COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Even in the offseason, high school football in Texas truly never sleeps. Whether it be in the colder months of December, or in the blazing hot summer months, the talent is out there to compete and get better. In East Texas, it's certainly no exception.
Six local teams qualified for the 7-on-7 football State Tournament in College Station over the weekend. Those participating included Harmony, Sabine, Daingerfield, Tyler, Kilgore and Grapeland. Even though the heat index easily climbed over 100 degrees, the players and coaches cherished the opportunity to compete in the summer tournament.
"It's a great experience because you have to earn the right to be here. It's a great experience to play in a big-time atmosphere against some really good competition," said Harmony head coach Brian Mauk. "We get to see what we're made of, as well as what we're good at and what we need to work on."
Over 150 teams in total from across the state made their way to Aggieland for the weekend, divided into three divisions based on school population. The game format is a lot quicker than traditional football due to the lesser number of players on the field, times of games and offensive heavy schemes.
Regardless, the coaches value the tournament highly, providing them a measuring stick to see how their team performs under similar circumstances that they may see during the season. Most importantly, it also gives them an opportunity to buffer out some schemes or plays with the extra opportunities against high level talent.
"This was our second time to qualify in school history, it's been 10 years since we've been here. We definitely feel like we hit one of our goals coming out of the summer to be able to qualify for the state tournament," said Sabine head coach Cody Gilbert. "We see if we can make certain adjustments within our scheme that the kids know. If adversity hits, we can see if we're able to stay together. Those are the things we work on. It's a really good team building weekend."
For the players, the experience is beyond valuable as well. Every team gets an opportunity to read defenses and run plays with their teammates during the actual season. However, not everyone gets that opportunity during the offseason against elite teams at the 7-on-7 tournament.
Sabine senior quarterback Colt Sparks said the tournament is such a great chance for him and his teammates to get better and more prepared for the upcoming season due to those reasons.
"It's amazing. We get a lot of opportunities to see other teams, defenses and coverages. Our defense can see other offenses too," Sparks said. "For me, I get to see those coverages with extra time, not having the defenses coming after you. I can see everything break down really well."
Tyler High was the best finisher of the weekend, falling to the eventual champion DeSoto in the final day. Kilgore safety Jayden Sanders also took home a recognition of his own as he was selected as the overall defensive MVP of the tournament.