Last Saturday at Dulles HS the La Porte Bulldogs qualified for the state tournament in 7 on 7 for the first time since 2000 and only the second time in school history.
The Bulldogs were paired in a tough group featuring Fort Bend Kempner, La Marque and Fort Bend Bush. La Marque and Bush were lead by highly recruited quarterbacks. La Marque (a 3A team) was unable to advance from group play due to having already qualified for the state tournament in division 2 (3A and below).
In game number one of the day La Porte took on Kempner and wasted no time racking up a 24-9 lead at halftime including some great hook-ups from Junior Quarterback Jordan Jackson to Senior Wide Receiver Jahvey Marks in the back of the end zone, Jackson was on point all day. Unfortunately Marks turned his ankle on the second catch, but would be heard from again later in the tournament. Junior Linebacker Hoza Scott had a good game with two defensive touchdowns on interception returns including the first play of the game for Kempner. The Bulldogs had no problem dispatching Kempner 47-15 and getting off to a great start in the tournament.
In game number two La Porte would face La Marque in what would turn out to be a three and a half hour game with a two and a half hour rain/lightning delay in between halves. La Porte took a 7-6 lead into halftime after a Senior Safety Keith Whitely interception kept La Marque from getting the lead. Then the lightning and rain came with an impromptu lunch break and the game resumed at 1pm. The Bulldogs held on with some great defense in the end with a 13-12 victory. This was La Marque's fourth 7 on 7 tournament to play in and they had only lost one game previously to Klein in overtime.
Due to the weather delay the game against Bush would be shortened to one 25 minute half. The winner would advance to the semifinals and Bush had their eyes on taking down the Bulldogs after their playoff clash last season ended with a La Porte 42-6 victory. It was a very intense game that La Porte pulled out 18-12. It also included the return of Jahvey Marks after turning his ankle against Kempner, he made a gutsy performance with several key catches against Bush and the rest of the day. Also Junior Safety Victor Holmes made an outstanding interception to set up the Bulldogs winning drive. With this victory the Bulldogs were one game away from their goal of qualifying for the state tournament.
After winning their group La Porte would take on the group "C" winner Cinco Ranch in the semi-finals with the winner advancing to the state tournament. The game started with Junior Cornerback Ellis Hutchinson getting two interceptions including returning the first one for a touchdown. This set the tone and the Bulldogs took a 20-0 halftime lead. Junior Receiver Garrison Zabrowski getting two touchdown catches in the second half that capped off a dominating performance and a 34-6 rout. La Porte had six interceptions in the game and clinched their birth in the state tournament in College Station July 20-21.
La Porte would drop the championship game to Fort Bend Dulles who was the host of the tournament 27-20 in a very competitive game, but one that saw both teams running out of gas.
Big shout out to coaches William Lewis and Karl Terrebone for a great tournament!
All the players made great plays at one time or another in this tournament, so I will list them all: Jordan Jackson, Nick Brown, Jahvey Marks, Jonathan Lewis, Keith Whitely, Justin Pickell, Ellis Hutchinson, Victor Holmes, Garrison Zaborowski, Britt Grant, Alex Jones, Hoza Scott, Trevor Nelson, Bryson Rogers, Malik Graves, David Terrebonne, John Nelson
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