Hill Country Elite learn plenty at Texas tournament
CAPTION: Hill Country Elite quarterback Gabe Gurley discovers plenty about himself and his teammates during the Who Want Smoke 6 tournament in DeSoto. Photo by Sidney Sykes/Sporting Video Productions
The Hill Country Elite went 1-2 at the Who Want Smoke 6 tournament Aug. 5-6 at DeSoto.
The Elite, who have players aged 12 and younger, defeated the Metroplex Flex 8-7 and lost to the NTX Bills 18-0 and TCU Bulldogs 24-0.
Big plays highlighted the contest against the Flex, which scored first on a 50-yard pass for a 7-0 lead at the half.
“Other than that, our defense shut them down,” head coach Ray Gurley said.
The Elite scored in the final 30 seconds thanks to a 75-yard pass to receiver Owen Green from quarterback Gabe Gurley, who are both from Burnet. Then Gurley found Jordan Depaz, also of Burnet, for the two-point conversion pass and the win. Lineman Timmy Salinas is a Marble Falls resident.
“In the second half, we came out in our spread and throwing it,” the coach said. “It was as 10-yard (pass) where the quarterback hit it on the right shoulder. The defensive back went for the ball and missed. They had punted and pinned us deep in our own territory with under two minutes. That team was good. We played better when we had protection and were able to pick them apart.”
Gurley used one word to describe the opponents – big.
“We were really shocked about the size,” he said. “The Bills and Bulldogs – it was shocking. The Bills were big as in tall and athletic. They were lengthy on defense. That made it hard for our offense to do anything.”
And yet, he added, the Elite trailed the Bills 6-0 with three minutes left. Wanting to get a win, Gurley and his staff began calling plays with high risk and high reward.
“(The Bills) scored two quick touchdowns in the end,” he said. “They hadn’t lost in three years. It took them awhile to realize we can play. That match-up humbled the boys a little bit. Those teams play year around. They also play school ball in the fall. They’re in shape, they’re big and fast. They’ve been playing together for a long time.”
Toward the end the Bills “just wore us down,” Gurley said.
He noted the Bulldogs were “similar but bigger.”
“They were wide and tall,” Gurley said. “They have a left tackle, who’s one of the best I’ve seen. He was 6 (feet) 4 (inches) and 260 pounds. He had (great) footwork.”
Onlookers saw an offensive linemen who knew how to use and balance his body with placing his hands and his feet in the right spots to block and open lanes for the backs, the coach said.
“That’s something you don’t see a lot of (at this age),” he said. “He had footwork and size. It was four plays and a touchdown.”
While the tackle was impressive, Gurley noted the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks and running backs were “pretty good,” too.
“They were the best team we played,” he said. “We had one drive that was decent where we had five-yard hitches. We couldn’t get anything up the field. It goes bad when they control the line of scrimmage. It was good game. They did everything better than us.”
Overall, the tournament served many positives for the Elite, Gurley said. The Hill Country players discovered they could hold their own and came back wanting to keep working and improving, he said.
“They were very impressed to see it,” he said. “The boys are really motivated. I was impressed with how we stuck with it. They were still going strong. It was strange to see kids that strong and fast. But we need to see this game at this speed. They were upbeat about it. We gave credit to those teams and coaches. All the coaches were very, very proud of the boys. Nobody quit.”
The Elite has finished its summer season and will return in a few months.
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CAPTION: Hill Country Elite players Ruger Tekulve of Fredericksburg (15) is a second from sacking TCU Bulldogs quarterback Isaiah Mayberry. Photo by Sidney Sykes/Sporting Video Productions
