By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAFAYETTE — West St. John continued its summer run of impressive 7-on-7 football, defeating all comers recently to be crowned champion in the 2011 University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajun 7-on-7 Shootout.

The Rams defeated University in the championship game in a come from behind effort that saw WSJ defensive back Lawrence Williams intercept a Cubs’ pass in the final moments to seal the win — the final margin was by a touchdown.

“We’ve got a group of kids here who are very humble and work hard,” said West St. John coach Robert Valdez. “We’re taking small steps, doing things we’re confident in and that they’re comfortable with. And we’re executing well. These kids have a real good attitude, they put in the work, and they’re excited to test themselves against other schools.”

The win comes on the heels of the Rams’ third place (of 16) finish at the 7-on-7 Red Bull Gamebreakers tourney at Tad Gormley Stadium.

Dontre Turner also intercepted a pair of passes. Williams was also a heavy target of quarterback Austin Howard’s in the passing game throughout the day, including some big gainers.

Twenty-eight schools in all from Louisiana and Mississippi competed at the event, which was held at ULL. West St. John defeated North Central , South Plaquemine, Dunham and Parklane High (Mississippi) to finish the preliminary round robin round undefeated, earning the Rams a bye in the double-elimination tournament.

Wins over Loureauville and Natchez Cathedral (Mississippi) pushed West St. John into the semifinals – that round officially saw teams begin play at Cajun Field, ULL’s home gridiron. West St. John toppled Louisville (Mississippi) to move to the finals.

Valdez said the team’s defense has been a rock in these competitions.

“We’ve just been very disciplined and handling our assignments,” he said. “When these quarterbacks have four seconds to throw … they usually can count on maybe two and a half seconds … and you can still cover those receivers, it says a lot. I’m seeing these guys get better each time out, and that’s the main thing we look for in the summer time.”

Valdez said his top two rushers, Jeremy Jackson and Kylum Favorite, showed a lot of ability in the passing game.

“Both did a tremendous job and had big tournaments,” he said.

As he did after the team’s last tournament venture, Valdez stressed that 7-on-7 is only a drill and that the real test will come when the pads go on later this year.

But he hardly faults his players for their enthusiasm — indeed, he welcomes it.

“Oh, you know they’re excited,” said Valdez. “Anytime you win at anything … their hard work is showing them immediate results.”