The Brownwood Lions secured their 21st consecutive trip to College Station following a 3-0 performance at the Jim Ned state qualifier on June 11. The Lions defeated Stephenville, 26-24, in the semifinals to advance after knocking off Sanger, 32-13, and Clyde, 28-14, in pool play action. Prior to the Jim Ned qualifier, the Lions had posted a 4-8 overall record in four previous tournaments.
Joining Brownwood in the 32-team 7-on-7 Division II state field will be Lorena, Breckenridge, Melissa, Kaufman, Hitchcock, Needville, El Campo, Silsbee, Somerset, Wimberley, Tyler Chapel Hill, Carthage, China Spring, Little River-Academy, Argyle, Texarkana Pleasant Grove, Hamshire-Fannett, Pleasanton, Midlothian Heritage, Paris, The Woodlands Christian, Austin LBJ, Dumas, Lake Belton, Whitney, LaFeria, Jourdanton, Jim Ned, Cuero, Celina, and Graham.
Action in the eight four-team pools begins at 1:45 p.m. Thursday with games following at 3:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. Based on the pool play results, a bracket will be formulated and all 32 teams will then compete in a single elimination championship tournament starting at 8:45 a.m. Friday. Pools will be announced later.
In a change to recent years, the field has been trimmed in half from 64 teams to 32 teams. Part of the reason is the creation of the Division III field – also consisting of 32 teams – which is made up of Class 3A Division II schools and smaller. Division II is made up of Class 4A Division I, 4A Division II, and 3A Division I programs. Division I, which features Class 5A and 6A schools, remains a 64-team event.
Brownwood won the 7-on-7 Division II state championship in 2010.