The Taylor High School and Thrall High School varsity football teams were in action on Saturday at separate 7-on-7 scrimmage sites in Burnet and Lott, respectively.
TAYLOR DUCKS
Under first-year head coach Earven Flowers, the Ducks competed against Gatesville High School, Burnet and Rockdale High School.
All of these teams Taylor will play in the 2023 regular season when the pads and helmets are on. “7-on-7 went well. on being consistent and playing clean,” Flowers said. “We did a good job of that vs. Gatesville but we did not vs. Burnet.”
Taylor was able to win a high-scoring 33-27 affair against Gatesville but was edged 27-20 in a loss to Burnet. The connection on offense between senior quarterback Joshua Mikulencak and senior receiver Treos Richardson and running back Jackson Meller seems to be on point this summer as the trio was responsible for multiple scores on the afternoon.
“The best thing about the whole weekend was our response to adversity,” Flowers said. “When our guys play together and with the right type of positive energy, we are a really good team.” Although Taylor did not get to advance to the final game vs.
Brownwood, they capped off 7-on-7 in Burnet with a solid 34-19 victory over Rockdale in which team execution was great.
“That is why we played so well vs.
Rockdale. Now our mistakes cost us, causing us to miss the Championship game by one point. I think our kids now see the value in taking advantage of every opportunity and every possession,” Flowers said.
Taylor will next compete in the 7-on-7 football state qualifying tournament held on Saturday, June 10 at Cameron Yoe High School.
THRALL TIGERS
LOTT – Thrall football under head coach Aaron Vanecek headed to Rosebud-Lott High School on Saturday for 7-on-7 scrimmages against Frost High School, Jewett Leon High School and host Rosebud-Lott.
The Tigers thrashed the Frost Polar Bears 32-0 in the opening game, were edged 21-12 by the Leon Cougars in the second game, and were shut out 26-0 in the finale by the Rosebud-Lott Cougars to end the day.
After a 3-7 campaign in 2022, the Tigers have a lot of work to do to get back to their winning ways. Thrall will also be without their 2022 starting quarterback with incoming senior Jack Watson due to elbow surgery, who will very likely be out the 2023 football season but is hoping to be ready for the 2024 baseball season.
With the quarterback competition heating up and other spots up for grabs for starters, Thrall will open its 2023 regular season on Aug. 25 at Somerville High School.
