Grand Oaks Notches First State 7-On-7 Win; Highlanders Advance

COLLEGE STATION, TX — Grand Oaks came within one play of breaking into the championship bracket in its first appearance at the Texas State 7-on-7 Championships.

Unfortunately, the Grizzlies couldn’t convert a two-point conversion to win their final game, falling to Midlothian 27-26 to finish third in Pool E and miss the Division I championship bracket.

Midlothian, Grand Oaks and Frenship all finished 1-2 behind Pool E champion College Station. In the common games between tied teams, Frenship scored 47 points, Grand Oaks 46 points and Midlothian 41 points, giving Frenship the second seed and a spot in the championship bracket.

Grand Oaks will play Houston Lamar in the first round of the consolation bracket at 8 a.m. Saturday.

“This is a learning experience,” said Grand Oaks head coach Mike Jackson, who added that the Grizzlies are the first Conroe ISD besides The Woodlands to qualify for the state tournament. “That in itself is a mile marker for our program. Shoot, yeah we’re fired up about that. We may not throw the ball 50 times a game, but if it helps us throw the ball better 18 times a game in the fall, then let’s get out here and have fun.”

Jackson added that he was pleased with the performance of quarterback Jacob Smith and his receivers in pool play, saying it was something they could build on heading into the fall.

Grand Oaks lost to College Station 28-6 in their pool play opener, but bounced back to beat Frenship 20-19 in the second game, giving the Grizzlies a chance to advance.

Grand Oaks, which played a UIL schedule for the first time in 2020, took a 20-7 lead in the second half against Frenship, but the Tigers clawed back with two late touchdowns to get within 20-19. With time winding down in the game, Frenship elected to go for two and the win, but senior defensive back Gabe Anzaldua knocked the attempt away to secure the Grizzlies’ first win at the state 7-on-7 tournament.

“That was the kind of play a number 2 makes,” said Jackson, referencing the program’s tradition of passing down the number 2 jersey to players who have a great mix of hard work and talent. “Gabe’s been 23 his whole career, and now he’s flipped to 2. That’s a play at the end where you either win or you lose, and he stepped up and made a play. We expect big things out of Gabe this season.”

In Pool B, The Woodlands went 2-1 to advance to the championship bracket as the second seed.

The Highlanders in their first two games, beating Hutto 34-20 and Edinburg North 48-16, setting up a de facto Pool B championship game against Colleyville Heritage. Heritage jumped to leads of 13-0 and 19-7, the latter coming midway through the second half.

Ty Risner pulled The Woodlands to within 19-13 with an acrobatic touchdown grab, and Daniel Gil nabbed an interception while tumbling to the ground in the end zone late in the game to give the Highlanders a shot to tie or win. Heritage ended the threat with an interception in the end zone with under two minutes remaining, and the Panthers held on to win the pool.

The Woodlands alternated quarterbacks throughout the day with sophomore Mabrey Mettauer and senior Justin Sheldon both taking snaps.

“I would have liked to have seen a little more intensity in the last game, but I thought we did some good things in the three games,” The Woodlands head football coach Jim Rapp said. “Tomorrow is single elimination. We can’t have a mental game off. We have to go in with the mindset that if we win, we move on. If we don’t win, we go home.”

The Highlanders open the championship bracket with a first-round matchup against Midland Lee at 8:45 a.m. Saturday.

TWCA reaches second round

The Woodlands Christian defeated El Campo 13-6 before falling to Lake Belton 14-6 in the Round of 16 in the Division II championship bracket Friday morning.

The Warriors beat eventual Division II runner-up Argyle in pool play Thursday to win Pool F. Warriors head football coach Chris McClanahan said the 7-on-7 circuit was a great experience for his team as it allowed the growing program to get out on the field together and get a feel for playing with each other.

“It’s always hard when you lose, but as we reflect back, our goal was to get better from 7-on-7,” McClanahan said. “We started back in February and our goal was to compete in the state qualifying tournaments, and we exceeded expectations. Then we win the pool and win our first game today. We’ve exceeded expectations now, and this group has raised the bar.”