BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — The motivation for Sharyland Pioneer’s 7-on-7 team in 2016 was a simple one: to be the first in school history to compete in the state tournament. Subsequently, the goal was reached. The Diamondbacks were happy to be there, but they left College Station with an 0-3 record in pool play.
The objective in 2017: Don’t leave College Station empty-handed.
“I believe this year’s team had to work harder than last year’s team,” Sharyland Pioneer 7-on-7 coach Jordan Lee said. “Last year, we kind of knew we could go (to College Station) on the talent we had, but this time, we had to come together and put the work in.”
Pioneer made the 522-mile trip to a state qualifying tournament in Rowlett last weekend, facing Arlington Lamar, which had already qualified for the tournament, Denton Braswell and North Mesquite in Pool F. The Diamondbacks lost 40-34 to Arlington Lamar in their first game without soon to be junior quarterback Jacob Rosales, who was resting a sore shoulder. Michael Morales, Pioneer’s junior varsity quarterback last season, stepped into Rosales’ place.
“Our starting quarterback (Rosales) had been hurt for most of the summer, so we as a team started a little late,” Lee said. “Since we were getting him back, I figured we had a chance.”
Rosales returned to the field against Denton Braswell in a 40-30 win. Next, Pioneer defeated North Mesquite 41-40 to claim the No. 2 seed in Pool F. Lamar went 3-0 to win the pool, but because Lamar had already secured a state berth, Pioneer advanced to face Sulphur Springs, the winner of Pool E. The Diamondbacks won 41-27 to clinch one of the Rowlett tournament’s four berths to state.
“We talked to Jacob, and he said his shoulder was OK and was going to give it a go,” Lee said. “It kind of fell into place.”
Free safety Tyler Bulthuis is using the 7-on-7 season as a dry run for how he wants the Diamondbacks defense to look in the fall.
“For myself, I’m going to be a senior, so it’ll be a little different as I step into a leadership role on defense,” Bulthuis said. “We had an awesome bond on last year’s team, but I feel we’re going to be a little closer.”
Wide receiver Will Proctor, another rising senior, relished the opportunity to prove doubters wrong.
“We put everything into that (Rowlett) tournament,” Proctor said. “It was incredible to go up against schools that were well-known around the state and for us to be nobodies. Nobody knew us. Some of the parents from North Mesquite were saying we had no chance and were going to get killed. We just played with a chip on our shoulder knowing they didn’t expect anything out of us. We wanted to show everybody that we can compete with those kinds of teams.”
Awaiting the Diamondbacks in Pool J of Division I will be Abilene, Dickinson and The Colony on Friday at the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station. Pioneer will face The Colony at 2 p.m., Abilene at 4 p.m. and Dickinson at 6 p.m. The top two teams from each pool will advance to a championship round on Saturday morning with a chance of advancing further later in the day.
Lee’s optimism for this weekend is sky high.
“This Rowlett tournament has helped us a lot for the games coming up this weekend,” Lee said. “We beat North Mesquite in our semifinal game, and that team was phenomenal. We beat a great team. I can’t see those teams up in College Station being as good as North Mesquite. Since we beat that team, I think we can hang with any of the teams in our pool.”