COLLEGE STATION- The first ever 3A-Under State Tournament got underway and for the most part it was a resounding success as interest from the smaller schools was tremendous and there was a great turnout. Early on it appeared that upsets would be the name of the game as many of the smaller schools knocked off the big powers. However as bracket play started up depth started to take its toll and many of the small schools started to fall by the wayside. Class 1A Harper and Normangee are alive however, with Harper going unbeaten on the first day. The most impressive team in pool play appeared to be Diboll who dominated a very strong pool. The tournament was marred by a fight between Athens and Bridgeport at the end of their second game, the fight was quickly broken up and per the rules set forth by the State Board of Directors both teams were disqualified from the tournament and will not be allowed to play in any SQT’s in 2008. The Round of 16 play will begin tomorrow morning at 8:30am for the final 16 teams.
Pool A Scores
Athens 27 Bandera 20
Bridgeport 20 Palacios 18
Athens 32 Bridgeport 27
Palacios 18 Bandera 14
Palacios wins forfeit over Athens
Bandera wins forfeit over Bridgeport
Pool B Scores
Crane 42 Glen Rose 35
Rockdale 33 Lindsay 26
Crane 35 Lindsay 20
Rockdale 35 Glen Rose 20
Rockdale 35 Crane 28
Glen Rose 48 Lindsay 21
Pool C Scores
Mabank 41 Gonzales 27
Melissa 26 West 14
Gonzales 30 Melissa 25
Mabank 55 West 48
Gonzales 36 West 25
Melissa 34 Mabank 27
Pool D Scores
Aransas Pass 39 Canton 38
Harper 39 Somerville 12
Harper 39 Aransas Pass 25
Canton 47 Somerville 6
Aransas Pass 45 Somerville 42
Harper 33 Canton 27
Pool E Scores
Diboll 27 Celina 20
Pleasanton 33 Marlin 12
Celina 27 Marlin 25
Diboll 33 Pleasanton 20
Pleasanton 39 Celina 35
Diboll 41 Marlin 13
Pool F Scores
Hitchcock 32 Elysian Fields 27
Normangee 28 New Waverley 26
New Waverly 14 Elysian Fields 13
Hitchcock 27 Normangee 25
Normangee 33 Elysian Fields 27
Hitchcock 35 New Waverly 27
Pool G Scores
LaVilla 50 Madisonville 49 OT
Pilot Point 41 West Orange-Stark 40
Pilot Point 40 LaVilla 26
West Orange-Stark 48 Madisonville 39
LaVilla 48 West Orange-Stark 42
Pilot Point 42 Madisonville 36
Pool H Scores
Hardin 20 Graham 18
Navasota 33 Sundown 13
Navasota 47 Graham 29
Hardin 26 Sundown 12
Graham 40 Sundown 0
Navasota 22 Hardin 20 OT
1st Round Bracket Play
Palacios 53 Marlin 30
Crane 41 New Waverly 7
West Orange-Stark 49 Gonzales 30
Harper 42 Sundown 0
Mabank 54 Madisonville 19
Canton 31 Hardin 20
Pleasanton, bye
Rockdale 20 Elysian Fields 14
Hitchcock 49 Lindsay 31
Celina 35 Bandera 20
Graham 41 Aransas Pass 36
Pilot Point 48 West 28
Navasota 34 Somerville 20
Melissa 39 LaVilla 32
Normangee 44 Glen Rose 41
Diboll, bye
Round of 16 Matchups
Game time 8:30am at Penberthy
Palacios vs. Crane
Matt’s Pick: Crane
West Orange-Stark vs. Harper
Matt’s Pick: West Orange-Stark
Mabank vs. Canton
Matt’s Pick: Mabank
Pleasanton vs. Rockdale
Matt’s Pick: Pleasanton
Hitchcock vs. Celina
Matt’s Pick: Celina
Graham vs. Pilot Point
Matt’s Pick: Pilot Point
Navasota vs. Melissa
Matt’s Pick: Navasota
Normangee vs. Diboll
Matt’s Pick: Diboll
Day One Observations
The Board of Directors has this State Tournament down to a science as things ran VERY smoothly. Kudos. The fight between Athens and Bridgeport and the subsequent DQ of both teams caused some confusion with the arranging of the brackets, but things did get squared away. Diboll was easily the most impressive team of the day but there were several other pleasant surprises led by Class 1A Harper who only brought 10 players to College Station yet they are still alive and kicking as they take on West Orange-Stark tomorrow morning. Crane, Normangee and Navasota have also been impressive. Easily the tournament’s biggest disappointment was Marlin. The Bulldogs at times looked downright apathetic and seemed liked they were not very interested in competing. Celina and West Orange-Stark both got off to difficult starts but they may have found their legs as both teams advanced to the Round of 16. The top two comebacks of Day One go to Rockdale and Melissa. Rockdale fell down 28-6 to Crane, yet the Tigers battled back to win their final pool game 35-28. Melissa in the first round of bracket play looked dead in the water down 32-14 to LaVilla, but the Cardinals roared back for a 39-32 win.
Look for depth to begin to take its toll once again on Day 2 for the small schools. If any of the little guys are to spring upsets it may need to be early while it’s still cool and the teams are fresh. Right now Diboll looks to be the odds on favorite to win it all but if I had to pick a darkhorse it might be Crane.