7-ON-7 QUALIFIER TOMORROW | Sabine, Gilmer, WO try to qualify for state; Kilgore in, but also playing; games at Chapel Hill & Grace Community

It’s been a couple of weeks since Kilgore’s 7-on-7 football team qualified for the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament, but there’s another state qualifier this Saturday, and it involves teams from the ETBlitz.com coverage area – and some other pretty big East Texas football names.

Chapel Hill will host a state tourney qualifier on Saturday, with games being played at Chapel Hill’s Bulldog Stadium, and at Grace Community’s Stadium.

Games begin at both sites at 8 a.m., will conclude between 1 and 2 p.m., and the winner – only the winner – will advance to the state tournament in College Station June 26-28.

Concession stands won’t be open for these games, so anyone going will need to bring their own water, etc.

In pool A, playing at Chapel Hill’s Bulldogs Stadium, will be Chapel Hill, Mabank, and ETBlitz-area teams Gilmer and Sabine. In pool B, also playing pool games at Bulldogs Stadium, will be ETB-area team Kilgore, as well as Sulphur Springs, Palestine, and Emory Rains. It’s important to note here that Kilgore, as mentioned, is already in the state tournament, and how the Bulldogs perform here would not improve their standing, nor take them out of it.

In pool C, at Grace Community Stadium, will be ETBlitz-area team White Oak, as well as Pleasant Grove, Sunnyvale and Mexia. And in pool D, also at Grace, will be Lindale, Paris, Bullard and Crockett.

At 8 a.m. at Bulldog Stadium, Chapel Hill will face Gilmer and Sabine will face Mabank. At 8 a.m. at Grace, Pleasant Grove will face Sunnyvale and White Oak will play Mexia.

At 8:40 a.m. at Bulldog Stadium, Kilgore will play Sulphur, and Palestine will meet Rains. At Grace at 8:40, Lindale faces Paris, and Bullard plays Crockett.

At 9:20 in Chapel Hill, Sabine will play Chapel Hill, and Mabank will play Gilmer. At Grace at that same time, Mexia will play PG, and White Oak meets Sunnyvale.

Kilgore plays Palestine at 10 a.m. at Chapel Hill, and Sulphur plays Rains. At Grace at 10 a.m., Lindale faces Bullard and Paris meets Crockett.

At 10:40 at Chapel Hill, the home team plays Mabank and Gilmer plays Sabine; at Grace at 10:40, White Oak plays PG, and Sunnyvale plays Mexia.

And in the final round of pool games at 11:20, Kilgore plays Rains at Chapel Hill, and Sulphur plays Palestine; at Grace, pool play concludes with Lindale meeting Crockett and Paris facing Bullard.

Semifinals start at 12:10 p.m., and then the finals, obviously, to wrap things up.

Official 7-on-7 rules are in place, which means 15-minute halves with no halftime, and time-outs only for injuries. There are 10-minute periods between games.

Tiebreaking process is this: head-to-head is the first tiebreaker; points scored is the second, and points allowed, the third, and that’s how pool winners are determined.

Chapel Hill’s Bulldog Stadium is located at 13172 State Highway 64 East, Tyler, Texas, and Grace is located at 3001 University Boulevard, Tyler, Texas.

Both Kilgore and Sabine qualified and played in the state 7-on-7 tournament a year ago, in division II (that’s equivalent to UIL’s Classes 3A and 4A). Kilgore reached the state semifinals, and Jayden Sanders was named most valuable defensive player.

The state tournament will once again be at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station, and it’s like high school football heaven: there are over 10 fields there, and advance copies of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 2025 Magazine will be available.

The rules

Now, you say you don’t know much about 7-on-7.

It’s actually pretty exciting. We’re about to educate you right now.

The 7-on-7 football is pretty much a passing league. The field it’s played on is just 45 yards long, though, and 160 feet wide, so when played on a regular 100-yard football field, cones are used to mark off the dimensions.

There are two 15-minute halves, a continuous clock for each half, and no halftime. There are also no time-outs, except in the case of injuries. Typically, there are three officials for each game (a referee, a field judge and a back judge), at the state level. Two officials can be used for state qualifiers, like this weekend at R.E. St. John.

How ‘bout this: no high school coach can serve as a coach, or stand with the team on the sidelines, but each team does have to have a coach accompany them to events, to serve as an administrator. All coaches present have to sit in the end zone during games, and none are allowed on the sideline.

Players were soft-shell helmets and wear mouthpieces – there’s no sideline-to-player communication devices in the helmets.

All plays are passes – there are no running plays called, and there’s no kicking or punting the ball in the 7-on-7 game.

Possessions begin at the 45-yard-line, and both offenses in a game move in the same direction downfield. You can’t have two forward passes on one play, but laterals are permitted.

There is no blocking, and no tackling; the ball-carrier or receiver is down when touched with a hand, or two hands.

It’s a fast-paced game. The offense has 40 seconds between plays to snap the ball, and the clock starts as soon as an official rules a play dead. And you’d better adhere to it, because two delay-of-game penalties on the same possession is a turnover.

Speaking of turnovers, fumbles are ruled dead at the spot. Interceptions can be returned, including for scores.

Quarterbacks are allowed four seconds to throw the ball, and there is an official timekeeper. If he goes over that four seconds and throws the ball, then regardless of the result of the gain, the ball comes back to the original line of scrimmage.

Defensive and offensive pass interference is still 15 yards, like in regular high school football.

The center is not an eligible receiver, like they are in six-man football, and all participating teams have to have a center – also, the ball has to be snapped from the ground.

The point system: six points for a touchdown; one point for a conversion from the 3-yard-line, and two points for a conversion from the 10.

Teams can also get two points if a team returns a conversion attempt the opposite direction across the 45.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football is very integral in the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament. To read more about it, including past champions, and any other rules, here you go: Texas 7-on-7 State Tournament.