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

 

2021 Message #1

In all aspects of life 2020 was a year unlike any other in memory. The Viking 7 on 7 team, like so many other teams and sports across the country were gearing up for their seasons and then the door closed shut on all of them.

In the case of high school sports, missing an entire season is a big chunk of most players 2-3 years of participation/development. Like the other 1400 + high schools in Texas the Viking 7 on 7 coaching staff are comprised of unpaid volunteers. Because we have had literally no physical access during 2020, we have not even met most of the players! In the case of large schools such as Lamar, most sophomores play sub varsity 7 on 7; then move up to varsity their junior or even senior years. So missing last season means we are forming the 2021 team with no prior relationship with the players nor them with us as coaches!

So, developing TRUST with the kids right from the start will be very important. There is no question that you will play harder and “bond” with your teammates if like them and trust them. Same goes for the player/coach relationship. We are so fortunate to have 3 assistant coaches who not only played football and 7 on 7 for the Vikings, but now have more than 10 years of varsity 7 on 7 coaching experience each! I am very proud of these young men and know they will role up their sleeves and get to know each player as a person and an athlete as quickly as possible.

Having said that, we only have four practices prior to our first state qualifying tournament (SQT)! So, with a limited knowledge of the players going in and so few practices it may take a few SQT’s to find our footing as a team, but we will get there IF we use our time wisely and efficiently. We must have as many of the players present as possible for each practice ready to go with mask/gaiter; cleats; mouthpiece; helmet (we will provide at the first practice) and personal water. PLEASE parents help us by having them responsible for these items and on time for all events.

Playing time is naturally important to all athletes. As you know by high school and particularly varsity PT is merit based. We are allowed by rule to take 20 players to a tournament. We currently have 31 prospective players. How an athlete does in spring football carries a lot of weight as to who gets “PT” in 7 on 7. We (7 on 7) exist to support the growth of the football team. SO BE SURE YOUR SON KNOWS HE NEEDS TO IMPRESS THE FOOTBALL STAFF IN SPRING BALL IN ADDITION TO THE 7 ON 7 STAFF. We do not “cut” players (without cause), but we do not promise any tournament playing time either.

I am pleased to report that Angie Morris and Mendi Schutte have agreed to be our coordinators for the team. Getting the water; tents; food; rides; uniforms; monies collected etc., are jobs that have to be done for us to be successful and they will need your help! In that regard we will have a parent meeting at 4:30 pm on Saturday 4/24 at Cravens immediately after practice (come out early and watch if you like).

Let’s roll VIKES!
VFND,
Coach Poynter

VIKINGS SWEEP 4TH SQT POOL PLAY IN A ROW

From Coach Poynter:

On a very windy day the Vikings returned to LD Bell HS to compete in their final State Qualifying Tournament of the season. Even though we qualified several weeks ago, we still enter subsequent SQT's and use them as "high speed practices" to stay sharp for the state tournament 6/28-29. We are very fortunate to have First Rate, Inc. as our long-time primary sponsor and this allows us to enter multiple tournaments without too big of financial impact on our players and their families.

The Vikings finished the regular season 15-2, including winning the last 10 games played in a row. The two losses early in the season were by a combined 3 points and prior to our having some of our starters available from the track team. So by any measure it has been a successful regular season.


Although we won all 3 games Saturday, I think the players would tell you we did not play (or coach) to our capability.  This team has a lot of talent and can win most of the games it plays at local tournaments. The challenge we face going forward is to play at the peak of our ability every time we step on the field. At the State Championship, every team has been "vetted" and qualified by beating other good teams. At our best we are capable of competing with anyone in the State. So the challenge to the players and the coaches is to practice the next two weeks at our peak performance level so that becomes our routine. As I tell the kids, it is all about us now; how we practice and play between now and the end of the month will define just how good we can be!

Last Saturday we gave the kids their uniforms to keep as acknowledgement of their hard work. We will practice Tuesday this week (6:30-8:30 pm at Cravens). Please note we will NOT be using the north parking lot any longer this month as it is being used for construction staging. We will park and enter Cravens from the baseball end (south). On Wednesday, my wife Peggy and I will host the players and coaches at our home for burgers/swim from 6-8pm a tradition before the state tournament we started many years ago! Peggy has let me spend from early March to early July the last 18 years coaching the Vikes. It does limit other things we can do together during this time period and she is so supportive as she knows how much I love the players and the game!

We will know by this Sunday evening who we will play against on 6/28 in Pool Play. At that time I will post that and various other items such as our team travel itinerary and a site map for the fields at Veteran's Park in College Station. We will have two very important practices that week on Monday and Tuesday evening before we leave Thursday for State. GO VIKES! VFND.   

VIKINGS SWEEP 3RD POOL IN A ROW

The Viking varsity 7 on 7 team traveled to Justin Northwest HS Friday and went 3-0 in pool play for the 3rd consecutive week. Keep in mind the other teams in each of these pools are trying to qualify for state so they are focused. Since we have already qualified we use the remaining tournaments as "high speed practices". Like any sports team the kids tire of playing intra squad games and they really look forward to playing other schools, with refs in a competitive environment. Because of our sponsorship from First Rate, Inc. we are able to pay the $300.00 entry fee to up to six tournaments per year prior to State. This gives the Vikes as much or more tournament experience than any other team in the area. That extra work and competitiveness helps us get ready for the high level of competition we face in every game at the state tournament.

For the 2nd week in a row our "D" turned in a great performance. We shut out two teams in the first half of the 3 games we played. 7 on 7 is designed to score; the rules favor the offense. So to pitch 4 shutout halves in the last two tournaments... We also had 5 interceptions in 3 games which is ball hawking! Our offense is really spreading the ball around. Some years we might have 1-2 "go to" receivers. But this group with Jack at QB, has 5 "go to" receivers on the field at a time! That really stresses any defense we go up against. We played well on offense but we can definitely be more consistent and we will get there!

Perhaps the hardest part of my job each year is reducing the squad down to the final 20 players that will compete for us at the state tournament. This year we have 23-24 players that could make most teams final 20. So telling 3-4 kids they are not going after putting in the work is really hard. All I can tell them is that 7 on 7 is not real football and that this in no way reflects on their ability in REAL FOOTBALL. All of these are great kids; which I think reflects on you as parents and Coach DeLay and his staff since they have them most of the year.

This week we will practice twice then travel to LD Bell for our last tournament before State.

VFND
Coach Poynter

VIKINGS DO IT AGAIN! QUALIFY FOR THE 22ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR!

Almost a year to the day after the serious injury to our teammate and fellow Viking Brett Green, the Vikes returned to LD Bell HS and qualified for a state record 22nd consecutive time.

The Vikings went 4-0 and seemed to get stronger as the day went on. The wind was blowing 15-20 mph out of the SE and was gusting higher at times. In spite of that, QB Jack Dawson through the ball very accurately all day including some pin point deep shots for TD's.

Defensively the Vikings were dominant particularly in the first half of games. In 4 games the Vikings allowed 0, 0, 13, 13 points for a total of just 6.5 points per half. This puts a lot of pressure on the opponents to play "catch up" and throw deeper or more risky throws in the 2nd half in order to try to score more quickly or at all. Overall the Viking allowed 20 points per game while the Viking offense was good for 38 points per game. That is an 18 point (3 score) differential which shows the Vikes really were finishing games over the course of the day. Braxton Thomas and Harrison Griffith each had 2 interceptions and James Douglas had one.

Offensively we were equally effective. While the deep throws mentioned above were impressive to watch, it is our play mixture that is keeping other defenses off balance. We have a great TE who knows how to get open and catches everything; speed and great hands at the slot and running back positions and two of the very best wide receivers in the area. When you combine that with a 3 year starter at QB you have a versatile offense that can be explosive or play "slow ball" to eat up the clock as needed. We converted 19/22 extra points which is good but we strive for 100% in that area because we know that deep in the state tournament that is sometimes the difference.

We do not have a tournament this weekend which is great; we need a couple of intensive practices to smooth out some areas and get better in others. While I love tournament play, our chances of real success in College Station goes up if we have several weeks of solid practices including the remaining 3 tournaments as "high speed practices" to be as ready as we can be to compete for a state 7 on 7 title.

I will talk more about the upcoming state tournament and the historical perspective of qualifying 22 years in a row later this week. Congratulations to the 2019 Vikings; their families; coaches and everyone associated with this program. You are indeed part of something special. VFND!