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McPherson High football coach Tom Young hopes that a great dress rehearsal turns into a showstopper for later in the week.
Young’s Bullpups had a spectacular performance at the Tiger Mid-Summer 7-on-7 Football Classic Saturday at Blue Valley High School.
The Bullpups took first place in the event, with all of their opponents being either Class 6A or large 5A schools.
The Bullpups were 2-1-1 in pool play, with the loss to Shawnee Mission East. However, MHS came back to beat the Lancers in the championship game.
MHS hopes to ride the momentum of this championship into this week’s National Select 7 on 7 Championships, to be hosted by national powerhouse Hoover High School in Alabama. The event begins on Thursday at Buccaneer Stadium, and viewers can watch games live for free on their computer at www.select7on7.com and on mobile devices by gong to m.ihigh.com and clicking on the “media” button.
“Hopefully this will give us a little confidence,” said Young, whose team had competed recently at Derby without the expected high standards the team has become accustomed to. “After that Derby one, we were pretty down. But the kids really responded. We took care of a lot of the major mistakes we were making.”
Young said the loss to Shawnee Mission East came in the final game of pool play.
“We’ve got a lot of guys going both ways and I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but they did get tired,” Young said. “We told the guys that they had to focus better, even if you’re tired. And we really emphasized that more than anything. We really didn’t do anything Xs and Os different.”
Quarterback Tyler Matthews, who has made a verbal commitment to TCU, had a great day throwing the ball, Young said. A big question mark going into this season is replacing standout receivers Christian Ulsaker and Nick Gawanda, but there were several players who stepped up.
“Tyler was really sharp throwing the ball,” Young said. “Jordan Hart had a great tournament. Marcus (Houghton) had some really nice catches and Kyler Kinnamon, a freshman, did well, as did Alex Bahr. They all made some good plays.”
On the other side of the ball, Young was impressed with Logan Williams, who is expected to be the Bullpups’ defensive ringleader this year, and Cody Cape, who has been out of football a couple of years, but is such a good athlete that he’ll be a welcomed addition.
McPherson High football coach Tom Young hopes that a great dress rehearsal turns into a showstopper for later in the week.
Young’s Bullpups had a spectacular performance at the Tiger Mid-Summer 7-on-7 Football Classic Saturday at Blue Valley High School.
The Bullpups took first place in the event, with all of their opponents being either Class 6A or large 5A schools.
The Bullpups were 2-1-1 in pool play, with the loss to Shawnee Mission East. However, MHS came back to beat the Lancers in the championship game.
MHS hopes to ride the momentum of this championship into this week’s National Select 7 on 7 Championships, to be hosted by national powerhouse Hoover High School in Alabama. The event begins on Thursday at Buccaneer Stadium, and viewers can watch games live for free on their computer at www.select7on7.com and on mobile devices by gong to m.ihigh.com and clicking on the “media” button.
“Hopefully this will give us a little confidence,” said Young, whose team had competed recently at Derby without the expected high standards the team has become accustomed to. “After that Derby one, we were pretty down. But the kids really responded. We took care of a lot of the major mistakes we were making.”
Young said the loss to Shawnee Mission East came in the final game of pool play.
“We’ve got a lot of guys going both ways and I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but they did get tired,” Young said. “We told the guys that they had to focus better, even if you’re tired. And we really emphasized that more than anything. We really didn’t do anything Xs and Os different.”
Quarterback Tyler Matthews, who has made a verbal commitment to TCU, had a great day throwing the ball, Young said. A big question mark going into this season is replacing standout receivers Christian Ulsaker and Nick Gawanda, but there were several players who stepped up.
“Tyler was really sharp throwing the ball,” Young said. “Jordan Hart had a great tournament. Marcus (Houghton) had some really nice catches and Kyler Kinnamon, a freshman, did well, as did Alex Bahr. They all made some good plays.”
On the other side of the ball, Young was impressed with Logan Williams, who is expected to be the Bullpups’ defensive ringleader this year, and Cody Cape, who has been out of football a couple of years, but is such a good athlete that he’ll be a welcomed addition.
Young said this tournament was much needed going into the 30-team national event.
“This was huge,” said Young, who is 42-12 in his five years at MHS including five straight playoff appearances. “I would have hated to have another experience like earlier.”
The National Select Championship teams are hand-picked, as it’s presented by Under Armour. Participating teams include Allentown Central Catholic (Pa.), Angola (Ind.), Aurora Christian (Ill.), Brighton (Tenn.), Carver Montgomery (Ala.), Daphne (Ala.), Dorman (S.C.), Fairhope (Ala.), Fayetteville (Ark.), Grayson (Ga.), Hoover (Ala.), Kenton (Ohio), Lassiter (Ga.), Mandeville (La.), McGill Toolen (Ala.), McPherson (Kan.), Memphis University School (Tenn.), North Gwinnett (Ga.), Olive Branch (Miss.), Oxford (Ala.), Prattville (Ala.), Shiloh Christian (Ark.), Spain Park (Ala.), Spanish Fort (Ala.), Bastrop (La.), Thomas Jefferson (Pa.), Walker (Ala.), Warren Central (Ind.), West Monroe (La.,) and West Rowan (N.C.). There also was to be a team added from the Georgia Invitational, which was still being determined.
The Bullpups competed in a tournament two years ago in Louisiana.
“This tournament is even tougher than the Evangel tournament,” Young said. “The competition is going to be great. I want us to go down and compete well and play hard. I don’t know if we can win any games, I really don’t. They’re all big schools. We do want to get better and improve.”
The Bullpups will be leaving by bus for Alabama at 7 a.m. on Wednesday from the high school.
