Wylie East had a chance to compete with the state’s best in the 7-on-7 state championships last weekend, finishing in the top 32.

Heading to College Station on June 23 and 24, the Raiders entered the tournament after qualifying from the Arlington Invitational. Heading into state brought a lot of excitement to the team, as they got to see their skilled position players matched up with some of the other top teams. 64 teams qualified for the Division I state championships overall, consisting of all 6A teams.

Competing against Arlington Lamar, Houston Lamar and PSJA in Pool I of the Division I championships, East started off strong by winning all three pool play games to advance to the bracket round.

The Raiders opened the tournament with a 14-13 win over PSJA, followed by a 25-8 win over Arlington Lamar and a 27-20 win over Houston Lamar. The victories put Wylie East in the championship brackets for the final day, matched up against San Marcos in the round of 32. Heading into that point, the Raiders had shown they had the talent level to compete at the highest level and earned the championship round qualification.

In a back-and-forth game, eventually, San Marcos came out on top 27-20 to advance to the round of 16. Round Rock would go on to win the state championship in Division I, defeating A&M Consolidated.

Overall, it was a good experience for the Wylie East football team and some positive momentum they hope to capitalize on heading into the 2023 tackle football season.

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