Longview + Tyler Lee Secure Berths at Saturday’s Division I 7-on-7 Football State Qualifier Tournament in Tyler

TYLER -- Longview has had off-and-on performances during its weekly Monday night 7-on-7 football league at Lobo Stadium.

The Lobos were definitely on Saturday.

Longview scored 132 points in three pool-play games before notching a 26-13 tournament semifinal victory against John Tyler to grab one of the two state berths on the line at a Division I 7-on-7 football state qualifier tournament at Lindsey Park.

Joining Longview as a state qualifier was. Tyler Lee. The Red Raiders went 2-1 in pool play -- the lone loss coming to Lufkin, which had already qualified for state at the event it hosted June 8 -- before holding off Lindale, 27-20, in the other tournament semifinal.

Longview and Lee opted to not play the tournament championship, which is usual for state qualifier events once two teams have nabbed state berths.

Longview 2015 quarterback Dezmond Chumley threw four touchdowns in the 26-13 semifinal victory against John Tyler. Two went to Texas-bound 2014 receiver Dorian Leonard, while the other scores went to 2014 receivers Jordan Whitaker and Chris Pellum.

Longview built a 19-7 lead before John Tyler 2015 quarterback Geovari McCollister found Andre Crawford for a touchdown to cut the lead to 19-13, but Lobos put the game away with the touchdown toss to Pellum and a PAT to Whitaker, who caught four touchdown passes in a 53-43 pool-play victory against Crosby.

"I didn't get to go last year, so this was a big thing for me," Whitaker said. "I came out and did what I can to help the team."

Whitaker said Saturday's consistently strong performance from the entire Lobo 7-on-7 squad was a sign of how important qualifying for state was when compared to the weekly league.

"I feel like we were taking it more seriously," than the Monday night league, he said. "This was a big game. We knew if we lost the game there was no chance of going to state. We played our butts off and achieved our goal."

John Tyler 2015 cornerback Isaac Warren and 2014 linebacker Andrew Clark each had an interception against Longview. McCollister's first touchdown throw of the game went to Dyron McDuff and allowed the Lions to take a brief 7-6 lead.

John Tyler will play in a state qualifier tournament starting at 9 a.m. Friday in Rockwall to try to get a berth to the D-I state tournament, which is July 12-13 at Southwest Williamson County Regional Park in Leander.

In Saturday's other semifinal, Lee built a 20-6 halftime lead before Lindale tied the game 20-20 on touchdown strikes from David Slice to Deandre Williams and Kolten Pierce. Lee scored the game-winning touchdown on a scoring connection from Trevor Carr to Marquiston Williams, who found the end zone twice against Lindale.

Carr also threw two touchdown passes to Diondre Allen. Lindale's Garrett Sir Louis had the Eagles' first-half touchdown grab.

Whitaker wasn't the only Lobo to record a four-touchdown game. Senior Chris Pellum snagged four touchdowns in a 45-8 rout of Sulphur Springs. He scored the game's first three touchdowns before Chumley found 2015 athlete Antonio Carter for a 27-0 halftime lead.

Longview senior safety Laurent Johnson returned an interception for a touchdown to start the second half, while classmate Stephon Anthony grabbed an INT of his own. Longview's final two touchdown throws came from 2015 tailback JaMycal Hasty and Leonard. Hasty's touchdown went to senior L'Darrius Peterson, while Leonard's went to Pellum for the game's final score.

Whitehouse's Jacoby Lacey had a second-half interception return for a touchdown in the Wildcats' 33-26 victory vs. Lindale. Junior quarterback Jackson Allen threw four touchdown passes, including three in the first half for a 20-13 half-time advantage.

Whitehouse, which went 3-0 in pool play, played without several offensive starters, including Texas Tech-committed quarterback Patrick Mahomes and receivers Jaylon Dews, Jake Parker, and Coleman Patterson.

Whitehouse joined Lufkin as Saturday's two teams that went undefeated in pool play but did not play in the semifinals because of prior state berth acquisitions at last weekend's Lufkin tournament. So far, Whitehouse, Lufkin, Longview, and Lee are the teams that will represent East Texas at July's Division I state tournament.

Lufkin started its 3-0 pool-play run with an impressive 51-13 rout of Jacksonville that saw 2015 quarterback Trey Cumbie throw seven touchdown passes. Texas A&M-bound senior receiver Jamal Jeffery caught three touchdowns, while Texas-committed 2015 athlete Key'Vantanie "KeKe" Coutee and classmate Terry Mark caught two apiece.

Lufkin built a 30-0 halftime lead and led 38-0 before Jacksonville 2015 quarterback Carter McCown threw his first of two touchdown passes.

Lufkin then beat the Lindale JV 47-0 and Tyler Lee 33-20.

Sulphur Springs went 2-1 thanks to a 32-31 come-from-behind win against Crosby, which led that game 31-13. The Wildcats also beat John Tyler's JV 61-14 before the 37-point loss to Longview.

Jacksonville and Pine Tree each went 1-2. The Tribe lost to Lufkin before dropping a 40-22 decision to Tyler Lee. Jacksonville beat Lindale's JV 39-0.

Pine Tree lost a nailbiter 40-34 to Lindale to start the day and ended the morning with a 32-12 loss to Whitehouse. The Pirates got a forfeit win against Alto, which did not show up.

Results From Saturday's Division I 7-on-7 State Qualifier Tournament

Lindsey Park, Tyler

Pool A

• Magnolia West 65, Beaumont Ozen 7
• John Tyler 47, Whitehouse JV 7
• Beaumont Ozen 20, Whitehouse JV 18
• John Tyler 31, Magnolia West 19
• Magnolia West 52, Whitehouse JV 8
• John Tyler 41, Beaumont Ozen 20

• 1. John Tyler -- 3-0
• 2. Magnolia West -- 2-1
• 3. Beaumont Ozen -- 1-2
• 4. Whitehouse JV -- 0-3

Pool B

• Sulphur Springs 32, Crosby 31
• Longview 34, John Tyler JV 6
• Sulphur Springs 61, John Tyler JV 14
• Longview 53, Crosby 43
• Crosby 39, John Tyler JV 25
• Longview 45, Sulphur Springs 8

• 1. Longview -- 3-0
• 2. Sulphur Springs -- 2-1
• 3. Crosby -- 1-2
• 4. John Tyler JV -- 0-3

Pool C

• Lindale 40, Pine Tree 34
• Whitehouse forfeit over Alto
• Pine Tree forfeit over Alto
• Whitehouse 33, Lindale 26
• Lindale forfeit over Alto
• Whitehouse 32, Pine Tree 12

• 1. Whitehouse -- 3-0 (already qualified for state; did not advance beyond pool play)
• 2. Lindale -- 2-1 (advanced to semifinals because of Lufkin's prior state qualification)
• 3. Pine Tree -- 1-2
• 4. Alto -- 0-3 (did not show)

Pool D

• Lufkin 51, Jacksonville 13
• Tyler Lee 53, Lindale JV 0
• Lufkin 47, Lindale JV 0
• Tyler Lee 40, Jacksonville 22
• Lufkin 33, Tyler Lee 20
• Jacksonville 39, Lindale JV 0

• 1. Lufkin -- 3-0 (already qualified for state; did not advance beyond pool play)
• 2. Tyler Lee -- 2-1 (advanced to semifinals because of Lufkin's prior state qualification)
• 3. Jacksonville -- 1-2
• 4. Lindale JV -- 0-3

Semifinals

(each winner earned state berth)

• Longview 26, John Tyler 13
• Tyler Lee 27, Lindale 20

NOTE: TheOldCoach.com provided help with gathering final scores.