COLLEGE STATION— After powering through their State Qualifier Tournament earlier this month with four straight wins over Madisonville, La Grange, Lorena and Franklin, Rockdale came up short this weekend. The Blue-and-Gold eventually fell to Texarkana-Pleasant Grove, 28-18, in the opening round of the State 7-on- 7 Division II Championships this past weekend.
Leading up to the first round, the kids from Milam County went 1-2 in Pool G, losing to Dumas 28-6 in game one and coming up short against Celina (27-12) in a game where Tiger quarterback Blaydn Barcak threw one touchdown pass each to Robert Owens and Wyatt Windham.
Despite the two losses, the Blue-and-Gold fought their way out of pool play into the tournament bracket in a quadruple overtime battle with Bay City that the Tigers won, 41-39.
RHS bounced back the next morning to face Pleasant Grove, who eliminated them from title contention.
Although Rockdale didn’t take home gold, RHS head football coach and athletic director Jacob C a m p s e y described the trip to Brazos County as a ‘great experience’ for his players.
“I know that it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to go, but it was a good chance for the kids to go out and compete,” he said over the phone Monday morning.
Campsey added that making it to state wasn’t just about playing, but an opportunity for some of his team members to build friendships with each other.
“It was more about the experience,” he said. “We had a washer tournament the night before at my house and we had the entire group eating at Chic-Fil-A after one of the games.
“It was really nice to build camaraderie and the kids really appreciated it too.” C a m p s e y also said he loved how much h i s k i d s were able to push through games such as the Bay City game and said that whether you’re in a tough situation in a game or a fixing a flat tire on the side of the road, knowing how to deal with that kind of pressure is important.
As one of the smallest schools in the Division II bracket, none of the teams that Rockdale faced were Class 4A programs. As of this past October’s UIL snapshot, Celina had 994 students, Bay City had 977, Dumas had 1178 and Texarkana-Pleasant Grove had 763.
For perspective, Lexington High School has 76 less students than RHS and competed in the Divison III bracket.
HISTORY—This is the ninth time that the Blueand-Gold has qualified for the state tournament since 2007 and the first time since 2017.
Rockdale’s trip to College Station also marks the first time the Tigers have made it to state since the tournament’s committee reduced the number of qualifiers from 64 to 32 teams.
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