7-on-7 State Tournament, Day 1

Today, the Wildcats took part in the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament held at Veterans Park in College Station. They were drawn into Pool K alongside the Byron Nelson Bobcats, the Plano West Wolves, and the Hutto Hippos.

It was a long day for the Cats as they dropped all 3 games in pool play and were relegated to the consolation bracket for Saturday. In the first consolation game, the Wildcats will take on Austin Westlake at 8:00 A.M.

Game 1: Byron Nelson 32, Cy Woods 27

In their first game of the day, they took on Byron Nelson, a team that will be playing at the highest level of Texas high school football for the first time this upcoming season. The game was tied at 14 at the half, and the Wildcats briefly took the lead after their 2nd offensive possession of the 2nd half, as Reece Clark connected with Bryson Powers. The PAT was good, giving the Wildcats a 21-20 lead. However, the defense faltered late, giving up 2 unanswered touchdowns (both PATs failed). The 2nd came after a 3-and-out from the offense, which put the Cats in a 32-21 hole. They managed a consolation touchdown as time expired.

Clark finished 25-38 and threw 4 touchdowns against 1 interception. Sophomore C.J. Jones had 7 catches, 1 of which went for a touchdown. Defensively, Michael Wirt stood out in this one: he had an interception in the end zone on Byron Nelson's 3rd offensive possession and broke up 2 more passes.

Game 2: Plano West 20, Cy Woods 6

The Wildcat offense sputtered in their 2nd game of the day: their inability to sustain anything really hurt them. They failed to convert on 4th and goal from the 1 on their 2nd possession in the 1st half. Jaylen Miller, a junior WR, caught a TD on their 3rd drive, which would be the Wildcats' only points of the game. Clark was a bit erratic, as he finished 18-32 with 2 picks. It wasn't entirely his fault, as drops haunted the Cats all day. The first one proved to be the backbreaker, as the Wolves returned it for a touchdown. The Wildcats had been trailing 13-6 at that time.

Clark was also called for 4 seconds (took too long to throw) 8 times, according to my count. Some of those 4-second calls seemed dubious, at best.

Defensively, the Cats had their best effort of the day. They might not have had any interceptions to show for it, but they kept themselves in this game with their work on defense.

Game 3: Hutto 48, Cy Woods 35

The defense was ripped in the final game of the day: they allowed Hutto to score on 7 of their 8 possessions. Their one stop was an interception returned for a touchdown by junior LB Keith Watson, which came in the 1st half and gave the Cats a 14-7 lead.

Clark finished 18-28 with 4 TDs and 2 INTs. Junior RB R.J. Harmon led the charge with 5 catches and 2 TDs. C.J. Jones and Chad O'Donnell also caught touchdowns.