High School Sports

By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer

Thanks to two late defensive stands, John Tyler edged Whitehouse ‘B’ 27-24 Saturday in the semifinals of the Tyler Lee 7-on-7 State Qualifying Tournament at Lindsey Park. The victory moved JT into the championship game, but more importantly, qualified the Lions for the Fox Sports Net 7-on-7 state tournament July 11-12 at Texas A&M.

JT and Sulphur Springs, which beat Whitehouse ‘A’ 55-30 in its semifinal, both qualified for state by advancing to the finals. They join host Robert E. Lee and Arlington Lamar, who qualified at earlier tournaments. Lee and Lamar took part Saturday, but weren’t allowed to advance past pool play.

The only negative to JT’s day was the championship game.

Led by blue-chip quarterback Tyrik Rollison, Sulphur Springs beat the Lions, 59-34. Rollison tossed eight touchdowns as the Wildcats only failed to score on one of its possessions in the game.

The Lions fell behind 14-0 at the start, but quarterback Jeremy Johnson got JT on the board, finding Dimitri Curtis in the end zone. He connected with Dominic Ward for the PAT to make the score 14-7. JT then stopped Rollison, but couldn’t take advantage, giving the ball back to Sulphur Springs after a three-and-out.

Rollison never blinked again, leading the Tigers on six consecutive scoring drives. Sulphur Springs also intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown early in the second half.

Johnson finished with five touchdowns, three going to Curtis and the other two to Ward, but it wasn’t enough.

“Overall I was pleased besides the last game,” said JT coach Reginald Coleman. “They put up too many points. We got behind, got started off slow. You have to compete from the time the ball is snapped to the time the whistle is blown.

“I think the guys kind of relaxed because I guess we already qualified, but you have to compete every game.”

JT reached the title game, thanks to come-from-behind wins in pool play over Rockwall and Arlington Lamar. Thanks to Lamar not being able to advance past pool play, JT needed to defeat Rockwall in its final Pool A game to reach the semifinals. The Lions trailed at halftime, but rallied in the second half to win 41-27.

“The guys remembered what happened last year when Rockwall put us out, and they buckled down and got after it in the second half,” Coleman said. “They played good ‘D’ and executed.”

In the semifinal against a seemingly overmatched Whitehouse ‘B’ team, JT ‘A’ struggled throughout and held a tenuous 27-24 lead with five minutes to play. The Lions defense stopped Whitehouse, but an interception two plays later gave the Wildcats a final opportunity with one minute left. Whitehouse ‘B’ converted a first down, but its final heave into the end zone was knocked away by JT’s Javilus Heard to end the game.

Whitehouse ‘B’ reached the semifinal by getting out of Pool B which featured Lee ‘A’, New Waverly and Forney. Whitehouse ‘A’ reached its semifinal by taking care of business in Pool D against Lindale, Pine Tree and John Tyler ‘B’.

Tyler Lee 7-on-7 State Qualifying Tournament

Saturday at Lindsey Park

Pool A

John Tyler A 25, Katy Morton Ranch 14; *Rockwall 35, Arlington Lamar 34; John Tyler A 27, Arlington Lamar 26; Katy Morton Ranch 35, Rockwall 32; John Tyler A 41, Rockwall 27; Arlington Lamar 33, Morton Ranch 27. Pool A winner – John Tyler A.

Pool B

*Robert E. Lee A 25, New Waverly 24; Whitehouse B 34, Forney 21; Robert E. Lee A 41, Whitehouse B 27; New Waverly 18, Forney 13; Robert E. Lee A 46, Forney 8; Whitehouse B 27, New Waverly 21; Pool B winner – Whitehouse B.

Pool C

Marshall 21, Jacksonville 20; Sulphur Springs 53, Robert E. Lee B 19; Marshall 24, Robert E. Lee B 18; Sulphur Springs 37, Jacksonville 26; Sulphur Springs 48, Marshall 27; Jacksonville 37, Robert E. Lee B 21. Pool C winner – Sulphur Springs.

Pool D

Lindale 33, Pine Tree 26; Whitehouse A 46, John Tyler B 26; Whitehouse A 31, Lindale 26; Pine Tree 39, John Tyler B 31; Lindale 53, John Tyler B 18; Whitehouse 54, Pine Tree 20. Pool winner – Whitehouse A.

Semifinals

John Tyler A 27, Whitehouse B 24; Sulphur Springs 55, Whitehouse A 30

Championship

Sulphur Springs 59, John Tyler A 34

*Both Sulphur Springs and John Tyler qualify for 7-on-7 state tournament. Robert E. Lee and Arlington Lamar unable to advance past pool play because they have already qualified for state tournament.

Spring Hill, Crockett Advance

Spring Hill defeated Crockett, 34-25, in the championship game Saturday in the Rockwall 7-on-7 State Qualifying Tournament at Tyler Junior College’s Pat Hartley Field.

Both teams earned berths to the state tournament in College Station by earning victories in the semifinals.

Spring Hill downed Brownsboro, 46-27, in one semifinal, and Crockett bested Canton, 27-7, in the other.

JOHN TYLER quarterback Jeremy Johnson throws the ball downfield during the semifinals of the 7-on-7 tournament Saturday at Lindsey Park.
((Staff Photo By Mark Roberts))