Published: July 16, 2008 04:52 pm            

Summer football action more defensive than I anticipated

Over the past month or so, I have been covering Cleburne’s 7-on-7 football team and I’ve been pretty impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

Because of a solid effort from the Yellow Jackets’ defensive unit, a few of my preconceived notions about 7-on-7 play have been proven false.

Before the summer league began, I thought I would be treated to offensive fireworks on both sides of the ball.

Though the games are limited to 30 minutes with a running clock, I expected the scores to look like those of Arena Football League games, where the winner often has to score in the 50s or 60s to outlast the opponent.

I have been pleasantly surprised that I was proven wrong.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen D’Montre Davison, Jose Martinez, Micah McCoy and Greg Simpson — to name a few — come up with interceptions when the opposing offenses attempt to test the Jackets with long passes.

Thanks to the efforts of linebackers Justin Gauntt and Robert White, among others, the Jackets haven’t allowed opposing receivers to get free on short routes either.

While Cleburne’s defense has limited the opposition’s scoring chances, the Jackets’ offense has been explosive when it has the ball.

More often than not, quarterback Ty Taylor has been able to put the ball in the hands of his playmakers and move the chains efficiently.

Gauntt and White have found open spaces on short passing routes, while Davison, Semaj Holderness, Bubba Oakes and Trace Turner have caught long touchdown passes in recent games.

Last week, Davison made plays on both sides of the ball, intercepting a pass and catching a touchdown.

In 7-on-7 play, the offense has three plays to gain 15 yards or the ball is turned over to the opposition.

Once the offense moves the ball inside the 15 yard line, it has four downs to try to reach the endzone.

On Thursday, the Jackets will play their final two regular season games, facing Paschal’s White team at 8 p.m. and Nolan Catholic’s White team at 8:30 p.m.

Expect to see some fireworks — at least when Cleburne has the ball.



Matt Tasler can be reached at 817-558-2855, ext. 2334

        

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