Wildcat 7-on-7: State Bound!

On Friday, the Cypress Woods Wildcats qualified for the Texas State 7-on-7 Football Tournament in College Station in their first attempt at qualification. They earned the spot at the Cy Fair East State Qualifying Tournament hosted by Cy Creek, although the pools were scattered across the district thanks to the rain earlier in the week. This is the second consecutive year that the Wildcats have qualified for the state tournament following a four-year drought.

Cy Woods finished 2-1 in Pool D, knocking off Pearland Dawson 34-33 and shutting out Langham Creek 27-0. They did lose their final game in pool play to Klein Cain by a final score of 31-20, but since the Hurricanes have already qualified, that result didn't affect the Wildcats, who essentially won a three-team pool.

The Cats traveled to Cy-Fair FCU Stadium for the qualifying game, where they would face Cy Ranch, who won Pool C. It was a wild, back-and-forth affair between these two rivals until the Cats got an interception near the end of the first half. They managed to convert the turnover into points to take a 26-20 lead into halftime and then scored on their first possession of the second half to go up 33-20. Getting the two-score lead to start off the second half proved to be the difference as they got the cushion they needed to keep the Mustangs at bay. Ranch scored late to make it a five-point game, but with less than a minute to go, the Cats were able to run out the clock and secure the berth with a 46-41 victory.

It might not be "real" football, but I do enjoy watching 7-on-7. It's the official beginning to the preseason, a chance for the kids to enter that competition mode, and a way for them to get familiar with some potential opponents. It's also translated to success when the real season starts as well. If I'm not mistaken, every time that Cy Woods has qualified for state in 7-on-7, they've ended up making the playoffs in actual football each time. Also, it's nice to beat Cy Ranch. Wouldn't you agree?

Cy Woods qualifies for @Texas7on7 State.#txhsfb #tx7on7 @CyWoodsFB212 pic.twitter.com/Ddt0zs9xyN

— txhsfb(Tony Blalock) (@TXHSFB) June 8, 2019

Boom, congrats to @CyWoodsFB212 for qualifying at the Cy Creek SQT! Loved how our guys competed tonight! 212!! pic.twitter.com/BVwQ75DPVe

— Curtis Neill (@CoachNeill) June 8, 2019 

State Tournament Information

As always, the Texas State 7-on-7 Football Tournament will take place at Veterans Park in College Station. This year's Division I tournament will begin on Friday, June 28 with pool play. Bracket play begins Saturday morning, June 29.

I'm sure the Cats are looking for a better showing this time around after they lost all four games last year.