The Lions – who have advanced to the 7-on-7 state tournament for 20 consecutive years dating back to 2000 – will venture to Graham as 7-on-7 football has resumed this year after the COVID-19 pandemic ended last year’s season before it ever started.
Saturday’s Graham qualifier is being split over two locations – Newton Field in Graham and Porcupine Stadium in Springtown. The Lions will compete in Pool B in Graham with games at 9:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. against Krum, Wichita Falls Hirschi and Dumas.
If the Lions win their pool, they will advance to the 1:45 p.m. semifinal game against the winner of Pool A – Graham, Breckenridge, Peaster and Bridgeport, who play pool games at 9, 10:30 a.m. and noon. The winner of the semifinal moves on the 7-on-7 state tournament at Veterans Memorial Park and Complex in College Station June 24-25.
“We’re going to take 20 guys over there,” said Lions head coach Sammy Burnett, who along with the rest of the staff will spectate during the action. “Krum is a good football team, they’ve got a good quarterback I understand. Hirschi is going to be athletic, and Dumas has the kids right now, so it’s going to be fun to see where we’re at and evaluate ourselves. We may surprised ourselves, either good or bad, but we’re going to go out there and grow so when August hits we have a great foundation of what we’re trying to do and when we get to the real football they’ll be ready to go.”
Competing in the Springtown portion of the event are Midlothian Heritage, Melissa, Sanger and Decatur in Pool C, along with Springtown, McKinney Christian, Stephenville and Whitney in Pool D. The last remaining team from the Springtown draw will also advance to state.
Following the Graham tournament, the Lions will also compete at Burnet (May 22), Midlothian Heritage (May 29), Brownwood (June 5) and Jim Ned (June 11).
Lion skill players have already caught the eyes of the coaching staff in offseason and 7-on-7 work.
“Talking to our coaches, I don’t know that we won’t have a better receiving corps than we did a couple of years ago in 2018 when we had A.J. McCarty and Zach Strong and Isyah Campos and Dane Johnson,” Burnett said. “They’re pretty dominant guys, they’re tall, they’re able to go up and get balls which gives us a greater opportunity to throw those deep shots and 50-50 balls. They’ve been in the program longer than those other guys were so they’re more educated in the system and understand a little better.”
Players to watch for the Lions include receivers Jason Jackson, Elias Huerta, Brayden Daub, Thad Hines and Case Markham, as well as quarterbacks Chance Jones and Ike Hall.
“Jason reminds me of A.J. when A.J. would go up and catch a ball with his hands and just separate himself, he made a couple of catches like that in the end zone Monday,” Burnett said. “Elias Huerta is doing an outstanding job as a slot receiver. Braydon Daub is a kid we moved from quarterback to receiver. He’s in the six-foot range, he’s green at the position but he’s learning and made a big play for us. Thad Hines is another one that’s about 6-3 and playing on the opposite side of Jason and is making some great plays. Case Markham is at slot receiver on the other side.
“People ask me all the time who our quarterback is going to be and right now there’s no doubt Chance Jones is the front runner. He is doing a phenomenal job. He’s grown about 3 inches, he’s understanding the system, he’s spinning the football extremely well. His arm’s gotten a whole lot stronger and that’s a testament to his work ethic. He’s worked for a year to get where he’s at it. I’m getting pretty excited about Chance and what he may be able to bring to the table. Ike Hall has also done an outstanding job, he’s a freshman that’s going to be a sophomore next year. I’m a big fundamentals guy, I believe in mechanics, and he’s growing and learning, but he still has a little ways to go with his footwork.”
The Lions have played two weeks of 7-on-7 league action at Brownwood High School, with two more weeks scheduled – 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 18 and 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 24. This past Monday, the Lions knocked off Dublin and San Saba in rain-shortened action.
“The defense played extremely well and we’re starting to click offensively,” Burnett said. “Our kids came out offensively and were lighting it up against San Saba. I was really excited and pleased. We won the first game, scored 20-something points in the first half but we weren’t clicking too well in the second half and we were dropping a few balls. Against Dublin we started it off with a pick six and Noah Barron picked off balls on the first three series. That Dublin team, we tied them the first week and our goal for this week was to get sound on defense, and they did. The defense played extremely well and we stayed in zone, which is rare for 7-on-7.”