The first day of the 2018 Adidas Texas 7-on-7 State Championships is in the books and teams have been slotted into their respective brackets after three pool play games.

Division II

Pool A
Decatur took down pool favorite Gilmer in the opener at 1 p.m. 40-33 and that win propelled the Eagles to a 3-0 mark and a first place finish in the pool. In a bit of irony, Decatur will open the first round of the championship bracket tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. against arch-rival Bridgeport. For the first time in decades, the two teams won’t play in the regular season. After dropping the opener to Decatur, Gilmer bounced back with a pair of convincing wins over La Vernia and Hitchock to take the second spot in the pool. Hitchcock.

Pool B
The two first-time teams in the State Tournament showed they’d be contenders on Day 2 as Sunnyvale and Raymondville secured the top two slots in the pool. Maybe the most impressive win in the pool was Sunnyvale’s finale as the Raiders blew past Burnet, 53-7. Burnet managed a spot in the championship bracket with one of the wild card spots.

Pool C
Goliad, as expected, dominated its pool with a 3-0 mark. The Tigers won all of their games by double digits including an impressive opening win over Bonham 40-18. Bonham managed the second spot in the pool with back-to-back close wins over Waco LaVega and Rockport-Fulton. The Purple Warriors, who didn’t win a game at the State Tournament last year, have to be feeling good about a 2-1 mark.

Pool D
Brock and McGregor were the class of this pool with the Eagles taking home the top spot by virtue of their 32-26 win over McGregor. Sweeny managed a wild card spot in the championship bracket, but the Bulldogs have their hands full as they face a 9 a.m. matchup against Goliad.

Pool E
This was one of the most competitive pools of the day as after two rounds of games Cuero, Gatesville, Needville and Graham were all 1-1 on the day. Needville by virtue of its thrilling 42-41 overtime win over Cuero took home the top spot in Pool E, while Gatesville stunned Graham 32-26. That loss sent the defending champions to fourth place in the pool and a spot in the consolation bracket.

Pool F
Boerne dominated Pool F with a 3-0 mark, but the Greyhounds got tested in their second game with a 48-40 overtime win over Lorena. Springtown, East Bernard and Lorena all finished 1-2 with Springtown and East Bernard earning both spots in the championship bracket.

Pool I
After two games, it appeared Melissa would be well on its way to a 3-0 mark as the Cardinals rolled past Texarkana Pleasant Grove and Pleasanton by a combined score of 116-48. Melissa ran into a hot Stephenville squad in its final game falling 40-38 and putting themselves in jeopardy of a third place finish in the pool. However, Pleasanton, needing just a win over 0-2 Texarkana Pleasant Grove to win the pool, fell to the Hawks 50-48 in the finale of the day, putting the Eagles at 1-2 and into fourth place in the pool. 

Pool J
Mexia took care of the top spot in Pool J before its third and final game with wins over Houston Worthing and Celina. The Blackcats stumbled in their final game to Glen Rose 41-33 but their work in the first two games was enough.

Pool K
In another pool that was hotly contested, Paris, Hillsboro, Gonzales and Marion were all tied at 1-1 after two rounds of pool play. Paris bounced back after a sloppy 14-13 loss to Hillsboro in the second game and finished strong with a 34-14 win over Gonzales to take the top spot. Marion rolled past Gonzales and Hillsboro in its final two games to finish in second.

Pool L
Midlothian Heritage’s offense struggled in its first game with a 19-7 win over Silsbee, but the Jaguars topped the 40-point mark in its final two games to win Pool L. Midlothian Heritage took down Fairfield 41-28 in the third and final game of the day sending 2-1 Fairfield to second place and a matchup with Mineral Wells in the championship bracket.

Pool M
Longview Spring Hill, Mineral Wells and Waxahachie Life all tied at 2-1 in Pool M, with Spring Hill earning the top spot based on the points scored tiebreaker. With its head-to-head win over Waxahachie Life, Mineral Wells got the second place spot in the pool.

Pool N
The game of the day was the finale in Pool N as Tuscola Jim Ned and China Spring, both at 2-0, battled through six overtimes with Jim Ned outlasting China Spring 78-76. That win gave the Indians the top spot in the pool, but the big question for both Jim Ned and China Spring will be can they bounce back early tomorrow after a draining game.

Division III

Pool G
Sonora certainly lived up to its billing as one of the Division III favorites as the Broncos ripped past Louise and Bremond in their first and third games by a combined 96-13 score. The only game Sonora were tested in was its second game, a 31-20 victory of a solid Childress squad.

Pool H
Tenaha, Lovelady and Wellington all finished 2-1, with first time state tournament entry Tenaha winning the pool via the points scored tiebreaker. Tenaha’s big push came in the final game of the day with an impressive 53-28 win over previously unbeaten Lovelady. Wellington, who finished third in Pool H, will match up with Falls City in the opening game of the Division III bracket.

Pool O
Palmer continued its hot streak of play with a 3-0 run on Thursday. The Bulldogs' 35-28 win over local favorite Hearne is what pushed them to the top spot in pool play. Hearne managed to finish second place, the Eagles earned themselves a favorable first round matchup with Louise.

Pool P
Gunter was dominant on Thursday rolling to a 3-0 record, blitzing Johnson City 42-6, Alpine 42-13 and then in its finale they rolled past previously unbeaten Falls City 42-21. The Tigers look to be one of the contenders in the Division III bracket after a strong opening day

 

Day 1 Division III/Division II Pool Play Scores

 

Day 2 Division III Championship Bracket/Division II Consolation Bracket

 

Day 2 Division II Championship Bracket

 

If you're a DCTF Insider, you can check out Matt Stepp's championship bracket projections here.