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3 local schools highlight private school state tourney
  
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By MIKE TENNEY
Episcopal, St. John’s and St. Thomas will be among the Houston–area schools playing Friday and Saturday in the third annual Private School 7-on-7 state tournament in Dallas.
“There’s going to be a lot of good teams there,” said Episcopal head coach Steve Leisz. “It should be a great tournament and we’re looking forward to it.”
St. John’s won the first ever state tournament in 2007, winning five games before knocking off Austin St. Michael’s in the finals.
Dallas Bishop Lynch — one of the team’s the Leisz picked as a possible favorite — was the 2008 champion, beating Greenhill in last year’s finals.
St. John’s head coach Steve Gleaves said back in early June the Mavericks did have some tradition in the 7-on-7.
“We’ve done well at state in the past,” he said. “And our 7-on-7 is very important this year, because we’re looking for a quarterback. So we hope we can do well again at the state tournament.”
A total of 32 private school teams from across the state will be on hand with the field divided into eight four-team pools. The top two teams after three pool play games advance to the single-elimination championship round on Saturday.The bottom two will be in the single-elimination consolation bracket.
The championship game is set for Saturday afternoon at Greenhill High School.
Episcopal will be in Pool Four along with Lutheran South, St. Pius and Waco MCSJS.
The Knights begin play Friday afternoon at Episcopal School of Dallas. They play Lutheran South at 1 p.m., , at 3 p.m. they take on MCSJS and wrap up pool play at 4 p.m. against St. Pius.
St. John’s and St. Thomas are both in Pool 6 along with Greenhill and Austin Hyde Park, at Episcopal Parish School, which is near Greenhill High School.
The Mavericks begin at 3 p.m. Friday against Hyde Park. At 4 p.m., they will face St. Thomas, then finish pool at 5 p.m. against Canyon Creek Richardson.
St. Thomas starts pool play at 3 p.m. against Richardson. At 4 p.m., they will play St. John’s before finishing up at 5 p.m. against Greenhill.
Leisz said he sees a few teams that are quite capable of winning the whole thing.
“I think you’ve got to look at Bishop Lynch,” he said. “They’re a large all-boys school and always very competitive in everything. They’re almost a 5A school themselves. And Dallas Jesuit is in it, and you’ve got to look at them. They’re a 5A school.
“I think we’ve got a chance to do well. And then there’s a couple of teams you just don’t know about that kind of come out of nowhere to do well. So it’s going to be tough. Whoever wins it is going to have to play well because there are a lot of good teams at state.”
The Knights played in one state qualifier and came up just shy of reaching the public school state tournament, which is also going on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in College Station.
They reached the semifinals almost three weeks ago of the Tyler state qualifier, losing to Tyler Lee 40-34, in a game where a win would have put them in the public school event.
The Knights won their pool, defeating Mabank, the Tyler Lee B team and Jacksonville before they fell to Lee in their fourth and final game in East Texas.
“We did very, very well,” said Leisz. “We did very well in a very strong pool. And we had to really elevate our game to stay on the field with Tyler Lee, but I thought the kids did that. We had the lead with four minutes to play and just couldn’t hold it. But the kids did a great job and I think we’re ready to go up to Dallas and do well.”
He credited quarterback Shane Carden and receivers Charlie Strauss, Parker Mason and Bobby Magness on offense for their play.
Defensively, middle linebacker Robert Bailey, defensive back Shea Pierce and cornerback Naseeb Allen were praised for their play.
Besides the 7-on-7, there will also be a lineman’s challenge for the big boys, who don’t play in 7-on-7 because there are no linemen.
All the schools can have teams at five at one time and players who are only linemen are eligible.
They compete in five different events — the tractor tire flip, the tug competition, the bench press (185 pounds for reps), the team tug-of-war, and obstacle course relay — with points kept on a track and field points system.
The winning teams will receive a trophy and dinner.
“There’s going to be a lot of good teams there,” said Episcopal head coach Steve Leisz. “It should be a great tournament and we’re looking forward to it.”
St. John’s won the first ever state tournament in 2007, winning five games before knocking off Austin St. Michael’s in the finals.
Dallas Bishop Lynch — one of the team’s the Leisz picked as a possible favorite — was the 2008 champion, beating Greenhill in last year’s finals.
St. John’s head coach Steve Gleaves said back in early June the Mavericks did have some tradition in the 7-on-7.
“We’ve done well at state in the past,” he said. “And our 7-on-7 is very important this year, because we’re looking for a quarterback. So we hope we can do well again at the state tournament.”
A total of 32 private school teams from across the state will be on hand with the field divided into eight four-team pools. The top two teams after three pool play games advance to the single-elimination championship round on Saturday.The bottom two will be in the single-elimination consolation bracket.
The championship game is set for Saturday afternoon at Greenhill High School.
Episcopal will be in Pool Four along with Lutheran South, St. Pius and Waco MCSJS.
The Knights begin play Friday afternoon at Episcopal School of Dallas. They play Lutheran South at 1 p.m., , at 3 p.m. they take on MCSJS and wrap up pool play at 4 p.m. against St. Pius.
St. John’s and St. Thomas are both in Pool 6 along with Greenhill and Austin Hyde Park, at Episcopal Parish School, which is near Greenhill High School.
The Mavericks begin at 3 p.m. Friday against Hyde Park. At 4 p.m., they will face St. Thomas, then finish pool at 5 p.m. against Canyon Creek Richardson.
St. Thomas starts pool play at 3 p.m. against Richardson. At 4 p.m., they will play St. John’s before finishing up at 5 p.m. against Greenhill.
Leisz said he sees a few teams that are quite capable of winning the whole thing.
“I think you’ve got to look at Bishop Lynch,” he said. “They’re a large all-boys school and always very competitive in everything. They’re almost a 5A school themselves. And Dallas Jesuit is in it, and you’ve got to look at them. They’re a 5A school.
“I think we’ve got a chance to do well. And then there’s a couple of teams you just don’t know about that kind of come out of nowhere to do well. So it’s going to be tough. Whoever wins it is going to have to play well because there are a lot of good teams at state.”
The Knights played in one state qualifier and came up just shy of reaching the public school state tournament, which is also going on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in College Station.
They reached the semifinals almost three weeks ago of the Tyler state qualifier, losing to Tyler Lee 40-34, in a game where a win would have put them in the public school event.
The Knights won their pool, defeating Mabank, the Tyler Lee B team and Jacksonville before they fell to Lee in their fourth and final game in East Texas.
“We did very, very well,” said Leisz. “We did very well in a very strong pool. And we had to really elevate our game to stay on the field with Tyler Lee, but I thought the kids did that. We had the lead with four minutes to play and just couldn’t hold it. But the kids did a great job and I think we’re ready to go up to Dallas and do well.”
He credited quarterback Shane Carden and receivers Charlie Strauss, Parker Mason and Bobby Magness on offense for their play.
Defensively, middle linebacker Robert Bailey, defensive back Shea Pierce and cornerback Naseeb Allen were praised for their play.
Besides the 7-on-7, there will also be a lineman’s challenge for the big boys, who don’t play in 7-on-7 because there are no linemen.
All the schools can have teams at five at one time and players who are only linemen are eligible.
They compete in five different events — the tractor tire flip, the tug competition, the bench press (185 pounds for reps), the team tug-of-war, and obstacle course relay — with points kept on a track and field points system.
The winning teams will receive a trophy and dinner.
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