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
Dude! I can’t carry a tune although I don’t think I’m as bad as Timmy. I was given different gifts though
We all do Cat. Tell me a God given gift you have. I`d like to know.
Strand that is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am rotfl right now! Jay the cowardly lion so the tinman has to be Josh McDaniels cuz that guy doesn’t have a heart
I saw those Broncos plates you`ve made. Now thats talent.
LMAO!! HaHa! perfecto!!
I was given the passion to teach and help kids!
That was effort! That’s the first time I’ve tried to put he Broncos logo on anything.
AND I am a fantastic reader. I thank God for that every day. Reading is my favorite hobby besides football.
Thats a neat and wonderful gift. I see that your also an encourager, you edify people. Thats awesome to see in people, kinda rare. I have that too in me.
I`d like to share a book with you that will blow your mind. Its a book thats called My Time In Heaven. The authors name is Richard Sigmund. You will not be disappointed. It`ll make you laugh, cry, give you a certain hope for the future. I just wanted to let you know if your interested. Everyone who reads it is floored and the book exchanges many hands with my experience. You will never ever be the same again. I promise.
I will do that strand! Thank you!
I try to find the glass half full. There is too much sadness in the world.
This book in itself sells and touches and heals those who want to know what God has instore for them when we get to heaven, just a beautiful glimpse of paradise.
I shared this book with a friend of mine who lives in Pittsburgh. She read it from cover to cover, gave it to her mother and she did the same. They then bought 6 copys for 7.99 and are handing them out to whoever will want to read this awesome book.
That is awesome. I dream of what it looks like and I day dream too… I want to be there so bad!
So who`s the fly monkeys in the Wizard of the NFL? LOL
I do not like to read much. I`ve read this book 6 times all the way through.
You feel like your there the whole time from cover to cover. It never stops, just like a good movie.
Some day, all of Gods family will be there. Some day we`ll meet in heaven and talk about Gods favorite football team. The Denver Broncos> LOL
The flying monkeys have to be the chargers or chiefs some how… they could be the seahawks…
You got it and I will check that book out when I get paid at the end of the month!
Perfect. The Chiefs and Chargers together are all of the flying monkeys. LOL
The monkeys are bothering me… I don’t have a good idea. Where is bud or kod or LBF? Where is LBF anyway???????
Yoooohooooo Louisiana where are you?
It will touch your heart. Its undescribable! No words can come close my Bronco friend.
LBF is a cool dude.
BudLight Year. To infinite and beyond!
I know!!! Weird that he is not here.
Well I can’t wait to read it!
I`ve given it as a gift many times. The Lord placed it on my heart to do so. These things happen for a reason.
Well cat, I`m off to go hit the hay. have a great night OK? Sweet dreams!
Strand… I believe that and I thank you for sharing.
Good night and God Bless!
Ok everyone… hope you enjoyed our song brainstorming but we need your help… who are the flying monkeys in our parody? LOL
Man, I’ve been in the Hayfield for the last 16 days… Finished today, after only producing 1/3 the crop of last year… Doesn’t look like I missed alot on this blog, and I just read about Elvis getting arrested… Uggh
Can’t wait for football! It feels like it will actually get here after all…
VON MANNING FOOTBALL 2012! SUPERBOWL CHAMPS OR BUST!!!
My condolences to all the victims of the movie theater shootings here in aurora tonight
Just wondering. I’ve read many stories about people dying, seeing the light and Jesus. How come nobody ever sees the devil? You’d think with that many people dying, etc, etc that there’d be at least one evil person who’d seen the devil and changed his evil ways. Not trying to start anything, just strikes me as a problem of mathimatical probability.
My heart goes out to all those involved. What a sad thing to happen. One victim was a one or two year old girl shot a point blank range. A very sad thing to happen.
Such horrible news to read this morning. What a sensless act. How could someone be so messed up to take out their aggression on a bunch of innocent people. I hope they catch the shooter and he suffers for the rest of his life……….
Nice to see you chime in Turtle………..we’ve all been wondering where you’ve been. Good to hear you’re alright.
Feels so good to say that it’s now less than a week before training camp starts! WHOOP!
I want to send condolences to anyone who lost a family member or friend in the shooting. How someone can take one life is beyond me but so many really shakes me up. I also hope those that were injured make full recoveries
Such a terrible tragedy, my thoughts go out to all the families that suffered this great loss… Made me feel very lucky to have my little girl. This dude better rot in the hole for the rest of his life.
My, heart goes out to all the victoms in that terrible shooting, soooo sad, that someone could be that unhappy in life, to take that of others, its a shame.
To oldsouthstander, I watch that survived and beyond show, and, ive seen people that have said that they have seen the dark side also bro. Ive heard both sides of that story, so , we know theirs two different places we can go, thats why I for one kinda lives on the sraight and narrow. If you just treat people the way you would like to be treated, the world would be a better place. Have a great day Bronco Country.
My condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims of this terrible tragedy,this is a sad world we all live in today!
I also lost my mother to cancer today,she passed away at 6:30 AM this morning,I will miss her very much!
BRONCOS COUNTRY STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!
oh man BLB………..I’m so sorry to hear about your loss………..you and your family will be in my thoughts today bro.
BLB my sympathy to you. It will be hard but try to stay strong
How devastating. ;-( I am so sad.
Bud, I am so sorry. ;-( please let us know if there is anything we can do… Prayers your way man.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people involved directly and indirectly. What a sad and senseless incident to have happen to all these innocent people.
BLB: My thoughts and prayers are with you as well this morning.
What kind of thoughts must go through the mind before they do something like this. It seems in alot of cases that it is definitely premeditated. Is it anger? Is it unforgiveness? Or is it someones way of feeling powerless in society that they have to do something like this.
The battlefield is in are minds folks!!! If we do not take evil thoughts captive and discard them immediately. We begin to feed and make stronger something that may not be true. Then you will act on what you believe in your heart. Good and evil exist all around us and I believe we are in a spiritual battle for a soul that is built for eternity.
It sure is horse… we must learn how to move through those battlefields and come out stronger.
It makes no sense. Was he trying to be the Joker?
Yep. He was! How sad!!