Published: June 27, 2009 09:29 pm      

Westwood reaches state 7-on-7 tournament

PALESTINE — The Westwood Panther skill players are finding success even before the start of the 2009 season.

Westwood will be playing in the state 7-on-7 tournament in College Station in July.

“It is pretty impressive and we are really excited about this,” Westwood coach Roger Mays said.

The state tournament is held July 9 and 10, with most of the games being played at Texas A&M University’s interscholastic fields and the championship game being played at Kyle Field.

Westwood will be one of 30 teams playing in the Division II, which is comprised of schools from Class 3A to A. Pool play will take place on July 9 which will determine the seeding for July 10.

Westwood started the summer by playing 7-on-7 with three area teams — Rusk, Crockett and Jacksonville.

“We were seeing some good things and in the five weeks we played, we were 9-1,” Mays said.

After the completion of the informal 7-on-7 league, Mays found out about the state qualifying tournament that was held at Tyler Junior College last week.

“It was a last-minute deal but we were able to get 15 kids involved,” Mays said. “We had sophomores through incoming seniors and that is a good thing, because we are going to have to count on all of them next year.”

The regional qualifier was divided into two pools, with the winner of each pool getting a chance to go to the state tournament.

Westwood opened up pool play with a 34-13 win over Crockett as the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 21-0 in the second half. Westwood followed with a 51-14 win over Canton and then faced Kaufman with the winner qualifying for the state tournament.

Westwood scored at the end of regulation to tie the game and force overtime. Kaufman scored first in the overtime, but Westwood deflected the extra point attempt. The Panthers then scored on their first play and converted the extra point to win 39-38.

“They never gave up during that game and that is going to serve them well during the season,” Mays said of the Panthers.

Mays hopes that Westwood reaching the state 7-on-7 tournament will benefit the group once the season starts in August.

“As far as actual play, it is not like what they will be facing in the fall,” Mays said. “But the biggest aspect is camaraderie and getting used to playing together.”

Playing 7-on-7 has helped bring the skilled position players closer together.

“Our skilled kids are going to feed off the success and it will flow into August,” Mays said. “They are going to show up on a stronger footing once two-a-days start because they already are working together this summer.”

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Scott Tyler may be contacted via e-mail at styler@palestineherald.com