WAKE UP! ON ETBLITZ.COM | Gladewater Round-Up info; more 7-on-7 state qualifying this weekend; Overton-Beckville playoff info
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wake-Up! It’s Monday on ETBlitz.com, and everywhere else, by the way. Cozy Coffee Station is bringing you this feature every morning, and ETBlitz is also currently giving away three $20 gift cards to Cozy Coffee Station. Visit them in Kilgore, at 110 Midtown Plaza, or in Gilmer at 755 State Highway 271 North. To find out how to win a gift card, read our story here: WIN COOL (OR HOT!) STUFF! | ETB presents an opportunity at a pretty great prize. You win by entering here on the site, on Facebook and on Instagram. And check out Cozy Coffee Station’s menu before you go; order ahead here at their website: Home | Cozy Coffee Station.
Gladewater Round-Up
You may have seen our coverage of the 2025 PBR World Finals at AT&T Stadium here on the site over the weekend.
The local rodeo tradition – the Gladewater Round-Up – is coming up, very quickly. The 88th annual event will be June 4-7 at the Gladewater Rodeo Grounds. It starts at 8:15 p.m. each night, with gates opening at 6 p.m.
The PRCA’s Extreme Bulls will be the first night.
General admission for adults is $18 a ticket; for kids 12 and under, it’s $10 each, and for kids two and under, it’s free.
Reserved tickets are $25 each for all ages. And box seats: $175 per box, per night – that includes six seats per box.
To buy tickets in advance, go here: GLADEWATER ROUND-UP RODEO – INFORMATION – Dirt Road Tickets.
On Thursday, night two of the event, military and first-responders can show an ID for half-off admission.
According to the history feature on their own website, the Gladewater Round-Up was started back in 1937 by Jack Yates, who relocated to Gladewater from North Dakota just after the oil boom began in East Texas.
Yates owned Yates Pipe and Supply Company, and managed to build a rodeo arena.
Many years later, a ride by Johnny Quintana scored 98 points here at the Round-Up, a world record for three years, a record that brought a lot of attention to the Round-Up.
Some of the most famous rodeo competitors in the history of the sport here in the U.S. have competed in the Round-Up: eight-time PRCA world champion Don Gay; the late Lane Frost; and the PRCA’s leading money-winner in its history, Roy Cooper.
Mutton bustin’ for the kids, trying to hold on to sheep, starts every night at 7:45, about 30 minutes before the Round-Up.
Kids ages four through seven who weigh 50 pounds or less can enter, with a $25 registration fee, right here: Gladewater Round-Up Mutton Bustin’ Waiver.pdf.
If you’re a rodeo fan, go back and check out our PBR stories and photos here:
- Saturday’s wrap-up: PBR! PBR! PBR! | AT&T Stadium again the site for the world’s best bull-riding; round one results (w/video).
- Sunday’s final weekend wrap-up: PBR CROWNS A CHAMPION | It’s Brazil’s Leme, third time the charm, taking title No. 3.
Second chance to make 7-on-7 state tourney this weekend
For the second straight year, Kilgore’s 7-on-7 team qualified for the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament in College Station earlier this month.
Kilgore reached the state semifinals last year, losing there to Hamshire-Fannett, a team Kilgore had beaten in pool play the day before.
Also at the state tournament last year, a team representing Sabine.
To qualify, a team has to win the mini-tournaments at one of the qualifying sites.
Another qualifying tournament is this Saturday, hosted by Chapel Hill.
Kilgore is already in the state tourney, scheduled to be played in Chapel Hill June 26-28. But they’ll also play in Chapel Hill’s qualifier this weekend; it’s good practice.
Games for the Chapel Hill qualifier will be played at Chapel Hill High School (pools A and B), and Grace Community in Tyler (pool C and D).
In pool A will be Chapel Hill and Mabank, as well as ETBlitz.com-area programs Gilmer and Sabine.
Kilgore, Palestine, Sulphur Springs and Emory Rains will be in pool B.
In pool C: Pleasant Grove, Mexia, Sunnyvale, and another program in the ETB coverage area, White Oak.
And pool D: Bullard, Crockett, Lindale and Paris.
Pool play games will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, and the state qualifying round will start at 12:10 p.m.
Some things to know about 7-on-7:
- There’s no tackling – it’s touch football.
- Running plays aren’t a thing – it’s a passing game.
- Players wear soft-shell helmets, and the field is just 45 yards long, meaning cones are put out. Normally two games are being played at the same time.
- Games consist of two 15-minute halves, and there’s a running clock, with no halftime – and no time-outs, except in the case of injury.
- No high school coaches are allowed to coach; they’re in the end zone. Coaches are normally other parents, or former players.
For a more in-depth refresher on the rules of 7-on-7 football, here’s one of our stories in the lead-up to the qualifier at Kilgore: IT’S BACK! | Kilgore hosts 7-on-7 state qualifier on Saturday.
Baseball’s not over for Overton
Don’t forget that Overton High School’s baseball team is still representing the area in the University Interscholastic League’s Class 2A, Division II playoffs.
The Mustangs, coached by Chris Cook, are in the fourth round, or the Region III regional finals, of the Class 2A, Division II postseason.
Overton (27-7) will take on Beckville in a best-of-three-game series at Longview High School that’ll begin on Wednesday night, a 5 p.m. game-one start. Game two will follow, immediately after game one. If a game three is needed, they’ll be back at Longview High School on Friday night.
Overton beat La Poynor in a one-game playoff in the first round; beat Bowie in two, back on May 8-9; and then beat Gary, but Overton lost game one, then had to bounce back and win back-to-back games to save their season. They did so, beating Gary in game two, then again in game three to earn this shot against Beckville.
Beckville’s Bearcats (23-6) beat Hemphill in round three, sweeping Hemphill to punch their ticket for the rematch against Overton – Overton played Beckville twice this year (April 15, April 17), and the Mustangs won both games.
Just FYI: the other regional final series have Gruver (22-1) matched up against Stamford (24-4) in Region I; Collinsville (25-4) against Muenster (28-9-2) in Region II’s finals; Overton-Beckville in Region III; and Shiner (25-4) taking on Burton (19-11) in Region IV.
