Message from Coach Jim Poynter

We are a handful of practices and one state qualifying tournament in to the 2024 season. So far it has been a challenge to get the 7/7 players at practice as a group. It is not a lack of interest or commitment, but overlapping seasons (track, baseball) and part time jobs which is normal for us in the preseason. Now that the other seasons are basically complete, we will expect more consistent turnout at practice which will allow us to progress to the standard of play we expect as Vikings.

Saturday 18 players, coaches and a few fans made the drive to Melissa HS (50 miles) in a severe thunderstorm. It was difficult and probably a bit dangerous but thankfully we all arrived safely. The tournament host made a great decision on Friday to divide the tournament into two separate tournament fields; one in the morning from 9 am-2-pm and the other half from 2pm-7pm. This allowed all 16 teams to play in the indoor facility (which would be the only option) without agonizing waits between games. 

Lamar jumped out in the first game vs Anna HS to a 24 point lead at half time. Of note, we are going for two points on extra points conversions (from the ten yard line) this season versus the standard "one" from the three yard line. If we can make them more than 50% of the time it will cause other teams to "chase" the score and eventually either score one more TD or make one or more two point conversions. In the first half of game one we went 3-3 which means we had 24 points instead of 21 or even less! Anna also scored 3 TD's in the game but they made only 1 extra point versus our 6 which was the difference in the game 24-19 Lamar. In game two, we faced a good Prosper team and fell 32-30. We had several chances to stop their offense down on the goal line but came up short. In the final game we played a very good defensive team in South Oak Cliff and fell 13-8 but again missed several chances to score that would have won the game. 

So, 1-2 is disappointing but not cause for alarm as we missed by 8 points going 3-0 and making the qualifying round. Of note, Midlothian Heritage beat Prosper by 1 point (28-27) to win the qualifying game so the teams were pretty even. 

We have a nice mix of experience and youth on this year's Lamar team. This was a great experience for our current freshman and sophomores to get a taste of varsity 7/7, and for our veterans to get back in form.

Our next tournament is nearly 3 weeks away which gives us a chance to work on a number of things in practice to improve, Historically, we have made our biggest jump in quality of play in tournaments in weeks 2-4 and I fully expect that to be the case with this group.

Coach Poynter

 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

 

Coach Comments

6/21/2022

Just completed season 20 coaching the Lamar 7 on 7 team. Our efforts to extend our state tournament qualifying streak ended last Friday at 23 consecutive years. While we are all disappointed, it’s not devastating as these kids and coaches literally gave it everything they had. We were a very young team at key positions and it showed-at first. As the season progressed this team grew a lot and missed qualifying by just 3 points. I just love this group; winning has a lot of ingredients; hard work; talent; experience and love for the game and each other. Some years the amounts vary and this year we were a bit light on experience. But they had all of the other items in full.

As they transition to getting ready for fall football I don't think there is any question that all these "reps" this spring in 7 on 7 will help elevate the football team. The other key is that 7 on 7 gives this portion of the football team a chance to really bond for a few months. So, all in all, I consider this a very successful season.

I'd like to give a big thanks to First Rate, Inc.; DS Waters and Jay Ryan for their donation of money; supplies and time. We could not have the success without these cornerstone annual donors. THANK YOU! 

Angie Morris has been our volunteer coordinator for the last two years. She has the energy of three people and makes sure we have everything we need as a team. Thanks to all those that volunteered under her leadership! 

Our coaching staff is the best in Texas in this sport. Julian, Spencer and JR along with this years interns Jaden Morris and Amarlyon Fox are the backbone for the success of our program along with the full support of the Viking football staff led by Coach Skinner!

Great job players and coaches; see you this fall and you underclassmen in 2023! 

Go Vikes!🏈🏆

Coach Jim Poynter

 Coaches Corner # 3: 6/6/22

In the last report several weeks ago, I explained how important it is with an inexperienced team to get the maximum EFFORT out of each player and each coach every practice, every snap, every game. I am extremely proud to report that is EXACTLY what has occurred in the last three weeks!

In the qualifer the week after Arlington, we were in Plano. We went 2-1, losing the 3rd game by one point (21-20) to Coppell who then went on to win their qualifying game.

In the next qualifier we were at Northwest HS. We went 2-1 again and played better each game than the one before.

Last Saturday in the Grapevine tournament we went 3-1, winning our pool and facing a very good McKinney HS team in the qualifying game. The Lions beat Southlake in the 3rd game to win their pool. So two 3-0 teams went at it, with the winner qualifying for State. The Vikes played very well and with great effort but we fell to the Lions 28-26 as they advanced to the State tournament later this month.

So let's recap. From an 0-6 start in the first two qualifiers, the Vikes are 7-3 in the next three. WE WERE 5 POINTS AWAY FROM GOING 9-1 during that time frame. Less than one score separated us from qualifying! As a coaching staff that is an amazing turnaround in a short period of time. We coaches are very impressed by the mental and physical toughness they have displayed in those three weeks. WE STARTED USING "THE TREND IS UP" as a motto and they have lived it!

This week we play in the next to last qualifier (again at Arlington HS) on Friday. Times and pools TBD. If the guys continue to upward trend we will reach our stated goal of qualifying for the State Tournament for the 24 consecutive year!

VFND,

Coach Poynter

 5/17/2022

Coach Comments # 3

Last Saturday we played our 2nd SQT of the season, this time nearby at Arlington High. Before I review the results let me remind everyone of a few facts regarding this years team:

1. We have one returning 7 on 7 starter on offense; 5 on defense.

2. We have no varsity or prior 7 on 7 experience at QB.

3. Both SQT's have been played after "hitting" football practices less than 18 hours earlier.

The fact that we have started slowly, particuarly on offense is frankly not surprising. Having coached at the varsity level for twenty years, it just takes time some years depending on our experience and talent level. We are still learning the game at the 6A level of competition. What we coaches are looking for is material progress from week to week. Defensively, we should be getting close to the level we need to compete successfully, in the next two weeks. Offensively, it may take somewhat longer. THE KEY IS PROGRESS WEEK OVER WEEK. That means we coaches have to "coach 'em up" and the players, with spring sports and school mostly behind them, need to be FULLY FOCUSED on putting in the work and getting better. WE have a lot of work to do over the 5+ weeks!

Regarding last week's SQT we played poorly in the first two games. Game 3 we were much better on both sides of the ball so we can and will build on that. I always tell it straight to our players: we are not going to be good enough this year to "get by" on anything less that our BEST effort. Every play. Every practice. Every game. Period.

VFND!

Coach Poynter

 

Coaches Corner #2

4/27/2022

Last Saturday we made the hour+ drive to Melissa HS. Melissa is a fast growing community just south of Sherman. The team did a great job of getting to Lamar by 6:15 am especially considering they had spring football last week so they were probably a bit more tired than usual.

We knew this would be a challenging tournament for us for two reasons. First, we were missing 7 players; 5 due to baseball and 2 with injuries. At this time of the year spring sports (track, baseball) are the priority. The 7 on 7 season really starts in mid-May and goes through June. The second challenge was spring football. Many of the teams competing at Melissa had not yet started spring tackle football. After a week of practice (in pads for part) it typically makes for tired legs and some muscle soreness compared to the teams who had not started spring practice. It was our opinion though that the benefit of competing and figuring out "where we are" as a team at many positions was worth the trip in spite of the obvious challenges.

We were particularly short-handed on offense. None of our quarterbacks were available so we moved perhaps our best athlete Darrick "Trey" Bledsoe to quarterback. Trey is one of our best receivers so moving him to QB left us shorthanded at the receiver position along with Jaylon Humbles and Keegan Kelly who were not available. 

Defensively, we were in a little better position in terms of available players but were down two starters in Cooper Barnard and Braylon Cole. 

We played three games and were competitive in all three, particularly on defense. We struggled more on offense but really it was not a "fair fight" with that many key players missing. 

So what were the takeaways? Our effort and attitude all day was excellent. The players recognized the obvious challenges and dealt with it in the right way. Another positive was playing in a highly competitive pool, so we now know what we have to work on to win at future tournaments. Once we have our "full deck" of players we will be able to play at a "Viking" level. We have two more Saturday practices before our next SQT on 5/14 at Arlington High. Baseball conflicts are over and hopefully we will get a couple of our injured guys back as well. Now we just need to put in the work and get ready!

Great group of guys on this team! 

VFND

Coach Poynter

The 2022 edition of the Lamar Viking varsity 7 on 7 team is underway. We have had several practices and are beginning to get a feel for the talent and personality of this team. I am so pleased to report that all the coaches and our volunteer co-oordinator, are back for this season. One of the keys to our success through the years is that continuity of coaches. Julian, is in season # 12 as our defensive coordinator; Spencer in year 7 as our offensive coordinator. JR is back for season # 2 with us and has years of coaching experience in the north Arlington area. Angie, is one of the most "all in" volunteer leaders you could have and she keeps the whole thing moving in the right direction! 

Just as in fall football, returning "game experience" is important to the early season success of a 7 on 7 team. We have two young QB's with no varsity football experience. That said, both are hard workers; talented and coachable. They push each other and that will make both of them better. 

I should mention we have two coaching interns this season. Helping the offense is Jaden Morris, last years starting QB for the Vikes and who is headed to Texas Tech in May to join the football team. Assisting the D is Amarlyon Fox, a high-energy starter on Lamar's defense last year. Both are welcome additions and have been valued added right from the start! 

While we are light on experience at some positions we have solid experience at others that will help carry us early. As in the past we have signed up to play in seven State Qualifying Tournaments (SQT's) which is the maximum number available. This let's us get a lot of game experience over the next couple of months prior to the State Tournament should we qualify.  In addition, all the players will be in spring football over the next month, so they will get a large dose of football in short order.

People ask me what is the "secret" to qualifying every season for 23 years in a row for the Texas 7 on 7 State Championship. It is actually a combination of several factors:

• Consistent financial support from companies like First Rate and DS Waters
• Experienced 7 on 7 coaching staff and total support from the Viking football staff
• Community based support from caring individuals like Jay Ryan (web site); former team mom's and others.
• Tremendous desire and effort by current Viking players to "join the club"  of qualifying every season.

Our first tournament is 4/23/22 at Melissa HS. I will fill you in on how we fared shortly after. 

VFND!

Jim Poynter

2021 State Tourney Videos, photos and highlight video

 2021 State Tourney Videos, photos and highlight video posted on the web site!

http://lamarvikings7on7.com/

VFND!

Coach Comments-End of Season

The Vikes played in the maximum number of local qualifying tournaments (7) this season. This allowed us to get a lot of additional “reps” since there was no spring football at Lamar due to the coaching change. We won the 5th SQT of the season but continued to go participate even after qualifying.

Every year when we receive our “pool” opponents, I do research on each of the three teams to try and get a feel for them prior to traveling to College Station. One of the items of note was that the three of them combined had only participated in five state qualifying tournaments compared to our seven! It is possible they had scrimmages with other teams but that is a lot of extra reps by our kids in a game environment. As you would expect it was hot and humid in College Station and our pool games started at 1 pm and ended about 5 pm. Our conditioning played a big part in our 2-1 record. It was noticeable in our last game versus Garland. They have at least 4 D-1 recruits and were very athletic. But over the course of the game our conditioning really paid off and we won the game.

Most everyone that follows 7 on 7 in the state knows about Lamar’s 23 qualifications in a row. What is not as known, but perhaps more impressive, is we have advanced to the Championship Bracket 19 out of 23 years. This means we finished 1st or 2nd in a 4-team pool 83% of the time over nearly a quarter of a century! Every school in the tournament won a state qualifying tournament just to get to College Station. In other words, “we don’t just qualify we compete” year in and year out. Great job Vikings!

On Saturday we drew a truly impressive Austin Westlake team in the first game of a single elimination tournament. Their QB recently committed to Clemson, and he has led the Chapparals to TWO Class 6-A State Football Championships in a row and will try to threepeat this upcoming season. The final score was 55-34 so we were very competitive; we just could not quite match their offensive firepower.

Overall, I think this season did three things: 1. Bonded the players after a rough pandemic year and a change of football staffs; 2. Gave them literally hundreds of reps in game type situations and 3. Handled the pressure of maintaining the mantle as the only team in Texas to qualify every season. It is a very exclusive Club and they joined it. Our job is to send them back to fall football better than when we started with them in March, and I believe we accomplished that.

BIG Thanks to Angie Morris as our volunteer coordinator; her energy level and enthusiasm is unmatched. Also, KUDOS to Julian, Spencer, Barry, Chris, and JR for another excellent job of coaching up these players to perform at such a high level. I am pleased to report that EACH of them has agreed to come back in 2022 to go for 24 in a row. VFND!

Jim Poynter

A Report from Day 1 in College Station

 From Coach Poynter:

The Vikings went 2-1 on Friday.

So we advance to the 32 team championship bracket on Saturday.

The Vikings will play Austin Westlake tomorrow at 8:45 am.

 

VFND

Watch LIVE action from the Texas 7 on 7 Tournament

 

Week# 8

Coach Comments # 8

It is STATE 7 ON 7 CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK-Finally! After no season in 2020 it has been two years since the Vikes traveled to College Station to compete against the best high school programs in Texas. Now that the State Qualifying Tournaments across the state are complete the UPDATED ALL TIME TOP 5 QUALIFYING LIST IS:

TOP 5 ALL TIME STATE QUALIFIERS IN DIVISION-1
1. ARLINGTON LAMAR    23/23 YEARS
2.   CYPRESS FAIRBANKS       21/23 YEARS
3.   KATY                20/23 YEARS (tied)
3.   THE WOODLANDS       20/23 YEARS (tied)
3.   ABILENE                20/23 YEARS (tied)


All but Katy HS qualified in 2021 although Southlake has decided not to participate in the State Tournament this year. Out of 1450 high schools in Texas this is somthing Viking Nation can be very proud to be the all-time leader. Just as remarkable ALL 23 of the Lamar qualifications have been “on the road” meaning never in a home tournament!  
Here are links that all fans will want including a way to watch the action “live” from home!

Live action: https://twitter.com/Texan_Live/status/1405241790127644672   

Pool:    Be sure to look for Division 1 Pool H 2021 70n7 H Pools    

2021 Roster: 2021 Roster

Primer on State Tournament: https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2021/06/21/2021-texas-7-on-7-state-tournament-primer?ref=article_preview_img

We will depart LHS at 1:00 pm this Thursday and be back sometime Saturday evening. VFND!
Coach Jim Poynter

Week #7

7th Coach Comments-2021

Last Friday night the Vikes participated in the Lamar SQT which was held at Arlington High. Having qualified the week before the Vikes could only participate in pool play which is 3 games. We like to play in the maximum number of SQT’s because the kids like to face off against other high schools as much as possible under game conditions. So, this was the 6/7 SQT’s we will participate in prior to the state tournament next week.
Friday night was our opportunity to play all our younger or less experienced players extensively. Sirawn Evans our “to be” sophomore QB has been very patient waiting to get playing time at QB. He played 5 of the 6 halves for us Friday and did a good job and got better each game. Our starting QB Jaden Morris played center and was our coach on the field. Jaden showed great leadership in helping Sirawn call plays and offering him encouragement. Even though winning was not the emphasis this week, we did go 2-1 running our season record to 13-6.
This week we start practicing with the state tournament more front of mind. We will take the 20 players most likely to go to State to Keller this Friday for the final SQT of the season. This will give us 3 games to get this group ready to go.



VFND!
Coach Poynter

Week #6

 The Vikings traveled to Pennington Field in Bedford for the 5th of 7 state qualifying tournaments in north Texas this season. As most everyone knows, Lamar is the only HS team in Texas to qualify for the state tournament every year of its existence. We talk to the team about “protecting the record” from the first day of practice. As I said in the first coach comments back in March, there was no 2020 7 on 7 season because of the pandemic. Because we missed a year, we literally had never met the players; let alone coached them. So, we knew building trust early with each other would be important. Then, unexpectedly Coach DeLay and some of his staff left LHS. So, football related activities such as spring football were put on hold. To help fill the void we scheduled extra 7 on 7 practice each week. We knew it was important for some continuity at least as a 7 on 7 team. So, all these factors meant we had extra challenges to qualify this season. We kept telling the players to stay focused on the things we COULD (effort; practice; conditioning) control and not worry about the other things like hiring a new HFC and staff; that would eventually come together. Still, we did not qualify through the first four tournaments. Down to three remaining tournaments the pressure to “perform” really started to mount. Could we stay focused and positive as a team and TRUST one another?

Last Saturday the Vikes did just that, keeping their poise and meeting the challenge, going 4-0 to qualify for the 23rd year! This showed me the guts this team has, and I think there were some real-life lessons learned about perseverance and performing under pressure. Couple qualifying with the hiring of Lamar’s own Billy Skinner as HFC and a great staff, things are really looking up!

We will still compete in the last two tournaments to get some of our younger players some varsity level competition and to stay sharp for the trip to College Station 6/24-6/26. I am very proud of these young men and their resilience. Join me in congratulation the newest members of this very exclusive club!

Coach Poynter

Week #5

 Coach comments # 5

The Vikes traveled to Northwest HS in Justin to compete in the 4th of 7 state qualifying tournaments scheduled in north Texas this season. As has been the case so far this season, we played well at times but struggled at others. We will have to iron out these “ups and downs” if we are to qualify this season. In most qualifying tournaments you need to go 4-0 on the day to be sure you are “in”. We have only been able to put together 2 wins in a row so far in 2021 so therein lies the challenge.
We went 1-1 in the pool games that mattered Saturday. By that I mean the third game did not count as it was against a team that had previously qualified. The first game the Vikes played well on both sides of the ball and won 26-6. The second game against Trophy Club was very close. They ran an effective offense against our “zone” defense and took the lead 20-13 at the half. Our coaches elected to play more “man” defense in the 2nd half and really slowed down their offense. Despite turning the ball over on downs and an interception the Vikings nearly won the game at the end with a beautiful long throw and catch. Unfortunately, time expired before we could get off a final play, so it goes down as a 20-19 defeat. In the 3rd game we played everyone to give some game experience to some of the younger or less experienced players.
We did have an unfortunate incident Saturday where one of our players and one of the TC players were ejected for the rest of the tournament for fighting. After visiting with our player Saturday evening his remorse was clear and he will be apologizing to the entire team at practice Thursday. There is no place for losing control; we teach our Vikings to compete and play hard but within the rules. Our team reputation, built up over two decades of competing is excellent within the 7 on 7 community. But like anything in life, a team or individual’s reputation can be destroyed in an instance and NO ONE has the right to do that. Some may wish for a harsher penalty, but I would rather teach with love and trust that the lesson sticks.
This Saturday we travel to LD Bell for the next SQT. We will post the pools later in the week.
VFND!
Coach Poynter  

Week 4

 Coach Comments

For the 3rd week in a row, the Vikes finished 2-1 and 2nd place in their pool out of 4 teams. We are 6-3 on the season. Our play on defense was particularly good again this week with two more “pick sixes” and several other interceptions. We are playing well at times on offense but need to be more consistent. But the effort and attitude on both sides of the ball is outstanding. We are close and we will get there (qualified).
Of note, we played Southlake Carroll on their home field in game 3 this past Saturday even though it was the Grapevine SQT (due to weather concerns). SLC has a consistently top-rated fall and 7 on 7 program as does Lamar. SLC’s QB, Quinn Ewers, is considered the #1 high school QB prospect in the nation in the Class of 2022 and is committed to Ohio State on a football scholarship. So, we knew we had to play our best against him and the Dragons to advance to the qualifying round.
Our offense struck first with a beautiful pass from Jaden Morris to Darrick Bledsoe for a TD. It was an even game most of the way with the score 14-13 SLC at the half. The Vikings managed to intercept Ewers twice, the last time with just a few minutes left in the game and the Vikes down by 6 points. A score and extra point would win the game for the Vikes but SLC managed to stop us just short and won 26-20.
In EACH of the first 3 SQT’s the team that won our pool also won the qualifying game. That is a good sign in that we are barely losing to teams that have qualified for the state tournament. We are NOT satisfied with “almost” and the kids and coaches will put in the work and extra effort to get the Viking program qualified for the 23nd year in a row.
This week we travel to Justin to the Northwest HS SQT. We will practice Thursday and then leave bright and early Saturday for Justin to take care of business.

VFND!

Coach Poynter 

Photos from the SLC SQT

2021 Coach Comments Week 3

The Vikes traveled to Arlington High for the 2^nd SQT of the season. For the second week in a row there was a 3-way tie in the pool after 2 games. Since “points scored” is the first tie breaker the Vikes were +6 meaning even if we lost the last game, as long as we lost by 5 or less, we would advance to the qualifying round. Down by just 3 with under two minutes left in the game Denton Guyer managed to score as time expired so they won the tie breaker; advanced to the qualifying round and won that game as well to qualify for the State Tournament in June. As you can imagine it was a tough way to finish the day. None the less a lot of good has come from these first two tournaments,. We are 4-2 and just need to take care of the little things more consistently and we will reach our goal of qualifying for the 22^nd year. The EFFORT is there for sure.

 

Several items of note as we settle into the season:

 

• The 25% shorter games places, a real premium on scoring each possession and getting 1-2 “stops” on defense. There is just not much time to make up ground each half.

• Extra point conversions are more valuable for the same reason (limited possessions).

• The weather (cool; wet) has made it hard for all teams to get into “summer heat” shape.

 

Saturday, we travel to Southlake Carroll Senior HS even though it is the Grapevine SQT. The reason is the anticipated wet weather necessitates putting some teams nearby to a second indoor facility, should it be needed due to storms. So, we will hopefully start outdoors at SLC and only move inside their “bubble” if necessary. Note there is a charge for admission for spectators; $3.00 for adults and $2.00 for students. The revised pool and physical address are posted on this site.

 

VFND

Coach Poynter

2021 Message Number Two

The Vikes traveled to Plano last Saturday for the first State Qualifying Tournament (SQT) of the 2021 season. It was a very windy day and that coupled with the new rule shortening games by 25%, kept scores down for all 24 teams for the most part. Below are the results of our pool:

 

Denton Guyer 40, North Garland 7

 

Frisco Wakeland 29, Arlington Lamar 20

 

Arlington Lamar 19, Denton Guyer 7

 

Frisco Wakeland 27, North Garland 12

 

Denton Guyer 25, Frisco Wakeland 19

 

Arlington Lamar 14, North Garland 12

 

 

3-way tie at 2-1 between Frisco/Lamar/Guyer. 1st “tie breaker” is points scored; only points scored between the 3 teams in the tie are counted:

 

Frisco: 29 + 19 = 48 (most points so pool winner)

Lamar: 20 + 19 = 39

Guyer:   7 + 25 = 32

 

Frisco advanced to the qualifying round and won so they have now qualified for the State tournament.

 

For 2nd place the first tie breaker is “head to head”. Lamar beat Guyer so Lamar finished 2nd. Guyer 3rd; NG 4^th

 

As you can see when we played well, we were probably the team to beat. Guyer beat Wakeland 25-19 and we beat Guyer 19-7. We were not as consistent as we need to be and we will have to learn to play up to our ability and not “down” to the competition. We did some really good things Saturday as well. So, while we have a lot of things to “clean up” our overall effort was good.

 

This Saturday (5/15) we play in the Arlington SQT. There are 7 total SQT’s that we intend to play in this season prior to the State Championship tournament in late June.

 

GO VIKES!

 

Coach Poynter