By Terry Carter
The 25th Annual Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament is underway in College Station. And Cinco Ranch, an early qualifier, and Jordan will be playing Friday and Saturday in the Division I bracket.
Games are always exciting in 7-on-7 passing-and-catching action, and once-beaten Cinco Ranch is hoping to make a quality run this weekend. They spent May and June fine-tuning their skills with incoming senior quarterback Gavin Rutherford at the offensive helm.
“We have only lost one game so far, and we are trying to bring in good momentum to the state tournament,” Rutherford said on Wednesday. “We just want to go up and do our job in pool play. Our main goal is to get to the winner’s bracket. The offense and defense have been playing really crisp lately.”
Rutherford earned All-District 19-6A First Team and Offensive MVP in 2021. He has high expectations for himself and is working to lead the Cougars to victory every time he touches the football. He will be a team captain this fall.
Cinco Ranch will play three Pool B opponents on Friday at Veterans Memorial Park in College Station on Friday. Those opponents are Harker Heights, Hebron and Wichita Falls Rider. The top two finishers in each of the 16 Division I pools will play a single-elimination championship bracket starting Saturday morning. The bottom two finishers in each bracket will play in a similar consolation bracket.
The Jordan Warriors qualified in the last few weeks and will encounter Austin LBJ, Bellaire Episcopal and Colleyville Heritage during Friday’s Pool G play. Pool games for Cinco Ranch and Jordan will begin at 1 p.m. Second pool games will begin at 2:30 p.m., and the final pool game will start at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Top two teams in each pool will qualify for the championship bracket, which begins play on Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m. The third and fourth-place finishers in each pool start consolation bracket play at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Cinco Ranch coach Matt Hudson has worked with the Cougars’ 7-on-7 program for several seasons. He said he was surprised that traditional powers including Katy, Tompkins, Taylor and Seven Lakes did not qualify for the state tournament. It indicates local teams either didn’t focus on qualifying or that the talent pool in southeast Texas is growing again.
Top teams in the fall like Lake Travis (Pool E), Austin Westlake (Pool F), The Woodlands (Pool O), College Station (Pool N) and others will attract large crowds despite 100-105 degree heat expected for the weekend.
Small schools began play today in either Division 2 or 3 play. Those championships will be played on Friday.
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- Cinco Ranch running back Braden Williams (8) will be part of the offensive attack the Cougars bring to the 7-on-7 state tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars have high hopes among the 64 talented teams that qualified in May and June. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos)
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- Cougar senior quarterback Gavin Rutherford (12) has been looking forward to the state tournament since Cinco Ranch qualified in May. The Cougars have lost only one game this season to Pearland Dawson. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos)
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- Cinco Ranch cornerback Taytum Johnson (1) picks off a pass Wednesday against Tompkins in some 7-on-7 play before this weekend’s state tournament. (Photo by Terry Carter/UDPhotos)
