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Burnet 7-on-7 football at 12th state tourney in 14 years

Burnet High School senior quarterback Koby Edwards will make his first appearance as the Bulldogs starter at the Texas 7-on-7 state tournament July 7-8 in College Station. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

Burnet High School senior quarterback Koby Edwards will make his first appearance as the Bulldogs starter at the Texas 7-on-7 state tournament July 7-8 in College Station. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

COLLEGE STATION — The Burnet High School 7-on-7 varsity football team is making its 12th appearance in the past 14 years at the Texas state tournament July 7-8.

The Bulldogs will play in pool M and face Ferris at 2 p.m., Greenwood at 4 p.m. and La Marque at 6 p.m. July 7. All games are at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex, 3101 Harvey Road in College Station. In all, the tournament has 64 teams.

The top two teams from each pool will play in the championship bracket, while the bottom two go into a consolation bracket. Both brackets will be played July 8, and each is single elimination.

While he didn’t know much about the opponents, Burnet head coach Kurt Jones said he can safely predict a few things.

“They’re quality opponents,” he said. “They’re there for a reason. They run spread offenses and can throw the ball around. It’ll be a challenge like it always is.”

Senior quarterback Koby Edwards will lead the Bulldogs in his first appearance as the varsity quarterback at the state tournament. He follows a long line of quarterbacks who’ve represented Burnet at the event dating to former Texas A&M University and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee. McGee led the Bulldogs to the state championship in the summer of 2003. That title was sandwiched between Class 3A state runner-up finishes in the regular season.

This year’s Burnet team has a new starting quarterback and go-to receivers after the graduation of quarterback Austin Moore and receivers Brock Foster and Joel Johnson.

The value of 7-on-7 can’t the simplified, Jones said, because it gives the receivers a chance to work on actual plays and puts the defensive backs in man-to-man coverage situations.

“It’s great work for your kids,” he said. “There’s no linemen. That, especially, is something you can’t work on. For our skill kids to get reps, that’s great competition to work on our timing and throwing routes, work in coverages and in space.”

And even though Foster graduated, his father, Earl Foster, is the Bulldogs’ 7-on-7 coach.

“He does a great job,” Jones said. “We really appreciate him.”

The tournament is sponsored by Adidas, which will give each player a backpack filled with gear, including jerseys, shorts, socks, shoes, headbands and wristbands.

“It’s exciting for a kid to get Adidas gear,” Jones said. “Adidas does it right. Kids get excited about it.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com