Aug 20, 2011; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view as the St. Louis Rams take the field before the game against the Tennessee Titans at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

I mentioned the St. Louis Rams 7-on-7 high school team a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d give an update on how they fared at the tournament in Indianapolis. The squad, filled with St. Louis-area players, finished the round-robin portion 8-0 but was upset in the single-elimination tournament 24-21 by the Arizona Cardinals.

From what I heard, the team was very impressive. It’s unfortunate that they got ousted early on in the tourney, especially since it was the Cardinals that did it, but they put on a good show. Apparently, their quarterback — Francis Howell junior Brett Siebenshuh — really opened some eyes during the team’s nine games.

“Brett Siebenshuh is firing balls in and making elite-level throws,” coach Matt Biermann said. “He threw two picks the entire tournament. Two picks and probably 35-plus touchdowns or whatever it was.”

This just goes to show you that there are some top-level football players in high schools here in the St. Louis area, so all you football lovers out there should try to find some time this fall to head out and take in some of the local games.

May 11, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead looks on during mini camp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The Rams announced their final roster for this summer’s NFL High School Player Development 7-on-7 National Tournament on Wednesday, as they picked 12 of the top area players to travel to Indianapolis next month for the tournament. The organization also picked six linemen to travel with the group to participate in the Linemen Leadership Program at the tournament as well. Play in the tourney will open on July 12 and will run through July 15. The Rams’ 2011 team was ousted in the first round of play in the 24-team, single-elimination format.

The 2012 roster looks like this: Devin Alexander (Ritenour, jr.), Bert Birdsall (CBC, sr.), Keith Brent (Hazelwood Central, sr.), Tyler Brewer (Fox, sr.), Greg Gibson (O’Fallon, sr.), Brendan Moore (Mehlville, jr.), Darius Mosely (O’Fallon, sr.), Zach Muniz (CBC, jr.), Aarion Penton (CBC, sr.), Devin Roberts (Warrenton, sr.), Brett Siebenshuh (Francis Howell, jr.) and Cole Sigmund (MICDS, so.).

The six linemen who will also travel to Indy are Brandon Barton (Festus, sr.), Jonathan Bonner (Parkway Central, jr.), Chris Simmons (Mehlville, jr.), Chris Watkins (Wesclin, sr.), Cody Watz (Fox, sr.) and Donnie White (De Smet, sr.).

This group was chosen after a series of camps that started with 600 players and eventually got whittled down to 34 before picking the final 12 players from that group. There is plenty of talent here, so let’s hope this group goes over there and shows the rest of the league what the Rams and the St. Louis area has to offer. The team will be coached by Kyle Eversgerd, the Rams Fan Development Coordinator (and a former slow-pitch softball teammate of mine), and Matt Biermann.

Still, it is the Super Bowl, so it’s worth discussing predictions for the game. It seems like everyone is picking the Giants, which is a bit of a surprise to me, but they are the hotter team and the are riding a wave of momentum. With that being said, I will never pick against Tom Brady in a big game. Personal feelings aside, I believe that Bill Belichick with two weeks to prepare is as dangerous as it gets as well. So, for those reasons I will be taking the Patriots to win the game 31-28.

For anyone interested, and for entertainment purposes only, the spread was at Pats -3 at last check. If it were at 2.5 I would be very confident, but 3 has me more reserved. I still like the Pats to win, but I can’t say I’m highly confident in them -3. If anyone wants to make a pick of their own, feel free to hit up the comment section and let everyone know.