INDIANAPOLIS — The Horizon Hawks were one of 32 teams nationwide to earn a trip to Indianapolis for the 2012 High School Player Development 7-on-7 National Tournament hosted by the NFL and National Guard. Each NFL market was represented, and the Horizon Hawks earned their trip by winning the 2012 Broncos High School 7-on-7 regional tournament in June.
Horizon’s 7-on-7 journey started at All City Stadium at Denver South High School in the second annual Broncos High School 7-on-7 Tournament. The Hawks went 3-0 in pool play and earned a spot in championship Saturday held at the Broncos Training Facility on June 23. Horizon went 4-0 at Dove Valley defeating Eaglecrest, Montbello, Fairview and then Fossil Ridge in the tournament final.
The Hawks, led by Head Coach Frank Ybarra and Offensive Coordinator Gregg Sumey, arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 12 for orientation where each player received cleats, Broncos-branded home and away jerseys, shorts, sweatshirts and a backpack – all provided by NIKE.
“We weren’t sure what to expect going into the tournament but I expected us to be competitive in every game we played,” Ybarra said. “I wanted to show all the teams from around the country that we belonged.”
Play began on Friday, July 13 at the Colts’ Training Facility where each team played five games of pool play. The Hawks were matched up against the AFC West and NFC West and opened up against the Kansas City Chiefs. In a tight game throughout, the Hawks defense landed a second-half interception to help propel them to an opening game victory over Kansas City, 31-28.
The Hawks continued to build momentum throughout the morning by defeating San Diego 34-24 and Oakland 31-14. 3-0 against the AFC West, Horizon’s next two opponents would come from the NFC West. The Hawks jumped all over Seattle winning 34-0, but was clipped by Arizona in the final seconds 27-24 to conclude day one.
Later that evening, all 32 teams took a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, where players got to see the home team’s locker room and take a walk on the playing surface. Players also had the chance to visit the NCAA Hall of Champions located in downtown Indianapolis.
The second day of play included the final two games of pool play followed by a single-elimination tournament. The Hawks were edged out by St. Louis on a last-second touchdown to start the day but quickly bounced back against San Francisco winning 28-24.
5-2 in pool play, Horizon would be seeded number one in the AFC West and would have to win two more games within the division to make the final eight. The Hawks opened elimination play against San Diego where they would get a last-second interception in the end zone to secure the win over the Chargers. The Raiders also advanced to play Horizon in the round of 16, but the Hawks controlled the game from the start and defeated Oakland 28-10.
In the round of eight, Horizon would be matched up against the AFC North winner, Cincinnati. The Hawks jumped out to an early 17-7 lead but a successful Hail Mary pass before the half cut the lead to 17-14. The Hawks battled in the second half but would fall to the Bengals 28-24.
“We performed better than I expected when it was all said and done,” Ybarra said. “Our players competed against some talented teams and our kids showed up and did their jobs.”
Quarterback Auston Stackhouse led the Hawks offense and kept opposing defensives off balance with his strong arm and accuracy. Wide receivers Dustin Rivas, Steve Sumey, Greg Gonzales and Jordan Gravage were popular targets throughout the tournament each making multiple touchdown catches in the high scoring offensive showcase.
Defensive backs Chad Reffel, Jordan Iacovetta and Dante Chand helped anchor the Hawks defensive backfield with Brandon Halperin, Gunnar Campbell, Chad David and Chance Callahan patrolling the middle of the field at the linebacker positions.
Throughout the tournament, the Hawks would win seven of ten games and went 5-0 within the AFC West division. Horizon was one of four actual high school teams to make the final eight, the other four teams being made up of all stars from their respective areas.
“This was a great experience for our team and hopefully our players understand the level of competition that exists throughout the country,” Ybarra said. “The 12 kids who were here with us this weekend can now take this experience back to help lead the 50 other players on our roster into the upcoming season.”
Congratulations to Horizon High School for a great showing at the 2012 HSPD 7-on-7 National Tournament. They represented their high school, Colorado and the Denver Broncos with class, heart and an outstanding competitive spirit. Best of luck in 2012.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the Hawks’ games in Indianapolis.
Tags: 7-on-7 Tournament
This might be worth a look…
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82aac2f4/article/luis-castillo-reportedly-cut-by-san-diego-chargers?module=HP11_headline_stack
Castillo is listed as 6″ 3 290 is that correct?
Gotta go ck back later.
Peace out
Not yet. I was suppose to be in Wyoming the middle of last month to fish, but that fell through. Bummer drag!
Yep. Castillo missed all of last year with a broken leg, so maybe something is going on there, or maybe SD is just real high on Reyes. Looks like he was pretty productive each year before getting injured, and he was only due to make $1M. I do like the idea of signing a player from SD, since they got Royal. Maybe he would be fired up to prove them wrong? Worth a look IMO.
http://www.nfl.com/player/luiscastillo/2506367/profile
Castillo is worth a look and we seem to be the injury recovery area of the NFL and I’m ok with that! LOL
Strand Wyoming is burning up ;-(
Just found out m dog might have cancer. Not cool! ;-(
Sorry to hear about that Cat.
Yeah, we should take a gander at Castillo.
I think so. But we have a 90 man roster so we’d have to cut someone I think!
Thanks. ;-(
We`d have to cut some player who`s already on the bubble. There are many bubble players who don`t have a fighting chance to make the team to begin with.
You’re right. That’ll happen soon! Watched John Elway’s interview for NBC. They tried to goadand him into saying something bad about Tebow and he wouldn’t have it. Then they forced him to pick a wideout fantasy pick for our team and they goaded him enough he picked Eric. Oooooh. NfL network is going to have a field day with that one! LOL
Cat:
Sorry to hear that about your Cat. It’s like family. I hope its not bad.
FTR
I mean your Dog Sorry!
I think looking at Castllo would be good as long as we find out why the chargers changed thier mind. Beef him up from 290 to 310!
just me!
FTR
Thanks FTR that means a lot!
Bud… I had to get a cutthatmeatlocal18 shirt. These guys are clever! Thought you’d like it too; http://5280shirtshop.spreadshirt.com/
They have Miller and Demaryius Prime shirts too.
OC-KK
Update on your song Strong is the Neck release in Korea LG!! Its 10:34 am there! They will comment after they get done hashing over my SQL code toUse db_rewrite_sql to respect node access restrictions. They work first then play. But I love these guys hope for a response by tomorrow after they have a few shots of Cheongju-or-Chung Ha (It’s like BLBs, Moon shine) LMOL!! They like WHOOOOHA also. I will let you know. 45 hits on you tube so far.
LONG LIVE THE NECK
FTR
That’s impressive! I will post it again tomorrow morning.
Well Its my bedtime so catch you all later.
Peace Out!
FTR
NOW TAP YOUR CLEATS 3 TIMES!
Cat, I have no tolerance for NFLN. They are a freaken joke. Excuse my french.
Strand… LOL me too. But everyone is talking up DMT so bad I think its funny that Elway picked Eric!
HE’S NOT IN INDY ANYMORE!!!!!!!!
The land of BRONCOS COUNTRY!! OZ COUNTRY!! LOL
What would have been even funnier is if Elway would have chosen Brandon Stokely. LOL
He did mention Stokley… LOL I love John Elway more every day. LOL
Strand the funny thing is is that before you know it we WILL be Oz country! LMAO
Gotta love John! LOL
Follow the Orange SUNSETS! LOL
I had to go there. HaHa!!
Somewhere over the rainbow, its Orange, and clear Blue skys!!
I ought to tell him we anticipate the daythat Broncos Country is Oz Country! I am not cool enough to thing about that stuff! I LOVE THE SONG! OC strand is helping you write the song LOL
And the wicked wizard of the west is Dennis Allen! LOL
Cat, thats classic! Hilarious! Gotta love it.
The hated raiders will be bottom feeders in the AFC west this year. LMAO!!
I do write music though. I love writing lyrics.
Thats why he is the wicked wizard of the west. I think that Elvis might have to be the scarecrow because he might be missing his brain…
You should write it up… Kod will sing it!
John Elway is the Wizard of Oz.
I can sing too. Its Rock and Metal all the way. I sang in a metal band for 6 years in L.A. during the 80`s. Those were fun times.
And that was before I became a believer in Christ.
Pat Bowlen is the nice wizard that pays for Peyton’s way to Broncos Country!
Change of script… John Elway is the Wizard of Denver…
Peyton can return to Indy for his Hall of Fame induction at the end if his career
You should write it up! We can have two different versions! Yours and OC’s. Id love to hear you sing!
Well said, I like that idea.
Peyton isn’t searching for Indy though he’s searching for his SB win!
LOL I could go all night on this… Miles has to tag along
Who is the tinman?
Whobis the cowardly lion?
I`ve got a 4 1/2 octave range. A gift from God of course, the glory goes to him.
I was just thinking that. Whos who.
The cowardly lion is Cutler. LOL