BURNET — The Ducks didn’t earn a qualifying bid at their recent 7-on-7 football tournament. According to Head Coach and Athletic Director Earven Flowers, not consistently doing the little things prevented the team from getting a win.
Taylor matched up against Llano, Lago Vista and China Spring Saturday, June 1, at the Burnet High School tournament.
“It was kind of a rough tournament this weekend,” Flowers said.
“I didn’t feel like we executed as well as we should. I thought we did a good job of playing a little bit better defensively.”
According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Ducks fell to Llano 14-0, China Spring 27-7 and Lago Vista 28-6 to post a 0-3 run.
Flowers, who isn’t allowed to coach 7-on-7 as a member of the varsity staff, said the best thing from the tournament is that he learned his team matches up well with competitive teams from an athletic standpoint.
He said knowing the team matches up well talent wise means it just came down to a lack of execution. Flowers said there were times when players dropped touchdowns or ran the wrong route and caused a turnover.
According to Flowers, a young player can get on the field quickly by just doing things over and over the right way.
“That’s what we’re trying to preach to our guys who have never been on the field before or are younger,” Flowers said. “You see that you’re no different than these guys athletically. It’s a consistency thing. Can you do your job over and over the right way?”
However, Flowers said he’s not panicking about mistakes because he has a lot of guys learning. For instance, he said most of the senior departures were on the offensive side of the ball, which is why the defense has had more success in the 7-on-7 tournament.
After not earning a qualifying spot for the state tournament in the last two opportunities, the Ducks have one more chance to clinch a bid practically in their backyard.
Rockdale High School, with the help of Taylor HS, is set to host another qualifying tournament Saturday, June 15. There will be 16 teams competing for two state bids.
“Hopefully those two tournaments have helped our kids in terms of learning urgency in how they execute,” Flowers said.
