Thursday marks the beginning of the 24th annual Texas State 7-on-7 Championships, and for the 23rd year the event will be held in College Station, and once again the action will take place at Veterans Park. A robust 128 teams from across the state will gather for three days of action in one of the final big off-season events before the start of the 2022 Texas high school football season. The event has grown from humble beginnings with just 24 teams playing the inaugural event to this weekend’s massive showcase. As usual, we've decided to give you a tournament primer and some things to watch for the exciting weekend of action!
What Is It?
For those of you who are new to this, 7-on-7 is a game very similar to flag football. It's played on a 45-yard field, with seven players per side. There’s no rushing; it’s all passing and QBs have four seconds to throw the ball. Games are played in two 15-minute halves and the clock never stops.
Teams qualify for the State 7-on-7 Tournament by advancing out of one of the numerous qualifying tournaments which began in early May. Teams are divided into three divisions. Division I plays Friday and Saturday and consists of 6A, 5A and large private schools, while Division II plays Thursday and Friday and consists of Class 4A, 3A Division I and small private schools. Finally, the Division III bracket, which consists of schools in Class 3A Division II and below – no private schools are allowed in this division, plays Thursday and Friday, as well.
Who Are The Historical Powers?
There’s no question Celina has the best history of teams at the State 7-on-7 Tournament. The Bobcats have won four titles (2000, 2007, 2009 and 2012) and nearly every year are a contender to bring the hardware home and they’ll be in the mix once again in the Division II bracket. Other multiple title winners include:
Graham: 2013, 2014, 2017
Baytown Lee: 2001, 2005 (did not qualify)
Southlake Carroll: 1998, 2013 (qualified and withdrew)
Lake Travis: 2010, 2017
Kaufman: 2016, 2021
Of note, Southlake Carroll fell in the title game in Division I in 2019, while Graham also played for the title in 2012, falling to Celina in the Division II bracket. Navasota won a title in 2015, but the Rattlers also played for the crown back in 2008, falling to Crane. The Rattlers, however, did not qualify for the State Tournament for the second straight year. Crane aside from their title in 2008 did play for the state title in 2007 and again in 2019. DeSoto had strong runs in 2010 and 2011, playing for the title in 2010 and winning the Division I crown in 2011. College Station A&M Consolidated won the Division I crown in 2019 and they played for the title in 2018, losing to cross-town rival College Station.
Arlington Lamar saw their long streak of qualification for State 7-on-7 end this summer as they were the only team in the state to have qualified for every State 7-on-7 Tournament since 1998, they made two semifinals in qualifying tournaments but failed to advance. Brownwood how holds the longest streak of qualifying for the State Tournament at twenty-two straight years.
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