WAKE UP! ON ETBLITZ | OVERTON BASEBALL, 7-ON-7 TODAY, RANGERETTES, AND MORE!
EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s Wake Up! Saturday, and we have some freakin’ COOL things going on today! Gilmer, Sabine, White Oak and Kilgore all have teams in the 7-on-7 Football State Qualifier at a couple of sites in Tyler; Overton baseball is a few days away from playing in a state semifinal playoff series; the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame’s induction was Friday, and the Kilgore College Rangerettes were a part; and more. We’re gonna have some fun today. And it’s brought to you by Cozy Coffee Station, in Kilgore (at 110 Midtown Plaza) and in Gilmer (at 755 Highway 271 North). Check out their menu at their fantastic website, Home | Cozy Coffee Station, and then beat me there, if you can!
It’s the Mustangs’ world and we’re just living in it
Overton baseball is killing it right now – just ask Beckville – and their work has them one series win away from playing for the UIL Class 2A, Division II state championship.
The Mustangs (29-7) face Burton (23-10) on Wednesday in game one of the state semifinals; that game will be at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, a 6 p.m. start. Game two is Thursday at 4, also at SHSU, and a game three, if needed, would follow 30 minutes after. The winner will play for the state title on June 5 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Tickets for the series are $10 each for adults, $7 each for students, and available at the gate for credit or debit cards.
We’ll have a preview when the series gets closer. Good luck, Mustangs.
7-on-7 today; winner goes to the state tourney
White Oak, Sabine, and Gilmer are all in this tournament attempting to qualify for the big one: the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament in College Station next month.
Kilgore is already in, and is also playing tomorrow.
The tournament is being played at Chapel Hill’s stadium and at Grace Community’s stadium, starting at both sites at 8 a.m. The finals will begin sometime between 12:30 and 1:15.
Our story here (7-ON-7 QUALIFIER TOMORROW | Sabine, Gilmer, WO try to qualify for state; Kilgore in, but also playing; games at Chapel Hill & Grace Community) has a complete list of teams in the event, what pools they’re in, a schedule, and a pretty solid rundown of 7-on-7 rules.
Rangerettes escort Hall inductees
The Kilgore College Rangerettes, who perform at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl each year, were very fittingly on hand on Friday at AT&T Stadium for the induction of this year’s Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame class: Notre Dame fullback Jerome Bettis, Texas linebacker Randy Braband, Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe, Nebraska running back Tony Davis, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association Chief Ambassador, Past Chair and former Team Selection & Playoff Committee Chair Fin Ewing III, CBAA Historian Charlie Fiss, Auburn running back Bo Jackson and Alabama linebacker DeMeco Ryans.
Also on hand: ETBlitz.com’s own Alex Nabor – and his camera. And as we’ve seen for quite a few years, even though he’s not even 21, Alex is quite good with that thing. Some shots from Friday are incorporated here, and check out our story, courtesy of the Cotton Bowl’s own Scottie Rogers.
In his story, Scottie notes that since its first game in 1937, the Cotton Bowl has hosted
• 164 College Football Hall of Famers
• 35 Pro Football Hall of Famers
• 11 Heisman Trophy winners
• 9 Maxwell Award winners
• 8 Walter Camp Award winners
• 6 Outland Trophy winners
• 5 Davey O’Brien Award winners
• 5 Johnny Unitas Award winners
• 4 Lombardi Award winners
• 4 Jim Thorpe Award winners
• 3 Doak Walker Award winners
• 3 Rimington Trophy winners
• 3 William V. Campbell Trophy winners
Two days to win gift cards!
You guys have a little time left to win three gift cards to Cozy Coffee Station.
We’ve gone through the ways to enter a BUNCH of times, but here’s how, once more.
There’s an existing post on the ETBlitz.com Facebook page about the giveaway. You’ll need to scroll down to find it. Everyone who shares, comments, likes or loves the comment will be entered into a drawing. A name drawn at random on Sunday, May 25 will win the card, and the winning name will be announced in Wake Up! on ETBlitz the next day, on Monday, May 26, and on Facebook.
In similar fashion, there’s a post on Instagram. To enter the Instagram drawing, follow @ETBlitzofficial and share the post. Everyone who does so will be entered in that drawing.
On ETBlitz.com, simply go to the website, and comment on any story (comment boxes are at the bottom of every story). Everyone who does so will be entered into a drawing.
All three drawings will be held THIS SUNDAY, May 25, and the winners will all be announced on Monday in Wake Up!, and then posted on our socials.
As we said before, If you win one, you’re ineligible to win either of the other two.
Cozy Coffee Station is located in both Gilmer and Kilgore – in Gilmer at 755 Highway 271 North, and in Kilgore at 110 Midtown Plaza. They are FAR more than just coffee.
See for yourselves at their website, Home | Cozy Coffee Station; on Facebook at Cozy Coffee Station – Kilgore, or at Cozy Coffee Station – Gilmer; and on Instagram (@cozycoffeestation_Kilgore or @cozycoffeestation_Gilmer
And this is just the first in a series of promotions we’ll be doing involving new advertising partners.
Cozy Coffee Station, Zippy J’s, Kilgore-Gilmer Eye Care Center, and Denny’s all joined ETBlitz.com’s advertising partners just a few weeks ago, and the staff here at ETBlitz could not be happier.
To celebrate, we’re doing a series of promotions honoring those businesses – and you guys, the readers, get to benefit.
ETBlitz.com was launched in October, 2023, to be East Texas’ online sports section, and so much more. We have NO PAYWALL – you can read and look all you want at no cost. And we’re seeing so much traffic. We had just short of 910,000 hits in December, and we continue to average huge numbers daily.
So we thank you guys – our readers, and our advertising partners – and we look forward to having more of these promotions in the coming weeks and months ahead.
Our ‘80s throwback!
I almost forgot. It’s Saturday, and we always have an ‘80s classic to wrap up Wake Up!
Here you go. Now, the acting in videos is ALWAYS bad. And when most people think of Journey, they think of “Don’t Stop Believing.” But “Separate Ways” is just as good. And here it is.
Hope you have a great Saturday.