Division III Texas 7-on-7 State Tournament Pool Picks and Preview

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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. Childress
  2. Daingerfield
  3. Palmer
  4. Flatonia

Childress gets the nod in this evenly matched pool over an always dangerous Daingerfield squad that will bring a load of talent to the table. Palmer has been stout at the last two state tournaments, the Bulldogs don’t appear to be as strong as 2018 and 2019 but they know how to win in 7-on-7. Flatonia is a wild card, the Bulldogs are making their second appearance in College Station and even if they finish fourth,  they’ll be a tough out on Day 2.

 

Pool B Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Hearne
  2. Poth
  3. Eastland
  4. Miles

Local favorite Hearne made it all the way to the semifinals in 2019 and the Eagles could be even better in 2021, they know how to win in this format and they can create matchup issues with their athleticism. Defending champion Poth was hit hard by graduation, but the Pirates have shown plenty of potential posting a 6-2 record in two qualifying tournaments. Eastland’s skill positions were also decimated by graduation, including a Division I QB but the Mavericks have enough to hold off fellow West Texas entry Miles for the third spot.

 

Pool C Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Lexington
  2. Waskom
  3. Alpine
  4. Tolar

Lexington may have the top skill player in the tournament in Jared Kerr and they’ve got a veteran squad returning that could challenge for the title. Waskom is another strong team who brings a lot of speed to the table and talent of their own, but the edge goes to Lexington with the state tournament experience. Alpine is another state tournament veteran, but the Bucks are quite young. Tolar is a wild card in their first appearance in College Station, but this a challenging pool for a newcomer.

 

Pool D Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Crane
  2. Archer City
  3. Tidehaven
  4. Rosebud-Lott

Crane was the tournament runner-up in 2019 and the Golden Cranes have designs on bringing home the state title for the second time. Crane went 7-1 in two qualifiers this year and they’ll bring one of the top offenses to the table in Division III. Archer City and Tidehaven will be an exciting battle for second place, while tournament newcomer Rosebud-Lott has the look of a dangerous team that could challenge in this balanced pool as well.

 

Pool E Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Hawley
  2. Garrison
  3. Rogers
  4. Falls City

This is a deep pool where whoever finishes fourth will be a threat on Day 2, Hawley with their veteran skill talent gets the edge in this pool, but don’t sleep on a talented Garrison squad that will be back at full strength after qualifying in a tournament where they were missing their QB. Rogers and Falls City are both run oriented teams in the fall, but they use the pass effectively when needed and 7-on-7 success is a big part of that.

 

Pool F Predicted Order of Finish

  1. East Bernard
  2. Corrigan-Camden
  3. Chilton
  4. Stratford

East Bernard is one of the favorites in the tournament, the Brahmas especially in the secondary are extremely tough to score on and they could dominate in a pool full of newcomers to the State Tournament. Corrigan-Camden, Chilton and Stratford all on paper appear to be close and the games between these three for seeding on Friday should be quite competitive.

 

Pool G Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Franklin
  2. Wink
  3. Dublin
  4. Collinsville

Franklin, who played for a state title last fall decided to play 7-on-7 this year and the Lions have taken to the game very well. The Lions were 7-1 in two qualifiers and they bring back some dynamic playmakers at the skill positions and they’ve got some homefield advantage being just 38 miles from College Station. Much like in Pool F, the real battle in this pool could be for seeding as Wink, Dublin and Collinsville don’t have a large gap. We’ll lean to Wink for the runner-up spot, but have your tiebreakers handy!!

 

Pool H Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Gunter
  2. Mildred
  3. Eldorado
  4. Albany

Gunter has the very real possibility of challenging for not only a state title in 7-on-7 but also in the fall as well, Texas Tech commit QB Hut Graham leads the way for a Tigers squad that won the 7-on-7 title back in 2018. There’s some West Texas flair in this pool with Eldorado and Albany in this mix and a talented Eldorado squad could push a solid Mildred bunch for the second seed going into bracket play Friday.

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