Football: Lobos earning early air time

Langham Creek may have the most returning firepower in District 17-5A football, and the Lobos showed off some of that talent while securing a state berth during a season-opening Houston Texans 7-on-7 Tournament last week.

Class 4A power Manvel downed Langham Creek 27-21 in the Texans Sunday, May 22, State Qualifying Tournament after the Lobos stopped Klein Oak 27-25 in the semifinals, and beat out The Woodlands, Clear Creek and Cy Creek in pool play.

It's the sixth 7-on-7 state berth for Langham Creek, which advanced five consecutive years from 2005-09 before missing last summer.

"They played well, and especially well considering we've been focusing on spring workouts," Langham Creek coach Todd Thompson said. "They had not worked on 7-on-7 heading into it, so we're pleased with the finish and having the spot at state taken care of."

Junior quarterback Connor Feist, who is coming off one of the best 2010 seasons in the area (173-of-304 for 2,681 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in 10 games), looks even stronger.

"He is and it's because of the hard work he's put in in the weight room," Thompson said. "He came in as a sophomore last year at about 170 pounds, and now he's 6-2 and 200, and he's even faster because he is stronger."

Feist has worked well with returning tailback Dylan Humphrey, wide receivers Cody Smith, Caleb Hobbs, Andrew Juergens and Dominique Harris, and others in the spring and 7-on-7.

"We're happy about 7-on-7, but it can't compare with the real game because there's no blocking or tackling," Thompson said, "and we're real excited about the experience we have coming back on the offensive line and on our defensive unit.

"We went from being the (17-5A) team with the least experienced kids to possibly the most."

Seniors-to-be Marcus Piper and Dominic Eramo, and junior Foster Brown and Kenneth Thompson are returning starters on the offensive front, and the defense brings back regulars including cornerbacks Darion Booker and Elisyah Mitchell, safety Jeremy Land, and linebackers Jalen Morris and Brian Davis.

"We're also solid on the defensive line, and after playing well for a very young team and being in the playoff race last year (5-5 overall, and 5-4 and a game out of fourth place in 17-5A), we're looking to climb into the top four and the playoffs in 2011," Thompson said. "We're trying to build positives on top of each other, and our spring workouts, and the 7-on-7, are a part of it all."

Langham Creek is in Pool C with district co-members Cy Woods and Jersey Village, and 13-5A member Klein Oak at the Cy Creek state qualifier on Saturday, May 28. The Lobos have pool games at 9, 10 and 11 a.m., and will not advance out of the pool play with the state berth already in hand.

"We'll have three games to work on things, and it is kind of nice to have (qualifying for state) out of the way," Thompson said.

Langham Creek will compete in the 7-on-7 Division I State Tournament for Class 5A and 4A schools on July 15-16 at Texas A&M University in College Station.