The Tigers are in Pool C of the Division 1 7-on-7 State Championship tournament in College Station. They are in the same pool with Lufkin, DeSoto and San Antonio Memorial.

Belton plays Lufkin Friday at 1 p.m. they will play three games that day with the top two teams advancing to play Friday. There are a total of 64 teams in the Division 1 pool. The number of teams left by Saturday will be reduced to 32 teams.

Lufkin is expected to qualify for the playoffs again this season and is picked second to The Woodlands. The Panthers year-after-year produce some of the best athletes coming out of Texas.

Lufkin is led by quarterback Deauntre Smiley 6-2, 205, who threw for over 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Smiley is ranked as a top 300 player in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

DeSoto is loaded again with Division 1 quality players. They are picked to win their district again and are led by quarterback Ryan Polite 6-2, 195. Polite has thrown for over 4,000 yards and 39 touchdowns in his career. Junior running back Devin Rushing is a top 100 player as a junior ranked by Rivals. Junior linebacker Alexander Lyons is a top 100 player as a junior.

Receivers David Porter and Cameron White are both listed as top 300 players in Texas. White is listed as a top 100 player by Rivals. On offense DeSoto in terms of Division 1 talent is the most loaded team in Belton's pool play division. They also have several linemen that are nationally ranked but probably won't see playing time.

San Antonio Memorial is picked to finish last in their 4A district after finishing 0-10 last season. They were young last season and return 13 starters from last season. They haven't won a regular season game since 2005 but seem to be heading in the right direction under the direction of second year coach Manny Martinez. They qualified for the state tournament so they just might sneak up on somebody.

The tournament will feature some of the best talent in Texas.

Stephenville the team the Tigers beat in pool play in Belton has two top 100 juniors, quarterback Connor Washington and defensive back Aiavion Edwards.

Tiger's fans might also have time to watch Herschel Sims Abilene's all-everything running back and quarterback Ronnell Sims. Herschel has scored 39 touchdowns in the regular season and the playoffs games. Ronnell threw 17 touchdowns and rushed for 18 touchdowns last season.

Some of the other top players with Division 1 talent at the tournament are Russell Hansborough running back Arlington, Lonnie Gray athlete Lamar Consolidated, Griffin Gilbert wide receiver Lake Travis, Michael Brewer quarterback Lake Travis, Brandon Durant linebacker Cove, Kenny Williams running back Pflugerville, Trey Metoyer wide receiver Whitehouse, Quincy Aldridge defensive back Whitehouse.

DeSoto's district and Southlake Carrols district each had four teams qualify for the state tournament. DeSoto has qualified twice and Belton three times in the state tournament. Lukin has qualified for the state tournament 11 straight seasons.

Belton in it's first game will be the home team and wear red jerseys with Lufkin getting the ball first. One thing to look for is in Belton's state qualifying tournament Belton was one of the few teams who used their complete linebacker set. A lot of teams present were using lineups of defensive backs.

Lufkin and DeSoto play at 3 pm with Belton facing Memorial. Belton's game with Lufkin is simply a must win game. If they win that game then they should qualify for the second round. Belton plays DeSoto at 5 p.m.

They are in the A-H bracket. Cove plays The Woodlands at 2 p.m. Abilene plays Cy-Woods at 2 p.m., Legacy at 4 p.m. and Lake Travis at 6 p.m.

Live updates on scores can be found at http://7on7.rivals.com. Fans of the opposing teams may not sit behind the opposing team. After each game they are required to leave the sideline so the next teams fans may sit behind their team.