’d run all night with moderate success. Defensive end Derek McGahee, from Clear Creek, intercepted Blaine Gautier inside the Louisiana 10 and ran it back for the insurance touchdown with 3:23 left to seal Texas’ 24-14 victory at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown. “We knew they’d go for a screen and (the coaches) just wanted us to stay back and make a big play,” the 6-foot-5, 230-pound McGahee said.

    Concluding the Bayou Bowl activities this week was the annual banquet which recognized players, coaches, and everyone involved with autographed balls, cups, and championship rings.

  The Texas and Louisiana players have worked hard and had fun in preparation for the rivalry that brought them together - Saturday night's Bayou Bowl at Stallworth Stadium.   What they weren't prepared for was finding out how their participation in a sport they love brings funding to a group of children they don't even know.

     If the offenses have their way Saturday night, the Bayou Bowl might become the all-star games most fans want to see – high-scoring with a lot of passing.

          Texas and Louisiana Bayou Bowl players met Thursday night at San Jacinto Mall to sign autographs for their enthused fan base. Excitement filled the air as fans of all ages lined up throughout the mall with footballs, posters, t-shirts and accessories for their favorite players to sign. “This makes us feel like we are special because they [the kids] are looking up to us,” one Texas player said. The outstanding athletes that participated in the 2008 Bayou Bowl displayed honorable character on and off of the field.  They acknowledge that younger children see them as positive role models; therefore, they have conducted themselves in a manner to be followed. When asked what the highlight of their week as been, unanimously the players answered with “Schlitterbahn,” the Galveston waterpark they visited Thursday afternoon. Beyond their love for the fans and their love for football, these athletes were honored to be involved in the Bayou Bowl since the proceeds were going to the Shriners Hospitals.  Many of the players said that they felt privileged to be able to use their athletic talents to help others who are in need. Both the Texas and Louisiana teams were quick to make predictions regarding the outcome of the game, but regardless of the final result these exceptional men have made new friendships that they will take with them to college. “It’s been fun meeting all of the new guys and coming together as a team,” one Lousiana player said. “Through hanging out in the hotel rooms and being around each other all of the time we’ve made new friendships.

    Texas defensive lineman John Gioffre, a recent Cinco Ranch graduate, helped bolster Team Texas’ numbers when he came on board Monday night. Thursday, the Rice commit came to a different kind of aid when he helped a lost 7-year-old boy find his mother at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Galveston, where both teams spent several hours as a fun excursion. “We were walking along and I saw this little boy crying and we all wondered what was wrong,” Gioffre said.

    Any number of defenders who tried to stop the North Shore football team from executing the zone-read option last fall might still be having nightmares. At their best, the Mustangs and quarterback Jeremiah McGinty disguised the play until the last second, then more often than not ran it to crisp perfection. “I make plays in tough situations and I know what to do in certain situations,” McGinty said when asked how he’d market himself.

    While his teammates practiced under the hot Baytown sun, Corey Wright watched from the sidelines, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

  When Shane Turner walked into the La Quinta Inn-West lobby in Baytown Tuesday morning, about a dozen Bayou Bowl coaches and players welcomed him, possibly for the first time.

            Klein has qualified for the 7-on-7 state tournament for only the second time in school’s history.

        With a history-making season almost seven months in their rear-view mirror, changes aplenty are in store for the Pasadena Memorial football team. Most of them were on display Thursday night in the Mavericks’ spring game at Pasadena ISD’s auxiliary stadium. Forty-three seniors graduated from the 2007 Mavericks, who went 10-3 and made the first third-round playoff appearance in the program’s history.

  Langham Creek and Tomball clinched the state berths from Sunday's 7-on-7 state qualifying tournament at the Methodist Training Center. The Lobos, preparing for their first season without Army-bound quarterback Max Jenkins, went 2-1 in pool play.

        For all the Houston-area schools competing at Saturday's 7-on-7 state qualifying tournament, the finals turned into a rekindling of a competitive rivalry from 350 miles away. Edcouch-Elsa and Weslaco, two schools located less than 10 miles apart outside McAllen and about 20 minutes from the Mexico border, barreled through the 16-team field at the Methodist Training Center to meet for the first time since Weslaco ended Edcouch-Elsa's 36-game winning streak last season.   Saturday, Edcouch-Elsa clinched a state tournament berth for the fifth consecutive year, then doubled up fellow qualifier Weslaco 56-21 in a championship game that meant little more than bragging rights. "I was like 'Weslaco?' " said Yellow Jackets tight end Aaron "Artie" Tanguma, who had seven touchdowns in five games Saturday.

      Some pundits are saying the 2008 Cinco Ranch football team might be good enough to give defending state champion Katy a run for its money - or more.   Friday night, Cougars fans got a look at their team in the spring game at Rhodes Stadium.   Cinco Ranch finished second in District 18-5A last year and lost to Cy-Fair in the first round in the playoffs.   To see highlights from the spring game, click on the Reel Action icon.  

          Looking forward to competing for a championship in a new district, the Strake Jesuit football team held its spring game Friday night at Crusaders Stadium.   Several starters expected to be key in the Crusaders' first season in District 18-5A were not expected to play, including probable starting quarterback James Scott and a handful of linemen.   To see highlights from the spring game, click on the Reel Action icon.

          Katy Taylor’s new head coach didn’t take long to set his team straight. Flint Risien, who joined the Mustangs in December, let his new team know that he wants the maximum effort from them in every game, including the spring game. Risien was disappointed in how his team performed in their final spring practice Thursday night at Rhodes Stadium, saying that the Mustangs didn’t execute consistently on both sides of the ball. “The positive is that we have a lot to work on,” Risien said.

  EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 11th in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series each day through Friday. Many football coaches give compliments first to seniors, then spread them throughout the rest of the program. While Strake Jesuit coach Ron Counter is excited enough about his seniors, he gets as giddy as a football coach can about his loaded junior class. “By the time they’re seniors we’re gonna have quite a few three-year starters,” Counter said.

    The atmosphere at Tully Stadium on Wednesday night could have mirrored a Saturday in the fall last year for the Stratford football team. The band and drill team was in rare form, and the stands were filled with plenty of fans and parents wearing green and white. The only thing missing for the Spartans from last year was big-time quarterback Andrew Luck. But he’s graduated and off to Stanford, and Stratford is moving on. “Andrew’s a great player, but he’s gone now,” Stratford coach Eliot Allen said after his team finished its spring game.

  EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 10th in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series each day through Friday.   Cy-Fair head coach Ed Pustejovsky noticed his spring practices were a little less crowded this year. In 2007, college coaches from across the county descended to the school as everyone they were watching and wooing star running back Sam McGuffie, whose speedy running and leaping ability make him a favorite on YouTube.

  EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series each day through Friday. Cypress Falls’ football team has a handful of returning standouts and a few more unknowns entering the 2008 season. Sound familiar? It’s something like the 2007 season, when the Eagles worked themselves into the area’s elite by midseason and featured one of its most explosive offenses behind quarterback Kolby Gray and everyman Shane Turner, who used a nationally-televised game as his coming-out party and earned a scholarship to Rice. Coming off winning their own 7-on-7 state qualifier Saturday, the Eagles feel they’re poised to improve on their 9-3 record and wrestle the district championship away from Cypress Ridge. The Eagles’ spring game is at 6 p.m.

        Confident in his abilities but not cocky about them, Eisenhower quarterback Kenneth Guiton recently promised Eagles fans they’d see “a show” at Tuesday night’s spring game. Given the talent Eisenhower returns from its District 19-5A championship team, the guarantee wasn’t that much of a stretch. The Eagles backed up the senior-to-be at Aldine High School’s Smith Stadium, flashing talent from nearly every position as the Black team came back to defeat the Gold 19-14 in front of a near-sellout crowd.   Guiton, who is being recruited heavily by Kansas among other schools, didn’t throw for a touchdown but was solid passing and directed a potent running game.

   EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series each day through Friday.   Things change quickly from the end of the season to the spring. When we last left the Clements football team, it was smarting from a 42-0 thrashing from Katy, but the Rangers accomplished a lot before their season ended on a sour note.

      When Kevin O’Keefe took the head coaching job at Seven Lakes, he knew his team would go through some growing pains. But he also knew his team had the potential to grow. The Spartans continued their growth in their spring game Monday at Rhodes Stadium, as they prepare for their first season in Class 5A after two years in 4A.   The Spartans won only one game in those two years, but O’Keefe knows that the potential is there that can make Seven Lakes a winner soon. “We’re getting closer every day,” he said.