The Texas State 7-on-7 Championship pools are out! Here are the predictions for the order of finish in each group, plus a mini-preview for each pool.

 

Pool A Predicted Order of Finish

1. Katy Tompkins
2. Haslet Eaton
3. Nacogdoches
4. Corpus Christi Carroll

Katy Tompkins is major favorite in this pool and the real intriguing battle will come for the coveted second spot in the championship bracket, where Haslet Eaton gets the edge over tournament newcomers Nacogdoches and Corpus Christi Carroll.

 

Pool B Predicted Order of Finish

1. Colleyville Heritage
2. The Woodlands
3. Hutto
4. Edinburg North

Lots of 7-on-7 name value in this pool with Colleyville Heritage, The Woodlands and Hutto all being regular entries to the State Tournament. Colleyville Heritage at full strength looks to be the early favorite, while The Woodlands gets the edge over a Hutto squad that has experience at multiple spots. Edinburg North is making just their second trip to the State Tournament, but they’ve gotten a bad draw in Pool B.

 

Pool C Predicted Order of Finish

1. Frisco Wakeland
2. El Paso Eastwood
3. Spring
4. Georgetown

Frisco Wakeland has been outstanding in during SQT play and the Wolverines are setting themselves up as a sleeper to make a deep run Saturday. Eastwood may be El Paso’s best hope for a big run, the Troopers are adept at the 7-on-7 game and it translates well to Friday night. Spring will be the most athletic team in this pool across the board, but can the Lions be consistent enough in a balanced pool?

 

Pool D Predicted Order of Finish

1. Humble Atascocita
2. Lewisville Hebron
3. Beaumont West Brook
4. Azle

This is another outstanding pool that goes four deep with talent. Pound for pound, Atascocita may be the most talented team in the entire tournament, if the Eagles play to their paper they get the edge over a Hebron team that is considered one of the best out of DFW. West Brook is another team loaded with talent and athletes and if they can get consistent QB play, the Bruins will be a tough out, while Azle boasts an all-state candidate calling the offense, but do the Hornets have enough at the skill spots to keep up in a loaded pool?

 

Pool E Predicted Order of Finish

1. College Station
2. Wolfforth Frenship
3. Conroe Grand Oaks
4. Midlothian

College Station, who won the title in 2018 is back and looking like a contender to win it all again after playing in multiple SQTs in multiple parts of the state and showing well. The Cougars have an experience QB, good talent at the skill spots, depth and plenty of savvy in playing the 7on7 game. The battle for that second spot in the pool will be intriguing as there’s no real clear-cut leader among the remaining three teams. We’ll give the slight edge to Frenship over Grand Oaks and Midlothian, but those three could easily finish in any order, it’s a coin flip.

 

Pool F Predicted Order of Finish

1. Alvin Shadow Creek
2. Little Elm
3. Mercedes
4. Cedar Park

If you like big time athletes this pool has it with Shadow Creek and Little Elm, both of whom are loaded with talent. Shadow Creek gets the slight edge, but I don’t feel great about it! Mercedes may be the top team in the Valley and the Tigers if overlooked are quite dangerous. Cedar Park qualified late for the State Tournament and considering the transition going on in the program at the moment, it’s tough to expect too much from the Timberwolves this week.

 

Pool G Predicted Order of Finish

1. Prosper
2. Mission Veterans Memorial
3. Klein Collins
4. Buda Johnson

Prosper’s depth and overall level of talent should be enough to lift them to the top of a pool full of intriguing but unproven teams. Mission Vets may be the Valley’s best hope to get to the championship bracket as the Patriots are a solid group and they’ve got a manageable draw. Klein Collins will be led by a solid defense in 7on7, while Buda Johnson in just their second varsity season is starting to emerge as a real power on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio.

 

Pool H Predicted Order of Finish

1. Arlington Lamar
2. Garland
3. Cypress Woods
4. El Paso Coronado

Arlington Lamar has been to every Texas 7-on-7 State Tournament, but the Vikings have never been able to win it all, this is a solid Lamar bunch that looks capable of winning their pool, but a surprise run on Saturday may be a bit too much to ask. Garland is a very capable dark horse with some elite front-line talent, can the Owls hold off under the radar Cy Woods who is always tough? The big unknown is El Paso Coronado who did advance from the El Paso qualifier, but the top two teams in the city were already qualified so we’ll find out quickly how deep the Sun City talent is.

 

Pool I Predicted Order of Finish

1. DeSoto
2. Killeen Harker Heights
3. Cypress Bridgeland
4. Harlingen

Another fascinating pool that features DeSoto and their bevy of incredible skill talent as the headliner, but the Eagles are by no means a lock to win this pool. Harker Heights is plenty talented themselves and the Knights fared quite well traveling to the DFW area going against strong competition in two tournaments. Bridgeland has what many feel is the best QB in the tournament in Texas A&M commit Conner Weigman and if he’s available, he’s capable of leading the Bears to big things. Harlingen was a surprise qualifier out of the Valley when they played without their QB, although the Cardinals signal caller is back this week, this is a rough draw for HHS.

 

Pool J Predicted Order of Finish

1. Midland Lee
2. Cypress Falls
3. Trophy Club Nelson
4. Austin Anderson

Midland Lee looks loaded on both sides of the ball and could be a real dark-horse candidate to make some major noise at this tournament, the Rebels will get tested by always solid Cy-Falls as on paper these two look to be a step ahead of Byron Nelson and surprise qualifier out of Abilene, Austin Anderson.

 

 

Pool K Predicted Order of Finish

1. Dickinson
2. Temple
3. Wylie East
4. San Antonio Warren

Pool K is wide open with four teams on paper who appear to be evenly matched, so don’t be surprised if some tiebreaker scenarios play itself out. Dickinson gets the edge in this pool based on top to bottom talent, while Temple on their best days can play with anyone, the Wildcats at times have been inconsistent on offense. Wylie East is rapidly improving and could be a real dark-horse contender, while San Antonio Warren rounds things out as a team that has some mystery behind it as most teams in San Antonio didn’t play in SQTs outside of the one local qualifier.

 

Pool L Predicted Order of Finish

1. Frisco Lone Star
2. Richmond Foster
3. Port Neches-Groves
4. Laredo United South

Look for Frisco Lone Star to be the clear front runner in this pool, but Richmond Foster after a slow start in SQT play appears to be peaking late and is poised to challenge the Rangers. PNG was a bit of a surprise qualifier out of Dayton, the Indians are always a solid 7-on-7 team, they won’t beat themselves and are capable of doing the little things needed to win games. Laredo United South is making their first appearance at the State Tournament, they likely won’t challenge for a spot in the championship bracket, but expect them to be competitive.

 

Pool M Predicted Order of Finish

1. Flower Mound Marcus
2. Tyler
3. Houston Lamar
4. El Paso Americas

Lots of young talent at Flower Mound Marcus and if the Marauders get on a roll they could go a long way on Saturday in bracket play. That battle for second between Tyler and Houston Lamar will be fun, but Tyler posted a strong 6-1 mark in two qualifiers and the Lions are playing extremely well at the moment. El Paso Americas is a surprise qualifier out of the Sun City after largely avoiding SQT play the past few years, the Trailblazers are tough and won’t be a pushover in a challenging pool.

 

Pool N Predicted Order of Finish

1. Lake Travis
2. El Paso Eastlake
3. Katy Cinco Ranch
4. Richardson Pearce

Pre-tournament Lake Travis is expected to have no issues in this pool, but the real drama will be for that second-place spot. Eastlake was the first El Paso team to qualify at the Midland SQT and although the Falcons don’t have any big names, the Falcons are solid top to bottom and execute at a high level. Cinco Ranch got hot in the final weekend of qualifying as the Cougars slow rebuild continues, while Pearce expects to be in the mix with their dynamic offense.

 

Pool O Predicted Order of Finish

1. Denton Guyer
2. College Station A&M Consolidated
3. Klein Cain
4. Midland Christian

This is an absolutely loaded pool, the team that finishes third in this group could very easily go on and win the consolation bracket. Guyer is one of the tournament favorites as the Wildcats have flourished in 7-on-7 this year with a full off-season and spring to adapt to their more up-tempo offense. A&M Consolidated is the defending champion and they’ve got the edge of homefield advantage, the last two state tournaments they have an impressive 15-1 record. Klein Cain and Midland Christian are both very strong contenders as well and in most pools they’d be a lock for a top two slot, but this is a deep and talented pool.

 

Pool P Predicted Order of Finish

1. Austin Westlake
2. Cy-Fair
3. Denton Braswell
4. Harlingen South

Austin Westlake is considered the clear favorite in this pool and a contender to win it all, expect Cy-Fair and Braswell to challenge for the other spot in the championship bracket. Cy-Fair has been to the state tournament 21-straight years and the Bobcats had to wait until the final week of qualifying to advance. Give the Bobcats the nod over State Tournament newcomers Braswell and Harlingen South.