It has become an annual thing for the Mercedes 7on7 team to reach the Texas State tournament in College Station.
The Tigers have now qualified for the state in back-to-back seasons. They punched their ticket this year with a 41-34 win against McAllen Memorial in the Mission state qualifying tournament.
The Tigers have experience on both sides of the ball with 13 players returning from last summer’s 7on7 squad.
The Tigers air-raid attack possesses multiple weapons with twins Marc and Matt Ledesma, Zach Gomez and Fabian Ledesma. Defensively, Roger Adame and Ivan Vela will lead the charge.
“Most of us were on the team last summer, so we know what to expect,” said Adame. “Our experience will help teach the younger guys on the team. We have the team to make a run, it’s just a matter of being consistent on every play, but we’re excited to be going back.”
This will be Mercedes’ sixth trip to College Station as the team also qualified in 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
Joining Mercedes in Division I will be Sharyland Pioneer, Weslaco High, McAllen Rowe and Edinburg North. In Division II, meanwhile, Hidalgo and Rio Hondo round out the other schools from the Valley.
Mercedes will be placed in Pool D and will begin play at 1 p.m. Friday with the games continuing at 3 and 5 p.m. In Mercedes’ pool will be Del Valle, Montgomery and Timberview (Mansfield).
“As a senior this was a goal of ours to make it back to state,” said Ledesma. “It’s always a great experience to go play in College Station. We get a chance to showcase our skills and compete with the best. We love our community because they support us 100 percent. We feed off their energy and to have them follow us to state is a great feeling.”
