Sports
Tigers to play Katy in first round at State 7-on-7
Sunday, 29 July 2012 by David Tuma
The Belton Tigers 7-on-7 team will compete in the State 7-on-7 tournament this weekend at the Texas A&M University campus. The 15th annual Division I (Class 4A-5A) state tournament is comprised of 64 teams from throughout Texas. High schools qualified for the state tournament at one of the 32 state qualifying tournaments held in May and June.
Belton played in a pre-tournament and defeated Lake Travis by two scores and was up on Westwood before the game was called due to lightning. Lake Travis won the tournament two years ago and was runner-up last season. Westwood qualified for the state tournament this year.
Belton will play in Pool A that features Abilene, Katy and Arlington. Belton lost to Arlington at the Dallas Jesuit tournament early this summer. They placed second at the Red Bull National Tournament recently and are one of the most talented teams in the state.
On defense, Belton will play their regular linebacker corps which is something some teams don't do. Cornerbacks Nate Mitchell and Kyle Battle have had an excellent summer. The pair have good size and speed. Receivers Durham Smythe, Derick Bates and Chase Thornal have simply dominated in most games.
For several of the team members this is their third trip to the state tournament. Belton has advanced to the next day in each of the past two seasons. Belton hasn't had a losing record at any tournament in pool play for two straight seasons. Two years ago they defeated Lufkin and lost to Desoto in one of the toughest brackets in the tournament. Lufkin went on to win the losers bracket and Desoto lost in the finals.
The Tigers will face Katy at 2 p.m. on Friday followed by games with Abilene at 4 p.m. and Arlington at 6 p.m.
STATE TOURNAMENT FORMAT – The 64 teams (for both Division I & II) will divide into 16 groups of four teams each and compete in pool play (three games per team). The top two teams from each pool advance to a 32-team single elimination championship bracket, while the remaining 32 teams are entered into a single elimination consolation bracket.
WEBCAST/TELEVISION INFORMATION - FOX Sports Southwest will offer live webcasts of Friday's (Division II) and Saturday's (Division I) consolation and championship games from Kyle Field on FoxSportsSouthwest.com and FoxSportsHouston.com. Michael Silvers (play-by-play) and Lemont Williams (analyst) will call the championship game(s) from Kyle Field.
FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston also will televise a 30-minute Under the Lights recap show on Monday night at 10:30 p.m. SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT, the network's weekly program devoted entirely to Texas high school sports will televise a special 7-on-7 edition featuring tournament highlights and results on Sunday July 29 at 9:30 p.m.
You can follow the results by visiting www.state7on7.com
