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| Springtown High 7-on-7 bound for state Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Mark K. Campbell
For the first time ever, a group of 7-on-7 Porcupines is about to join the top skill football players in the state.
Springtown and 63 other Division II teams qualified this summer for a berth in the state tournament where 16 sets of four will play a round-robin series. After winning its own tourney way back on May 26, the Porcupines unit locked in a spot at College Station, site of the state tourney.
On Thursday, July 19, SHS will play in Pool L against Beckville, Lorena, and Port Isabel. Division II contains schools from 3A-1A. Beckville is 1A while Lorena and Port Isabel play in 3A. The Lorena Leopards, in 17-3A, are picked fifth out of six teams by Texas Football Magazine. The Port Isabel Tarpons are the 32-3A pick to win that district. Tiny Beckville, the Bearcats, is picked fifth out of 9-1A, Division I.
Springtown will open pool play on Field B against Port Isabel at 2 p.m. The Porcupines face Lorena at 4 then Beckville at 6. A top two finish moves teams to the Championship bracket; landing in the bottom two drops teams into Consolation. In pool play, Springtown will be home in every game and will get the ball to start the second half each time. Head-to-head winners will break pool standings ties. If that doesn’t work, then come total points scored then total points allowed. If those are all tied, a coin flip decides the winners. Then it reverts back to head-to-head. The next day, Friday, July 20, all teams will play at least one game. The Championship round starts at 9 a.m., and the Consolation bracket begins at 8. Title games will be played at Kyle Field. The Consolation championship is set for approximately 1:15 p.m. The Championship bracket title game gets underway around 2:15. The idea of a summertime tournament for skill players began late last century. The first 7-on-7 state tournament champion was Southlake Carroll in 1998. A single winner was declared until 2007 when two divisions were created: I for 5A and 4A and II for all others. Last year, DeSoto won the big school bracket and Melissa the small school bracket. Each 7-on-7 field – at sprawling Penberthy Intramural Fields on the Texas A&M campus – is 45 yards long and 160 feet wide with a 10-yard end zone. Each game is conducted with two 20 minutes halves with no timeouts, barring injury. There’s a 10-minute break between halves. During games, time announcements of 10, 5, and 2 minutes remaining are proclaimed loudly. Visitors get the ball first and wear white. All plays are forward passing – no running or kicking; a player may lateral, however, after a catch. Fields are marked every 15 yards with cones denoting first downs. The offense has three plays to cover that much ground for another first down. Offenses move in the same direction always. A quarterback has four seconds to pass. No blocking is permitted. Squads get six points for a touchdown; one point for a PAT from the 3-yard line, two points from the 10; and two points for returning a PAT effort past the 45 defensively. A ball carrier tagged behind the 45 earns the defense a 2-point safety. Interceptions may be returned for a TD. A ball carrier is down when touched with two hands by a defender. Fumbles are dead on the spot, but muffed snaps are not dead balls. The required center is not an eligible receiver. Penalties include defensive “chucking” receivers, pass interference, and trash talking. In the event of a tie, teams will each get four downs from the 15-yard line to score. Ensuing OTs require teams to attempt a 2-point PAT. High school coaches are banned from sidelines or serving as coaches. Visitors can stay on-site at designated RV berths on the Olsen Field lot only. Reservations of $35 per day are required (979-862-2551, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.). Live updates will be posted at www.twitter.com/state7on7. |
