COLLEGE STATION - - Before he went to sleep on Friday night, The Woodlands senior quarterback Jack Daulton titled his morning alarm “STATE CHAMPIONSHIP” with two fire emojis. On Saturday afternoon, he played with the confidence of a man who’d spoken the outcome into existence.

Daulton, a TCU commit, led The Woodlands to a perfect 8–0 record over two days of action, capped off with a 27-7 victory over South Oak Cliff in the Division I Texas 7-on-7 State Championship.

He was in complete command of the offense, throwing more touchdowns (four) than incompletions in the championship game.

“He understands the offense and gets people in all the right spots,” The Woodlands co-offensive coordinator David Colschen said. “We can’t coach 7-on-7, so he calls all the plays. The situations we were in, he put us in a good position to make plays.”

Daulton, the No.6-ranked quarterback in the DCTX Hot 100, was a First Team All-District 13-6A selection as a junior. In the fall, he’s an equal threat in the run and passing games. His 10.8 100-meter dash powered him to 1,142 rushing yards. But he looked just as dominant in the summer circuit when his ability to run was stripped from him.

“I can’t always rely on my legs,” Daulton said. “I got to throw guys open. If he’s not open, I just take off sometimes. But in 7-on-7, throwing passes is the only way you can get the ball down the field.”

Daulton and the rest of his senior class have played select 7-on-7 together since the seventh grade, and that chemistry was on display on Saturday. Wide receiver Eli Lancaster was his main target in the championship with two long touchdown catches.

But the tight bond between the seniors powered The Woodlands championship run in more ways than stats can convey.

Earlier in the day, The Woodlands trailed Dripping Springs by one point in the semifinal game with 40 seconds. A rare Daulton incompletion threatened to drain a running clock, until The Woodlands wide receiver chased the ball down the field, threw it back, and sprinted off to the sidelines while his backup came into the game. The move, which put the team over playing time, saved precious time. Daulton then threw the game-winning touchdown to Colton Weddel in between two defenders.

“We faced adversity all day, throughout all the different games, and we managed to find a way to win by believing in each other and competing with each other,” Colschen said. “This group of guys, they put in a lot of work. They were hungry, and they weren’t going to be denied.”