CLEAR LAKE SHINES IN STATE TOURNAMENT

CLEAR LAKE (8/7/03).  The 2003 Clear Lake Falcon 7on7 football team concluded their season with an excellent performance at the fifth-annual Texas State Championship in College Station.

The rugged two day tournament began on Friday, July 18th and featured 64 of the best high school teams in Texas.  Each of these teams earned a spot in this championship by finishing first or second in one the various qualifying tournaments held throughout the state.  Clear Lake qualified by finishing first in the Friendswood Tournament on June 7th.

For Friday’s competition, each team was assigned to one of 16 pools.  Each pool had 4 teams that competed in a round robin format.  The top 2 teams in each pool headed for the championship round on Saturday, while the bottom 2 teams played in the consolation round.  Clear Lake competed in a pool along with John Tyler, Klein, and Allen.   Predictions by the various media outlets had John Tyler winning our pool with Allen finishing second.

Fortunately, our boys did not read the papers!  Our first opponent was John Tyler and we completely dominated them……for most of the game.  The final score was 26 to 13.  Up second was Klein.  They were also no match for us offensively or defensively.  The final score was 33 to 13. 

The last game of the day was clearly the most challenging.  A win over Allen would guarantee us a spot in the championship round on Saturday.  It was apparent from the beginning that Allen’s strategy was to be very physical.  And it almost worked.  We responded with our own aggressive play that resulted in a few untimely penalties.  However, we regrouped and ultimately squeaked out a last second win……..34 to 33!  This was a complete team victory.  Everyone stepped up and played their best.  The offense scored late to put us ahead and the defense stopped Allen’s extra point try to seal the victory.

Clear Lake ended Friday with 3 wins (and zero losses) and finished first in our pool while John Tyler finished second.  Allen and Klein advanced to the consolation round.  What was our reward for playing so well on Friday….……….The Woodlands!

It was not our day on Saturday.  The Woodlands took advantage of some early breaks and beat us 34 to 0.  Our tournament run was over.  The team was disappointed but also proud of their accomplishments.  Clear Lake finished the 7on7 season with 11 wins and 6 losses, an exciting tournament win at Friendswood (a first for Clear Lake), and a second consecutive birth in the state championship.   The players deserve all the credit for their hard work and dedication.  See you next year!

Dan Niemczak

Clear Lake 7on7 Football