CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Football season is not here yet, but we got a taste of it on Saturday at Cabaniss Athletic Complex.
Local 7-on-7 high school football teams played with a chance to go to state on the line.
Miller played Flour Bluff in one of two final-round games. After some late-game heroics from Buccaneers quarterback Trevor Long, Miller defeated Flour Bluff, 33-28.
The Bucs advanced to state for the third year in a row.
Long spoke about winning the all-local matchup to advance to College Station.
"It was a great, intense game," Long said. "All it is is competition down here, you know what I mean? We're just competing to try and get better, and we're learning from each other, and it's just great team chemistry and team bonding that we're building for the season."
Long said these games help skill position players prepare for the fall. He added that the momentum and energy they have from this win will carry over when they compete at state in a couple weeks.
One field over, Ray played against East Central for another spot at state. Quarterback Tripp Thompson threw a touchdown pass early to give the Texans a 6-0 lead. But East Central controlled the game the rest of the way and won, 38-6.
Thompson talked about his team's quick start and how they can build off the loss.
"We've been practicing getting the lead early, so getting the lead early is good. It's what we do a lot," Thompson said. "So, we just got to next time push through and keep getting, keep scoring."
Thompson said it was a tiring game, but knows his team put in the work to reach the tournament's final round. He explained that work will continue over the summer as the Texans prepare for tackle football later this year.