END OF 2023 RECAP

It has been a while since I updated you all and I will endeavor below to catch everyone up on the last half of the season and the state tournament.

After we qualified at the Allen SQT, we had a sudden rash of injuries hit us, all on the offensive side of the ball. Fortunately none were too serious and all FOUR players should be back at full strength for fall football camp and the season. None the less, in my 21 years coaching, we have never lost 4 out of 7 starters on one side of the ball! Gregory Williams, Deante Gentry, Jessie Little and Sevan Ogletree all missed the last few SQT's AND the State Championship. We actually played three upcoming 9th graders in the last SQT at Keller Fossil Ridge, just prior to State.

We started mostly underclassmen all season. Now we were even younger and less experienced as we traveled to the State tournament last week. Fortunately, our defensive top10 players were fine health wise. 

We arrived in College Station (20 active players, 4 inactive and 5 coaches) last Thursday, not really sure what to expect in pool play. We knew we would find out quickly as our first games was against Houston Lamar, a 9-3 football team last fall that went two rounds deep in the football playoffs in 2022. In the battle of LAMAR'S, our guys played really solid on both sides of the ball with a pick six on defense and a great game by one of our back up wide receivers, Bakr Elsaad. The "northside" Vikes won the game to go 1-0 in pool. In game 2 we faced a team from the Rio Grande Valley called PSJA. This was their first trip to College Station but they played with a lot of intensity and pushed the Vikes to the brink before we won the game in OT 26-20. In game 3 we faced Wylie East with both teams 2-0 going in to the game. Knowing we would advance win or lose to the championship bracket on Saturday, we played certain starters more sparingly to get them some rest, and we lost the game to finish pool play 2-1. Most fans are aware that we have qualified for 24 of the 25 years of the state tournament. But perhaps more impressive is the Vikings have now made it to the championship bracket 20 out of the 24 seasons (83.3%) meaning "we don't just go we show". 

On Saturday we played another Valley HS, PSJA-North. We were very disappointed to lose this game. Of some consolation PSJAN made a nice run to the quarterfinals, losing to Round Rock who won the championship. It was the deepest run by a Valley team in the tournament's history.

Overall, considering how young our team was and the injuries sustained, it was a strong season. We definitely identified some less experienced players who may be ready this season to help the varsity football team, which is one of our goals each year in 7/7. 

A huge thank you to our team sponsors, (First Rate, DS Waters, The Huggin's and The Kelly's) for their donations to help defray our team costs. Likewise, Jay Ryan who keeps this website looking good and filled with useful information and has done so for so many years for us. Thanks also to our excellent 7/7 volunteer coaching staff and the endless help by the Carey's, Garrett and Shannon.

See you next year!

VFND

Coach Poynter

2023 LAMAR VIKING 7 0N 7 TEAM

Last Saturday the Vikes traveled to Allen to compete in the 3rd state qualifying tournament of the season. As I mentioned last week, even though we went 0-3 the week before, the games were highly competitive, and we lost each game by an average of 5.3 points. So it was not as bad as it seemed. We then had our best practice of the season last Tuesday prior to Allen and it showed!

The Vikes went 3-0 in pool play for the second time in three tournaments this season. The first two games went our way with scores of 31-21 and 27-7. In the game against Plano West we lost one of our best players, Gregory Peoples, with a broken nose. Fortunately, he is going to be OK but we all hate to see that happen. The 3rd game was a thriller against a very good Frisco Lone Star team. A pick six, by Von Smith late in the game turned out to be the decisive play as the Vikes won 20-19. We converted 2 of 3 extra point tries and FLS converted just 1 of 3 and that was the difference in the game. We talk about how important the little things are in these games and it was very evident in this game.

We quickly moved from the pool site (middle school) to Lowery Field (high school) for the qualifying game. We did not let the change of location bother us and we jumped on Richardson Berkner 21-0 at the half. We played down to the competition a bit in the second half but still maintained a comfortable margin winning 27-14. As you probably know by now, the Viking 7 on 7 program has qualified for 24 of 25 years for the Texas 7 on 7 State Championship. That is two more times than any other high school in Texas.

We have 4 SQT's remaining and we plan to participate in all of them using them as "high speed practices". It really helps us improve when we go up against other schools even though we cannot advance out of pool play. These extra 12 games plus one regular practice should have us ready to compete in College  Station on 6/23-24. The state travel roster will be compiled this weekend.

VFND

 

Coaches Corner: Melissa SQT

 

The Vikes made the hour-long drive to Melissa HS for the first state qualifying tournament (SQT) of the 2023 season. As you know we try to participate in as many SQT’s as possible for the development of the Viking football program. Our players love competing against other schools, so we try to give them a full dose! We are entered in 7 SQT’s followed hopefully with a trip to College Station in late June for the State 7 on 7 Championship.

 

We started off against the Melissa JV team from the host school. Obviously, against a younger group we should be the better team and we were, holding them scoreless and to one first down in the game with a final score of 28-0. In game 2 we played the Melissa varsity team and beat them 28-6. Our defense was outstanding in this game. The Vikes “D” had 3 interceptions and returned two of those for TD’s (pick sixes). Offensively we were “OK”, as the defense accounted for half of our 28 points. The 3^rd pool game was against Garland, a school with lots of talented athletes. It was a close and highly competitive game with the Vikes winning 20-18. We won the Pool going 3-0 so we qualified for the qualifying round game, meaning the winner of this 4^th game qualifies for the State Tournament. Midlothian Heritage beat us in a close game 20-13 to advance to the state tournament.

 

Offensively, we are still a work in progress which is typical early in the season. A few years ago, by rule, the games were shorted by 10 minutes, so each half is just 15 minutes with no intermission. So, it is critical to score each time you are on offense because the games are so short. We are turning the ball over too many times right now, but we can correct that by further emphasis to the players about managing down and distance better.

 

Coaches Corner: Arlington High SQT

 

This past weekend the Vikes ended up playing on the Lamar campus in the “MAC” due to forecasted poor weather. As we move more to the heart of 7 on 7 season with baseball and track over, teams now have their full complement of players. We were in a highly competitive pool Saturday with all 3 opponents making deep football playoff runs last season and each having a strong 7 on 7 pedigrees. In the first game Byron Nelson TC edged us 26-19. In game two Rockwall edged us 28-26. Game 3 the final score was Prosper 19-Lamar 12. While it certainly is a step back to go from 3-0 in pool play in the previous SQT to 0-3 Saturday it is not as bad as it may look on paper. The reasons are: 1. The competition was a step-up in all games; 2. The losses were extremely close; no one “beat us” as the average difference in score was 5.3 points/game. We failed to score twice from inside the two-yard line; we knocked a sure interception right into the hands of an opponent for a score; just a series of little things we have to clean up. This could have been another 3-0 pool VERY easily. The EFFORT and DESIRE by our kids is spot on. We just have to work on some items in practice and eliminate the self-inflicted wounds and we should be fine.

 

Next Saturday we travel to Allen HS for the 3^rd SQT of the season.

 

VFND

 

Coach Jim Poynter