SUDAN — Hale Center and Sunray are headed to the 7-on-7 football state tournament later this month after successful performances in the final opportunity Friday.
Eight teams from Odessa to Stratford met in Sudan for the last Division III state-qualifying tournament of the summer. D-III is made up of teams in Class 3A Division II and smaller.
Hale Center qualified for the first time, beating Odessa Compass 44-40 in their semifinal. Sunray topped fellow Panhandle squad Stratford 28-13 to punch its ticket. The teams elected not to play a championship game.
The D-III state tournament is set for June 26-27 at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station. The 32 teams will be divided into pools of four. After pool play on the opening day, every team will advance to the championship bracket June 27. Gunter won the D-III title last season.
Hale Center joins Lamesa as state qualifiers from the Lubbock area. The Golden Tornadoes will compete in D-II.
Here are all the scores from Sudan’s tournament Friday:
Sudan SQT scores
POOL A
Tulia 36, Roosevelt 6
Hale Center 42, Sunray 25
Sunray 18, Tulia 6
Hale Center 12, Roosevelt 6 (OT)
Hale Center 30, Tulia 27
Sunray 20, Roosevelt 13 (OT)
POOL B
Olton 27, Sudan 0
Stratford 35, Odessa Compass 34
Odessa Compass 21, Sudan 6
Stratford 34, Olton 7
Stratford 35, Sudan 13
Odessa Compass 26, Olton 12
SEMIFINALS
Hale Center 44, Odessa Compass 40
Sunray 28, Stratford 13
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Sudan SQT: Here’s how Hale Center, Sunray qualified for the 7-on-7 state tournament
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
