Although Rockdale’s 7-on-7 squad missed out on a chance to play in the state tournament after going 1-2 in the Division III regional at Brock High School on Saturday, they ended the day on a high note after losing to tourney champion Decatur 40-34.
“Decatur ended up winning the entire thing. But we were fully engaged by then and we scored on all but one of our possessions. They beat teams we lost to, like Whitney by 21 and defeated Springtown as well and we came out and were fully engaged by that third game,” said Coach Eric Robinson. “We were making good passes and the play-calling was really smart so I definitely think we ended the day very well.”
The 190-mile trip to Brock High School had the players up early, according to Robinson. He said the boys were up by 4 a.m. in order to make it to their 8 a.m. game with Whitney, who had close to half of their distance to travel for the same contest.
“I hate to say it but we were definitely lagged,” said Robinson. “We were very fortunate to take a smaller bus up there for them to rest but guys were still tired. Our had to play pretty much the moment we got there and you could tell we were still a little out of it.”
Whitney won the first game.
“They kind of jumped on us,” Robinson said. “But towards the end we actually jumped out on top and looked like we were a little more ready to play. It just took us awhile to get there.”
In their second game with Springtown, they lost to a really good team, according to Robinson.
“Springtown was a pretty good squad and by that game we were much more awake and our quarterback Jace (Robinson) was calling more plays that cater more to seven-on-seven and we did well. The only thing that really got us is that defensive players aren’t allowed to put pressure on the offense and we got called for it a couple times. It’s a difficult situation just because you don’t want to get penalized but at the same time you don’t want to discourage kids from doing making contact just because in the fall they’ll be able to do that.”
This was the end of Rockdale’s season in the Texas State 7-on-7 league but they will play in local contests that have yet to be determined.
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