Dalton Johnson (26) and JT Sivils (81) team up on a quarterback sack during the 2010 football season. They will be two of several key returning varsity players including Michael Romero, Caleb Kimbro, Mason Cervenka, Taven Mayberry, Jaxson Schaubhut, Granger Studdard, Mark Oldham and Taylor Hough who will try to team up to get the Rebels back to the State 7-on-7 Tournament in College Station July 15-16 this summer. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
by JASON GORDON
After a three-year stretch of 7-on-7 dominance from 2004-2006 Hays High looks to have the talent to reach that level again this summer.
Those three straight state tournament appearances in the middle part of the last decade peaked in 2005 when the Rebels won two games at the state tourney with the likes of star quarterback Nash McPheeters scrambling and throwing the ball to Rebel receivers.
Since then, however, Hays High has made only one state 7-on-7 appearance in 2009.
But now, with the team returning several key skill players who played significant varsity minutes last fall, the Rebs are looking forward to a successful 7-on-7 summer season.
The Tuesday night league season, in which teams play double headers at Shelton Stadium, began on May 24 and runs until June 28.
In between, Hays will play state-qualifying tournaments at Lake Travis June 4 and at Alamo Heights June 18 before hosting its own tournament June 25.
The top two finishers in each tournament will qualify for the State 7-on-7 Tournament in College Station July 15-16.
“I think we’ll be back this year,” said Hays 7-on-7 coach Ryan Shelton. “We had a couple of years where our best athletes were in baseball, and we had trouble getting some of our best players to the tournaments last year, but this is a very dedicated group this season.”
Michael Romero, Caleb Kimbro, Mason Cervenka, Taven Mayberry, Jaxson Schaubhut, JT Sivils, Dalton Johnson, Granger Studdard, Mark Oldham and Taylor Hough were all key contributors for Hays’ playoff team last fall and return for the Rebs this summer.
“We will have a lot of leadership on the field,” Cervenka said. “I think getting to state this summer is a realistic goal. We’re going to try and go out and qualify during our first tournament.”
Hays will also be running new head football coach and athletic coordinator Blake Feldt’s fast-paced offense this summer.
“A lot of the terminology is different, but the concepts are similar,” Shelton said. “A lot of what we do will be at a faster pace.”
Cervenka said the team has enjoyed learning the new offense in football class this spring.
“It’s more of a spread offense with some no huddle,” Cervenka said. “We’ll be running a lot of the same plays this summer that we could be running in the fall, and that will definitely help us get in synch with our timing and route running.”
Hays has had little trouble getting players to come out for 7-on-7 so far.
“The last time we had more than 20 players on the team was 2006,” Shelton said. “This year we had 23 at one practice. They have not only been conscientious about showing up, but they’ve been showing up early. This is by far the best group I can remember having everyone show up each and every time. I remember when we first started 7-on-7 having to go to houses to wake players up for tournaments.”
Although a trip to the state tournament this summer in College Station would be nice, the main focus is always to get ready for the upcoming fall season.
“We are very excited about this summer,” Kimbro said. “But our main goal is to get ready for a great season this fall.”
Shelton agreed that the 2011 fall football season is what 7-on-7 is all about.
“We really want to get the team better for the fall,” he said. “That’s always our goal as coaches. We try not to get too caught up in wins and losses in the summer, but that said, we do feel like we have a chance to be pretty a pretty successful 7-on-7 team.”
