VIKES DEPART FOR COLLEGE STATION TODAY

The kids put in the necessary work this week at practice and we are ready to go down to the State 7 on 7 tournament and compete. In thinking back over the 59 games I have participated in at State as the Head Coach for the Vikes there are a couple of things that I am really proud of:

* Viking players have always traveled well. We stay at the same hotel year after year because both parties treat the other with respect. They really do ACT like they belong at State.

* We play hard all of the time. With just a few exceptions we advance to the Championship bracket on Saturday which means we finished 1st or 2nd in Pool Play. So not only have we made it to the State tournament a record 18 years in a row but we do something with it when we get there. Four trips to the final 4 and two more to the quarterfinals surely attests to that player effort.

* Not only are the Vikes the only team in the State of Texas to qualify all 18 years but we have accomplished that feat ON THE ROAD every single time. Can you imagine if the Cowboys or TCU played only "road games"? We are never put in an "easy" pool as most host schools do for themselves in order to increase their chances of qualifying in their own tournament. By doing it the hard way on the road we are more ready to take on the quality of opponent in College Station.

We have a great challenge in front of us the next few days. There are a lot of talented teams and players to contend with. To narrow it down from 64 teams to a State Championship requires incredible talent, effort and a bit of luck. I promise we will give it our VERY BEST. VFND.

Jim Poynter and Staff

VIKES TURN ATTENTION TO 7 ON 7 STATE TOURNAMENT

After finishing the "regular" season 13-4 we will now start our preparations for the state tournament in College Station 7/10-7/11. Attached under the PDF tab on the home page is information on pool play and a roster of the 2015 Viking team that will compete at State. As was our intention this season we chose to limit our weekly practices to just one and compete each Saturday in pool play against other teams. This let us get 17 games under our belt which is more than most teams, as many elect to sit out SQT's after they qualify. We feel like playing at game speed against other teams all season gives us an advantage when we get to College Station. Most of this Lamar team has participated in at least one previous state tournament and our coaching staff has been there perhaps more that any other. We will take off this week leading into the 4th then pick up with several big practices Monday-Wednesday of next week prior to departing on Thursday.

As is the intention of the State 7 on 7 Association in the "drawing" for pool opponents each team plays against teams from other parts of the state. Humble is located just north of Houston, Stratford is in Houston proper and Coppell is up the street here in the Metroplex.

Lamar qualified on 5/23 at the Rockwall SQT. Lamar has qualified for state a record 18 straight times.

Atascocita (Humble):  Qualified on 6/20 at the Tyler SQT. They have qualified for state 2 times.

Houston Stratford qualified on 6/20 at the Cougar SQT. Stratford has qualified for state 13 times. In 2007 Stratford defeated Lamar in the state semi-finals 35-31 behind current NFL star QB Andrew Luck.

Coppell qualified on 6/12 at the Marcus SQT. Coppell beat Lamar 14-12 in a time shortened game on 6/20. Coppell has qualified for state 9 times.

I will post more later as time permits on our pool opponents. This group of Vikes has talent and with the preparation we have and will put in prior to arriving in College Station I expect us to compete very favorably.

Coach Jim Poynter

VIKES GO 3-0 AT THE MIDLOTHIAN SQT

The Vikes got right back to form this past Saturday winning all three pool games. We played with 7 varsity players not available which was a challenge in putting together offensive and defensive combinations. In spite of being somewhat short handed the players responded and showed their athleticism and flexibility in winning all three games. Scores:

Lamar 41   San Antonio Warren 24
Lamar 40   North Crowley  32
Lamar 40   Wylie East 32

At the state tournament in a couple of weeks it will be important for us to be able to play all 20 players at a high level and in some cases in multiple positions. Saturday demonstrated we are capable of doing that.

MIDLOTHIAN POOL INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY

We will play in our final SQT pool this Saturday as we continue our preparations for the State Tournament. We will be playing at Midlothian Heritage HS located at 4000 FM 1387 in Midlothian. Pool play begins at 9:00 am and we are on Field # 1 (north end) for all three games.

Game 1 Lamar vs. San Antonio Warren
Game 2 Lamar vs. North Crowley
Game 3 Lamar vs. Wylie East

We will depart Lamar east parking lot at 7:00 am Saturday and will be back at approximately 1:00 pm. Be sure to bring cleats, mouthpiece, entry fee and signed liability form.

Immediately following the last game we will have a short parent/player meeting to discuss the logistics for the State Tournament.

SATURDAY GAMES AND TIMES FOR VIKES AT LAMAR

9:00 am vs Arlington High on Cravens (north end)
9:40 am vs. Waxahachie on Cravens (north end)
10:20 am vs. Fort Worth All Saints Cravens (south end)
11:00 am vs. Plano West Cravens (south end)
11:40 am vs. Coppell Grass Practice Field

Note: each game will last 30 minutes (instead of 40) and will have 10 minutes between each game.

VIKES TO PLAY AT HOME THIS SATURDAY

Although Arlington Bowie is hosting this Saturday's SQT there will be a "Qualifiers Pool" located at Lamar on Cravens Field. There will be 5 teams in the pool who have previously qualified for the state tournament so the competition will be good in each game. The Vikes will play 4 games on Saturday with the first game scheduled for 9:00 am. As soon as the host school issues a game schedule I will post it here. Players need to be at Lamar in east parking lot by 7:45 am Saturday.

Practice Tuesday night at Cravens at 6:30-8:15 pm. There could be weather in the area Tuesday. The best way to get up to the minute information is via our twitter account @lamar7on7   please follow us if you have not already done so. Remember we practice unless there is lightning in the immediate area.

VIKES WIN 2 OF 3 AT FLOWER MOUND MARCUS SQT

We started out slow but finished the day very strong with a dominating victory over an always talented Desoto team.

Scores:  Game 1: 20-26 Loss to the Colony
              Game 2: 31-30 Win over Lone Star Frisco in o/t
              Game 3: 48-19 Win over Desoto

The Vikes are 9-1 this season in State Qualifiers. While that is obviously a great record we have had nothing to achieve in the last couple of qualifiers as we are already qualified. That makes it harder to get "up" for every team in every game. It was a good wake up call for us to get beat by a team that was not as talented as we are in the first game Saturday. The Colony out played us on both sides of the ball and deserved to win. We played better in the second game and won in overtime. In the 3rd games against one of the most athletically talented programs in the State year in/year out we played our most complete game of the season. The Viking "D" shut out Desoto and their QB who is committed to Ohio State in 2016. Just as impressive our "O" scored TD's on 7 out of 7 possessions and coverted 6 of 7 extra point attempts. The take away for us is that when we want to we can be as good of 7 on 7 in the State-so the test will be for us to continue to play as we did in the last game going forward.

We have a really good test this coming Saturday as all of the teams in our pool have already qualified for State. We will play 4 games against good competition AND THE GAMES WILL BE AT LAMAR so come out and watch!