College For Texans

• Where: Texas A&M University in College Station

Of the 25 area teams heading to the 14th annual 7-on-7 Division I State Tournament, two districts — 17-5A and 13-5A - lead the way with four qualifiers apiece.

Cy-Fair, Jersey Village, Cy Falls and Langham Creek will represent 17-5A, while Klein Oak, Klein Forest, Tomball and Klein Collins are going out of 13-5A, and those districts double the closest nearby competitors.

Cy Falls downed Jersey Village in the Cy Creek Texas Bowl State Qualifying Tournament finals as both teams earned state berths on May 28, Cy-Fair qualified at The Woodlands on June 11, and Langham Creek took care of things early on earning the state spot at a Houston Texans SQT on May 22.

"We started spring practice late and didn't even play our spring game until May 25, so the players had only one 7-on-7 practice on that Friday, May 27, and won the Cy Creek Tournament the next day," Cy Falls new head coach said. "They played very, very well, and it was kind a surprise, a pleasant surprise.

"Jersey Village played very well in the finals and we were fortunate to beat them."

The 7-on-7 Division I state tournament for 5A and 4A schools is July 15-16 at Texas A&M University in College Station.

"We qualified in our first tournament, and we were not even paying that much attention to 7-on-7 because of spring football," Langham Creek coach said. "It's not really anything like real football, but 7-on-7 is good for these players, and they enjoy it.

"We're excited about state for them, and very excited about all aspects of our team heading into 2011."

Area districts with two state teams are 19-5A (Katy, Cinco Ranch), 20-5A (Lamar, Chavez), 21-5A (Channelview, West Brook), 17-4A (Stratford, Montgomery) and 24-4A (Friendswood, La Marque), and districts with one each are 12-5A (A&M Consolidated), 14-5A (The Woodlands), 22-5A (Dobie), 23-5A (Elkins), 18-4A (Willis) and 23-4A (Terry).

Manvel, another 24-4A member, earned a state tournament berth on May 22, but it was taken away by the 7-on-7 state board of directors for fighting in the parking lot with Dawson during the Manvel SQT on May 28.

Impatient Texans work as lockout lingers | Bryan/College Station ...

HOUSTON -- Houston Texans middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans has assumed a pivotal dual role for his team as the NFL lockout stretches into its fourth month.

Ryans is one of the Texans' player representatives, along with right tackle Eric Winston, responsible for keeping his teammates abreast of developments in the ongoing labor dispute.

And since coaches aren't allowed to have contact with players for now, Ryans has undertaken the job of teaching new coordinator Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme to the defense -- which ranked as one of the league's worst in 2010.

"I'm just doing my part, man," Ryans said with a smile.

Many of his teammates have come to Houston to do the same, with 35 players participating in a voluntary practice for about 80 minutes on Monday morning at Rice University.

Quarterback Matt Schaub, defensive end Mario Williams and linebacker Brian Cushing were among the starters who joined Ryans at the workout, the first of three this week. Draft picks Shiloh Keo, Brooks Reed and T.J. Yates also practiced.

Schaub led the players through a series of warm-up drills before the group split up, according to their positions. They mostly scrimmaged, without pads, for most of the last half of the practice.

"For us to be out here as a team, a group of guys choosing to be here, in the long-term will serve us good," Schaub said.

Ryans is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles' tendon that sidelined him for the last 10 games of last season. He referred to a playbook during the practice, and repeated calls to ensure that the players understood.

"It's important for us to get out here and get the guys some looks at our different offensive sets, and try to do our adjusting," Ryans said. "I think we are getting more comfortable with the terminology that we're using. The more reps you get, the better you get it."

But as much benefit as the team workouts provide, Schaub concedes that every NFL team will need extended training camp with coaches to properly prepare for the season.

And when that happens is still anyone's guess.

Players have been told in conference calls that there will be more negotiations this week involving Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, owners and players.

Ryans says he's "encouraged" about what he believes are constructive meetings. But he offered no timeline for when he thought a new deal might be struck, only that he believes progress is being made toward ending the lockout that began March 12.

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