Las Vegas was the place to be this past weekend February 28 – March 1st. Vegas played host to Pylon 7v7 passing tournament that featured over 100 teams from all across the country to compete for high school and youth championships. The youth tournament was the by far one of the most hard fought tournament brackets your going to find on the West Coast. Many teams came our for the youth tournament with teams to play in the 5/6th grade age group. Teams from as far as Washington came down to have a crack at Pylon supremacy.
The IE Ducks led by dynamic coaching duo Head Coach Keefe Matheny, and DC Coach Darryl Johnson set out on the weekend to attempt to capture 2 Pylon trophies at the 5/6th grade level and high school level, after a long weekend earning 1 out of 2 is not bad. The Ducks had a crazy weekend first with a scheduling conflict where both of their teams played and the exact same time, that ultimately got corrected and even after that just the running around from field to field coaching both teams all day. The IE Ducks team that competed at the high school level did finish among the top 8 out of 101 teams.
The 6th grade championship came down to the IE Ducks vs Fighting Irish. The teams met in the first day of pool play with the Fighting Irish beating the Ducks. Nonetheless all that matters is the game for the trophy. Both teams coming off a string of wins during day 2, met once again to set the stage for the championship. First let me say the Fighting Irish are a well coached team that matched up well with the Ducks. They have tons of talent and a standout receiver named Larry Goodin (c/o 2021). But despite all of that the Ducks would not be denied. The team had a great collective effort from every member of the team throughout the whole tournament. The ducks stayed on point offensively behind the arm of QB Tryce Warren who showed great ability to spread the wealth connecting with receivers and running backs throughout the tournament, while sharing reps with teammate QB Gage Grant who also had a good showing for the ducks. On Defense the ducks played lockdown defense the whole tournament, they absolutely showed they were the most physical team led by LB Jason Boyles and LB Damon Williams. Secondary efforts came up huge by the play of DJ Harvey and Daniel “Pacman“ Perez who had a key interception in the closing minutes that would ultimately set the Ducks up for their game winning drive.
The game was sealed for victory when Tryce Warren found RB Jonathan Brady over the middle in so much traffic people are still wondering how the ball got in that window and how Brady was able to hold on to it. With bodies all over the ground in effort to stop the completion of the pass the Duck fans roared in excitement as Brady popped up off the ground thrilled to be clutching the ball against his chest after what can only be described as a mind blowing catch that really put the Ducks in the drivers seat. As Always The Ducks had great play after play from WR Anthony Beavers who would go on to receive championship game MVP honors. WR Josua Lorick also had great slot receiver work helping to keep the chains moving as well as playing defense. defense MVP went to LB DamonWillimas and the Sportsmanship Award went to RB Jonathan Brady.
The Ducks got what they came for and are already on to the next. The IE Ducks and Fighting Irish have recently excepted invitations to participate in Football Hotbeds 2015 West Coast All American Combine Invitational Tournament, where they will be 2 of 10-12 teams looking to take home the Football Hotbed Tournament Trophy Saturday April 25, 2015 at Upland High School, CA, after combine participation. The Football Hotbed family is excited to have the IE Ducks and other invited teams compete once again. The Ducks will surly have another test at the Hotbed Tournament but coach Keefe and coach Johnson will have them ready to play and bring home another trophy. Saturday April 25, 2015 IE Ducks take flight again at Football Hotbed Invitational.
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