In the final day of the state 7-on-7 championships, four West Texas teams eyed their goals to become the champions of the respective brackets they were in. That was not the case as West Texas continued to struggle with their participation in the tournament.
Lubbock Monterey fell to a tough Lancaster team in the first round of the consolation bracket 33-20. The Tigers then fell to an athletic Plano East team, 46-20.
San Angelo Central was edged out by Cy Creek 28-27 to end their tournament run early after placing third in the group.
El Paso Eastlake was unable to get by an upcoming Fort Bend Ridge Point team after a third place group finish. Eastlake finished the tournament 1-3.
The Troopers of El Paso Eastwood also made an early exit from the consolation bracket, falling at the hands of Sharyland Pioneer, 41-20.
Abilene and Abilene Cooper were the only teams representing the West Texas and Big Country area in the championship bracket.Cooper fell to hard-hitting Manvel in blowout fashion, 50-14 in the first round. Manvel continued to the quarterfinals, losing off a hail mary pass in the final seconds to Dickinson, 40-36.
The Eagles of Abilene were the only West Texas team from Division I and Division II to qualify for the quarterfinals. Abilene toppled Richmond Foster and Waxahachie en route to face John Tyler. Both teams looked evenly matched on paper and it showed in the game as the Lions of Cujo overcame the toughness of Abilene in four overtimes, 60-54.
The West Texas teams that were able to qualify for the state tournament have nothing to be ashamed of. This experience will help them down the road as the regular season kicks off in about a month’s time. This could also be a sneak preview of what is to come in the future for all the programs that took part.
