It might be summer, but football’s in the air
The start of the 2015 football season in Texas remains several weeks away.
But that doesn’t mean the state isn’t going 100 mph for its football. It just doesn’t include helmets and pads.
Teams from all corners of the state and at all levels will be descending Thursday on College Station for the Adidas 7-on-7 State Championships.
The Greater Houston area will have 25 teams participating, with a few advancing for the first time and others adding on to lengthy streaks.
Making state debuts
As 7-on-7 continues to spread in popularity, a new group of teams every year qualifies for the state tournament for the first time. From Houston, it’s five teams — George Ranch, Dickinson, Tomball Memorial, Needville and Lutheran South.
Three are hoping to build on historic seasons.
George Ranch added 12 wins in 2014 to the 13 it won the season before, giving the Longhorns a 30-8 mark and two state quarterfinal appearances in its three years of existence.
Dickinson went 13-1 a year ago, matching the most victories in a season in program history. The other time was 37 years ago.
Lutheran South went 9-3 in 2014, posting the most wins in program history.
Streaks
Arlington Lamar has the rare distinction of being the only team in Texas to qualify for every state tournament since the event began in 1998. But the Vikings have never won.
As far as Houston teams adding to tournament streaks, the top of that list starts with Cy-Fair (16 straight years), Stratford (12), The Woodlands (nine) and Navasota (nine).
Stratford has 13 appearances. The Spartans advanced in 2002, missed the next year but haven’t since. It’s 16 for The Woodlands, which made seven straight
before missing in 2006. Last time memorable
Bay City was a tournament regular in its younger days, advancing five years in a row (2001-05).
In that final trip, the Blackcats squared off against Baytown Lee and Ganders junior quarterback Jeremy Moses in the championship game. Lee won its second title in five years while Moses became a collegiate All-American and the first player in Stephen F. Austin history to win the Walter Payton Award. Moses hasn’t played since 2010 and is entering his fourth season as an SFA assistant. Cy-Fair ISD en masse
District 17-6A, which is Cy-Fair ISD’s 10 schools, will have the most teams in the 64-team Division I field.
Cy-Fair makes its 16th consecutive appearance, joining Langham Creek and Cypress Falls (both making third straight trip) along with Cypress Springs, which is back for the first time in nine years.
Cy-Fair ISD sent five teams the previous two years and four in 2012.
The district is still looking for a championship bracket winner, though. Cy Falls ended the finals drought by winning the consolation bracket last year. In the championship bracket, the district’s best was Cy-Fair reaching the 2009 final.