WAKE UP! ON ETB | 7-on-7 state tourney tomorrow! Here’s a Q-and-A to get you ready for Kilgore’s run

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7-on-7 state football tournament starts tomorrow

It’s been talked about for weeks, and it’s finally here: the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament begins tomorrow in College Station.

ETBlitz.com will have a crew there. We’re gonna burn up – it’s gonna be hot as blue blazes – but it’s gonna be football, it’s gonna be crazy, and as many other “gonna’s” as I can think of to throw out there. Me and Kilgore quarterback Kayson Brooks are gonna have a throw-off: he’s gonna throw footballs and I’m gonna throw words to DESCRIBE him throwing footballs. You know?

Seriously, we’ve had several stories on it, and I’ll give you a couple of links you can go back and read, but I’ll put the general information here so you don’t have to hunt.

Now, I checked Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, who sort of runs this shindig, and there’s not a streaming venue for this. But they’ll do a recap show Saturday at 3 p.m. on Texan Live // Live and On-Demand Texas High School Sports Streams. There’s my DCTF plug. But we’ll be there Thursday and Friday (won’t stay for Saturday), getting shots and having coverage, and we’ll have it here on the site and on our Facebook and Instagram (or Insta, for you cool kids).

Before I do, a quick recap. Of the 12 programs currently covered by ETBlitz.com, Kilgore is the only program that has a 7-on-7 football team in the state tournament. They hosted a state qualifying tournament at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium and beat Sabine, Palestine, Chapel Hill and Lindale back on Mother’s Day weekend to punch their ticket in.

Kilgore is in Division II, which is like saying “3A/4A” in the 7-on-7 world. The state tournament for Division II and Division III starts Thursday morning for II and III; they play Thursday and Friday, wrapping things up Friday afternoon / early Friday evening with their state title games. The larger schools play in Division I, and don’t start until Friday; they play Friday and Saturday, finishing up with title games on Saturday.

Kilgore will begin play Thursday morning at 10:45 a.m. and play three times on Thursday, all pool-play games. On Friday, they begin around 8:45 a.m. in bracket play. There are no guarantees on Friday; it’s single elimination.

Last year, Kilgore reached the state semifinals and Jayden Sanders was named the defensive most valuable player of all of Division II.

Here was our official state preview from last weekend: 7-ON-7 STATE TOURNEY PREVIEW: Who’s in the pool with Kilgore, who from East Texas is in: your need-to-knows. That has all the pools – like every single one of them, all 128 teams that’s playing in the entire tournament, period, and what you need to know.

Here’s kind of more about 7-on-7, the sport, if you’re not that familiar about it: 7-ON-7 | Wanna know more about it? Here’s your guide, before the state tourney starts Thursday.

Now, if you’re going, here’s your need-to-knows:

Where’s the tournament being played at? The tournament is at Veterans Park in College Station, at 3101 Harvey Road, College Station, TX, 77845.

Do you have to pay anything to get in? No, admission is free, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

When does it start? Some pool play games will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday. I’ve been told Kilgore’s first pool game starts at 10:45 a.m.

How many times will Kilgore play Thursday? Three, against Bay City, Brownwood and Austin LBJ. Kilgore is in Pool A, with those three teams.

Is there a lot of walking involved? YES. Unless Kilgore gets blessed and all of their games are on the same two or three fields, there will be a lot of walking for the players and the spectators who watch them play.

Is there good seating? NO. There’s little to no seating.

So can I bring my own chairs? YES. They encourage it. There are designated areas for spectators to sit.

Are there concession stands? Well, probably YES. There were last year.

Should we bring our own water? YES.

Do coach Clint Fuller and coach the Bulldogs in this event? NO. Former players typically coach the teams. High school coaches will be there, but are not on the sidelines and are usually in the end zone during actual games.

How long are games? Games are 15-minute halves with no time-outs, except for injuries.

Is it tackle or touch? It’s touch, no contact. There is no tackling; the ball-carrier or receiver is down when touched with a hand, or two hands. There’s also no blocking.

Are there really two games happening on the same field, at once? YES. The field the games are 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.

Do players wear regular football helmets? NO. Players were soft-shell helmets and wear mouthpieces.

Can you call running plays? NO. 7-on-7 is all about passing; all plays are passes – there are no running plays called.

What about kicking? Are their punts, and field goals? NO. There’s no kicking or punting the ball in the 7-on-7 game.

How do they determine where to spot the ball to start a possession? Possessions begin at the 45-yard-line, and both offenses in a game move in the same direction downfield. 

What about turnovers? Interceptions can be returned for touchdowns, unless the player who has the ball is touched, just like a receiver. Fumbles are ruled dead at the spot of recovery.

Sacks allowed? 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.

What about the play clock, is there one? Um, YEAH. 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.

Are there any other quirky rules to throw me off? Well, there are these: 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.

What about points? Is it different from regular football? Not really. You still get six points for a touchdown. But there’s no kicking, remember. So you are always going for converisions. So you get one point for a conversion from the 3-yard-line, and two points for a conversion from the 10. Now, if a defender intercepts the ball: Teams can also get two points if they can pick it off, and return that interception of the conversion attempt the opposite direction across the 45.

Do you feel educated now? 😊

See you in College Station.