It’s Tournament Time in Houston County!!

Houston County and Latexo Holiday Tournaments Begin Next Week

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – It’s the holiday season and after a mandatory UIL down time, the basketballs will start bouncing again as the Houston County Holiday Tournament and Latexo Boys’ Tournament get underway next week.

The Houston County Holiday Tournament features some of the top teams in the area and currently has 14 squads signed up. The tourney begins on Thursday, Dec. 27 with pool play.

The field is divided up into four pools: Pool A; Pool B; Pool C; and Pool D. Pool A consists of: the Grapeland Sandies (2A); the Krum Bobcats (4A); the Onalaska Wildcats (3A); and the Van Vleck Leopards (3A).

Pool B consists of: the Edna Cowboys (3A); the Fairfield Eagles (4A); and the Central Bulldogs (3A).

Pool C consists of: the Baytown Lee Ganders (5A); the Diboll Lumberjacks (3A); the Elkhart Elks (3A); and the Trinity Tigers (3A).

Pool D consists of: the Bosqueville Bulldogs (2A); the Crockett Bulldogs (3A); and the Jefferson Bulldogs (3A).

Pool A and B games will be held in Grapeland while Pool C and D games will be held in Crockett.

Once pool play is complete, the teams will be placed into four brackets. The Gold Bracket will be for the first place teams in each pool. The Silver Bracket will be for the second place teams in each pool and the Bronze Bracket will be for the third place teams in each pool. There will also be a guaranteed game for the fourth place finishers in pool play.

On Thursday, Dec. 12 there will be three games held in Crockett and three in Grapeland. The tournament tips off at 4 p.m. in Crockett with Elkhart taking on Baytown Lee. Also at 4 p.m. in Grapeland, Onalaska takes on Van Vleck.

The next tip-offs in Crockett and Grapeland are scheduled for 5:20 p.m. and feature Trinity taking on Diboll in Crockett while Edna and Fairfield square off in Grapeland.

The Thursday night finale features Crockett against Jefferson in Crockett while the Sandies take on Krum in Grapeland.

The action cranks back up on Friday beginning at noon while bracket play begins on Saturday at 9 a.m. The Gold and Silver Brackets will be played in Crockett while the Bronze Bracket, as well as the guarantee game will be held in Grapeland.

While the Houston County Holiday Tournament is going on, the Latexo High School Boys Tournament will also tip off. The brackets for the Latexo tourney have not been finalized, as of yet.

The teams, however, have been set. They are: the Latexo Tigers (2A); the Slocum Mustangs (2A); the Normangee Panthers; the North Zulch Bulldogs (2A); the Douglass Indians (2A); the Timpson Bears (2A); the Zavalla Eagles (2A); and the Spurger Pirates (1A).

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].