A Closer Look at the Houston County Classic

Basketball Tournament Set to Begin Dec. 28

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY – The eighth edition of the Houston County Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament gets underway this week in both Crockett and in Grapeland. This year’s tourney features 20 teams from all over the state and promises to be as competitive a tournament as you can find during the Christmas break.

The 20 teams will initially be divided up into four pools, A-D. Pool A is comprised of the Grapeland Sandies; the China Spring Cougars; the Rusk Eagles; the Groesbeck Goats; and the Ovilla Christian Eagles.

Pool B is comprised of: the Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans; the Ferris Yellow Jackets; the LaPoynor Flayers; the Westwood Panthers; and the Mexia Black Cats.

Pool C is comprised of: the Palestine Wildcats; the Maypearl Panthers; the Madisonville Mustangs; the Trinity Tigers; and tentatively, the Crockett JV Bulldogs.

Pool D is comprised of: the Crockett Bulldogs; the Hudson Hornets; the Flatonia Bulldogs, the Lovelady Lions and the Aggieland HMS Panthers.

Pools A and B will be played in Grapeland while Pools C and D will be played in Crockett.

At the conclusion of pool play, the teams will be placed into one of five brackets, based on their records. The Gold Bracket will be for the first-place teams in each pool. The Silver bracket will be for the second-place teams in pool play. The Bronze Bracket will see the third-place teams square off, the Copper Bracket will be for the fourth- place teams and the fifth-place teams will move into the Consolation Bracket.

While the field may change a little by the time of tip-off, let’s take a closer look at the teams who have committed as of Friday, Dec. 24.

In Pool A:

Grapeland Sandies – Class 2A; ranked #18 by TABC; record of 12-6; 2021 Class 2A State Runners-Up.
China Spring Cougars – Class 4A; unranked; record of 7-9; 2021 Bi-District Finalist.
Rusk Eagles – Class 4A; unranked; record of 2-9; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.
Groesbeck Goats – Class 3A; unranked; record of 7-4; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.
Ovilla Christian Eagles – TAPPS 2A; ranked #4 in 2A Private Schools; record of 11-3; 2021 Bi-District Finalist.

In Pool B:

Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans – Class 3A; unranked; record of 12-5; 2021 Area Finalist
Ferris Yellow Jackets – Class 4A; unranked; record of 8-10; 2021 Bi-District Finalist
LaPoynor Flayers – Class 2A; ranked #6 by TABC; record of 15-2; 2021 Regional Finalist
Westwood Panthers – Class 3A; unranked; record of 8-7; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.
Mexia Black Cats – Class 4A; unranked; record of 12-4; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.

In Pool C:

Palestine Wildcats – Class 4A; unranked; record of 6-5; 2021 Bi-District Finalist
Maypearl Panthers – Class 3A; unranked; record of 8-7; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.
Madisonville Mustangs – Class 4A; ranked #12 by MaxPreps; record of 14-1; 2021 Bi-District Finalist.
Trinity Tigers – Class 3A; unranked; record of 5-9; Did not qualify for 2021 postseason.
Crockett JV Bulldogs – Class 3A; unranked

In Pool D:

Crockett Bulldogs – Class 3A; ranked #7 by TABC; record of 9-3; 2021 Regional Quarterfinalist.
Hudson Hornets – Class 4A; ranked #25 by TABC; record of 11-7; 2021 Bi-District Finalist.
Flatonia Bulldogs – Class 2A; ranked #5 by TABC; record of 16-1; 2021 Area Finalist
Lovelady Lions – Class 2A; unranked; record of 7-5; 2021 Bi-District Finalist.
Aggieland HMS Panthers – Unaffiliated; ranked #13 in Freelance Basketball Programs; record of 20-7.

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