CHEMISTRY
Fri, 2016-07-01 05:00
News Staff
will determine Dawgs fate at Texas 7on7 Championships this weekend
By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press
TEMPLE – The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs began their quest for a spot at the Texas 7on7 Championships with a bang, winning seven of their first eight 7on7 contests to clinch a berth.
The Dawgs earned wins over Austin High, Round Rock Westwood and Pflugerville Connally to open the season at the Lake Travis State Qualifying Tournament (SQT) before falling to the hosts in the semifinals.
They continued their roll two weeks later at the Belton SQT where they went 4-0 to clinch a spot in the Texas 7on7 Championships coming up this weekend at the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station. Cove was 3-0 in pool play with wins over Georgetown (31-28), Episcopal School of Dallas (39-27) and Lake Travis (7-6) before outlasting district rival Ellison 34-28 to earn the state bid.
Since then it’s been more of a whimper with just nine wins, 15 losses and one tie since, including going 0-6 in the final two Centex Passing League tournaments and 1-3 in the final SQT at Westlake due to mass absences and a few injuries.
“It’s hard in the summer because you have people on vacation and we had a couple of injuries also,” said Cove 7on7 coach Tyrone McGriff. “Once we get our core guys back, our team is pretty solid. It’s hard to fill in with somebody that doesn’t really know the position. They do the best they can but when you get the guy back that plays that position, it makes for a better (team) effort.”
Monday’s 7on7 regular season finale at Temple followed suit. With over half of the Cove receiving corps missing along with a good portion of the defensive secondary, the Bulldawgs couldn’t muster much continuity and the results were evident.
The Dawgs began the day being doubled up by Temple and Cameron Yoe 25-12 and 27-12, respectively, before tearing out to a 13-0 lead over Belton in what looked to be their first win of the afternoon. Exhaustion set in for Cove and a fired-up Belton team had other ideas.
The Tigers scored 20 unanswered points to break their win-less streak and finish 1-2 on the day.
The Dawgs began the contest against Belton with a long strike from quarterback Jaylen Smith to Floyd Connell and a short pass to Gabe Williams over the middle before finding junior Bryce Ranes for a touchdown and Caine Garner for the extra point.
After a Belton turnover, the Dawgs drove the field again and scored on a short pass from Smith to Ranes again for the 13-0 lead. Another 30-yard pass to Connell set up the score
The Tigers got on the board when Tiger fill-in quarterback Cameron Davis began to find his targets, including a scoring toss to Weston Lucas.
Belton then took advantage of a couple Cove turnovers, including one for the tying score.
An interception by Belton’s Hunter Garrett gave the Tigers ball back with time winding down and Davis found senior Davion Peoples for the game-winner.
“We had a lot of guys missing and we were filling in with a couple guys playing iron man on offense and defense,” said McGriff. “Once they get tired, there goes the mental aspect. We still could have given a better effort, especially going into state.”
For senior utility player Caine Garner, who sees time at quarterback, receiver and running back, being shorthanded was not necessarily a bad thing. Overcoming adversity is an integral part of any success story.
“We’ve learned how to look at the positives out of the negatives,” he said. “The negative would be not having all of our players we’re used to having so we have to put people in other places but they’re learning a new position, which is helpful looking forward to the season.”
He also knows failure – despite the cause – can sometimes sink into to an athlete’s psyche and impact them negatively and as a team leader it’s his job to help the younger players stay focused and positive.
“Keep your head up and just play football,” Garner said of his message to the squad. “Don’t worry about if it’s hot, if we don’t have enough people, or if someone makes a bad play. Just play football. That’s all you have to do.”
Senior wideout Gabe Williams feels the team lost some fire after clinching a state berth.
“It’s difficult but we can still put people in,” he said. “We just need to give our full effort and we didn’t do that today. I haven’t been here the past two weeks but I heard we didn’t give our full effort each time. That’s all we need is just to give our full effort and heart.
“We just need to talk to each other, play as a team and just critique each other.”
Garner agreed.
“Before the state qualifier when we had all of our players, we were smooth sailing and having fun,” he said. “Now, since we don’t have enough players, it’s like everyone is just taking it off because we already qualified.”
Garner feels it’s up to him and his fellow leaders to rectify that mind-set.
“We just have to set an example for the younger guys,” he said. “If we as seniors come out and we’re all lazy and not being vocal, the younger guys are going to follow behind us and we will not look good as a group.
The Dawgs have a few days and a few practices to get the cohesion back.
“We need to practice and we need all of our players here so the chemistry can come together,” he said. “We would like an extra week and a couple more tournaments to get everyone back in shape and the chemistry back on offense and defense. We just need to get back together as a team so we can pick up where we left off.”
Coach McGriff feels they’ll be ready come Friday.
“I believe that after a few practices and getting things together with everybody back; we will go into the tournament right,” he said. “You have to forget the past, move forward and start executing. Get your bodies fresh and let’s go into it with the right mind-set. If you go in with a positive mind-set your chances of coming out on top are better.”