COLLEGE STATION – Stratford’s appearance in the state 7-on-7 tournament ended Saturday morning with a 34-14 loss to Mesquite in the championship bracket.

The Mesquite players came out early to score first laying the groundwork for Stratford to try and answer their call. Kelton Crawford and Michael Garrett caught touchdown passes to take a 14-7 lead. The Stratford defensive team of Eric Odom, Jon Rodiek, Cole Skinner, Chandler Hillin, Rodney Anderson, David Bouche and Roland Rodriquez spent a lot of time on the field trying to stop the Mesquite power down the field.

The Spartans came back a little later in the game with a pass from Andrew Mitchell to Anderson for the touchdown and then to Matt Finst for the extra point bring them within six.

But the Mesquite defense of Matt Hicks, Darius Taylor, Mel Jackson, O'Shae Hamilton, Crawford, Darian McNeely and Robert Lewis didn’t give the Spartans offense an inch. The Spartans struggled to get the ball in the hands of the receivers and the Mesquite crowd knew that their team was heading for a win.

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