The Woodlands Christian Wins Pool At State 7-On-7 Championships

COLLEGE STATION, TX — The Woodlands Christian might be the surprise of opening day at the Texas State 7-on-7 Championships.

The Warriors split their first two games, beating Hamshire-Fannett 27-13 and falling to Brownwood 26-20, but rallied to defeat defending Class 4A Division I champion Argyle 18-14 to win Pool F and nab a top seed in the Division II championship bracket Thursday at Veterans Park.

The Woodlands Christian will face El Campo in the first round at 8:45 a.m. Friday. El Campo is the fourth seed from Pool B after losing to Carthage, Melissa and Whitney on Thursday. The championship bracket is single elimination with 64 teams.

The Woodlands Christian head football coach Chris McClanahan said he thought the Warriors showed some fatigue in the middle game against Brownwood, but he was proud of how they rebounded to take down Argyle.

“It shows that we can compete at a high level,” McClanahan said. “What surprised me was the low score. It was a highly competitive game. The intermediate and short game was really good on both sides, and the difference was a drop here and a third-down conversion there.

“It goes to show that at the athletic skill positions, we can compete with the state’s best.”

The Warriors drove down the field just before halftime, capping it with a touchdown to take a 12-7 lead. Argyle took the lead back in the second half, scoring a touchdown to make it 14-12.

It was largely a defensive second half, with both teams making key stops to keep it close. The Woodlands Christian broke through late when junior quarterback Josh Johnson lofted a deep ball down the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown to senior receiver Blake Wiley, whose defender had fallen down. The play gave the Warriors an 18-14 lead with about a minute left in the game.

Argyle drove inside the Warriors’ 5-yard line in the final minute, but The Woodlands Christian turned the Eagles away to secure the victory and win the pool.

“[Johnson] knew he had a one-on-one matchup on the right,” McClanahan said. “We may have been fortunate not to get a four-second [sack] call, but he looked left, turned back right and threw it up. He said he didn’t even see Blake Wiley going down the sideline. Those can be the hardest catches to make when you’re wide open.”

The Warriors will look to carry their momentum into the championship draw. More powerhouse teams lurk in the bracket, especially several rounds deep.

McClanahan is confident his team can handle it, especially after Thursday’s showing. He said he was proud of how his team dealt with adversity when they were down against both Brownwood and Argyle as the Warriors kept their cool and “never pointed fingers.”

“We’ve got to continue to compete and be efficient in our route running, catching and quarterback reads,” McClanahan said. “Defensively, be efficient with our switch calls and pattern read principles. If we do those, we’ll be OK.”