Thursday marks the beginning of the 21st annual Adidas Texas State 7-on-7 Championships, and for the 20th year the event will again be held in College Station. Once again the action will take place at Veterans Park in College Station. 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 2018 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. We 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 20-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 late April. 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. New for 2018 is the addition of the Division III bracket, which consists of schools in Class 3A Division II and below – no private schools are allowed in this division.

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. Other multiple title winners include:

Graham: 2013, 2014, 2017

Baytown Lee: 2001, 2005 (did not qualify)

Southlake Carroll: 1998, 2013

Lake Travis: 2010, 2017

Of note, 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. Arlington Lamar is the only team in the state to have qualified for every State 7-on-7 Tournament since 1998, but the Vikings have never won it all despite some deep runs. They aren’t among the favorites in the Division I bracket, but they are lurking in that next set of teams who – if they get hot – could be a real force.

The Defending Champions

Graham took home the Division II crown a year ago, taking down Abilene Wylie 27-20 in a thrilling title game. Lake Travis took home bragging rights in Division I, edging out Waxahachie 34-33. Both teams are back in College Station in 2018 looking to defend their titles. 

How Do The Champions Do In The Fall?

In the early days of 7-on-7 there was little to no correlation to winning the state title in 7-on-7 and success in the fall. In fact, Baytown Lee won in 2005 and failed to win a game in the fall. However, in recent years that trend has started to change and there’s even been a few teams who won both State 7-on-7 and UIL football titles in the same year.  (Tyler Lee – 2004, Celina – 2000 & 2007, Lake Travis – 2010, Melissa – 2011). However, just because you don’t win a state title in football doesn’t mean the season was a failure, check out some of the other deep playoff runs by State 7-on-7 Champions below:

2009: Round Rock Stony Point (state semifinals)

2010: Brownwood (state semifinals)

2012: Celina (regional semifinalist)

2013: Southlake Carroll (regional semifinalist)

2013: Graham (state semifinals)

2014: Graham (state semifinals)

2015: Austin Westlake (state finalist)

2016: The Woodlands (state finalist)

2017: Graham (state semifinals)

2017: Lake Travis (state finalist)

A year ago the eight quarter-finalists in Division I combined to go an incredible 77-18 in the fall, including one state champion in 5A Division II and the 6A Division I runner-up.  The eight quarter-finalists in Division II went a combined 89-18 in the fall. Included in that list was the 4A Division II state champion, along with a 4A Division II state semifinalist and a 2A Division I state semifinalist.

Tournament Format

Teams in all divisions will play three games in their pool on Day 1 (Thursday for Division II and III; Friday for Division I), then split off into single elimination format on Day 2.

In Division III, teams are placed into four pools of four teams and seeded based on performance on Day 1 into a sixteen-team single elimination bracket on Friday. Division II has 48 teams which will be placed into a dozen pools of four teams each. The top two teams from each pool, plus the top eight third-place teams, move to the championship bracket, while the bottom sixteen teams will be placed into the consolation bracket.

There is no change to the Division I bracket as the 64 teams will be placed into sixteen pools of four teams. The top two teams in each pool advance to the championship bracket, while the third and fourth place teams will be in the consolation bracket.

 

It’s Been a While, Welcome Back!

These teams have advanced to the State 7-on-7 Tournament before, but it has been a few years, so welcome these old friends back to College Station!

Tuscola Jim Ned (last appearance 2002)

Bridgeport (last appearance 2007)

Gonzales (last appearance 2007)

Laredo Alexander (last appearance 2008)

Denton Guyer (last appearance 2010)

District 5-4A Division I Sweep

We all knew in February at UIL Realignment that the new 5-4A Division I would be one of the state’s toughest and – at least in 7-on-7 – it’s proved true as all five teams in this district (Brownwood, China Spring, Gatesville, Stephenville and Waco LaVega) all qualified for the Division II State Tournament.

Private School Power

Four private schools have qualified for the Division I State Tournament, including a pair of first-timers in Fort Worth Nolan, fresh off their TAPPS 7-on-7 title and super talented Dallas Bishop Dunne. Two returning teams are Houston St. Pius X and Plano Prestonwood, who both performed well at the state tournament a year ago. All four teams are threats to win their pools and make plenty of noise on the second day of the tournament.

Punching Above Their Weight Class

East Bernard was actually eligible for the Division III bracket, but that didn’t stop the Brahmas from making noise in the Division II bracket, qualifying at the Hitchcock SQT in May. East Bernard is the lone Division III eligible school to qualify for the Division II State Tournament and joins Carthage (2007) and Brady (2008) as the only schools to qualify for the state tournament in a larger division.

First Appearance At The Dance

Below is a list of the teams making their first-ever appearance at the State 7-on-7 Tournament. 

Division I

Crowley

El Paso Parkland

Little Elm

New Caney

Sachse

Fort Worth Nolan

Dallas Bishop Dunne

Katy Tompkins

Division II

Hillsboro

La Vernia

Longview Spring Hill

Paris

Raymondville

Sunnyvale

Waco LaVega

Waxahachie Life

Division III

Bremond

Gunter

Hearne

Johnson City

Louise

Lovelady

Palmer

Tenaha

Road Tripping Or Sleeping In Your Own Bed?

As is often the case in the Division I bracket, no one puts more miles on the vehicles than the teams from El Paso and this year the title of road warrior goes to El Paso Franklin located on the west side of the Sun City. The Cougars will travel a whopping 687 miles one way. College Station High and College Station A&M Consolidated don’t need to worry about hotel reservations as they’ll be sleeping at home for the weekend with the state tournament being held in their hometown. 

In Division II the top travel goes to Raymondville out of the Rio Grande Valley as they’ll travel 358 miles out to College Station. There aren’t any truly local teams playing in the Division II bracket, so Mexia wins the prize for the shortest journey as the Blackcats have an 89-mile trip from Freestone County down to College Station.

In Division III, Alpine has a 503 mile journey from the Big Bend Country out to College Station, while nearby Hearne doesn’t have to deal with hotel reservations as they are just 25 miles away.

 

Coming Out to Watch Your Team Play?

If you can, come on out to College Station and cheer your favorite team on. Even if you are just a high school football fan, it’s a blast to come out and watch these talented players in action up close and personal. Admission is free, bring a chair, a cooler stocked with cold drinks and lots of sun screen! The Bryan-College Station area has plenty of hotels, but they book quick so if you plan on staying more than a day, make sure you get your reservations ASAP. The Veterans Park complex in College Station is quite large and if you plan on going to multiple fields to check out the action be prepared for a 10-15 minute walk, however DCTF has you COVERED in 2018 in a big way! Look for the DCTF Fan shuttle which will be out and about helping transport fans to set up for the day and move fans from one field to another if needed! We are very excited to offer this service to the fans and coaches from around the state in 2018 at the Texas 7-on-7 State Tournament.

How To Follow The Tournament If You Can’t Make It

If you can’t make it out DCTF will be all over the action tweeting out updates and video throughout the weekend! Check us out on Twitter @dctf or go to http://www.texasfootball.com.