Cowboys Stadium to host 1A through 5A championships

The UIL announced Monday that Cowboys Stadium will host all  the 11-man state football championships for the first time in history.

UIL football championships in both divisions of 3A through 5A were held at Cowboys Stadium last season in front of near record crowds and will now be joined with the 1A and 2A in 2011. The Conference 1A 6-man Division I and Division II football state championships will be held at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.

Last year marked the first time all UIL football state championship games in all conferences were held at pre-determined locations. The UIL has determined the site for the Conference 5A football state championships since 2006.

The UIL is currently working with Fox Sports Southwest to have all of the games televised or shown on the Internet, according to UIL director of athletics Mark Cousins.

Only the 2011 championships have been locked into Cowboys Stadium and the location of future championships is still up in the air, Cousins said.

State championship schedule:

Friday, December 9

3A Division I – 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 15

1A Division I – 12 p.m.

1A Division II – 4 p.m.

2A Division I – 8 p.m.

Friday, December 16

2A Division II – 12 p.m.

3A Division II – 4 p.m.

4A Division I – 8 p.m.

Saturday, December 17

4A Division II – 12 p.m.

5A Division I – 4 p.m.

5A Division II – 8 p.m.

Live webcasts slated for 7-on-7 state tournament

Fox Sports Southwest will show live webcasts of 7-on-7 action this Saturday, July 16th. Here's the details.

Four Texas Teams Listed in National Rankings

Aledo, Katy, Euless Trinity and Allen are ranked in the national Top 25 just released by MaxPreps Football.        MaxPreps Rankings

Texas HS Football Suffers "Down Draft"

Texans take pride in claiming to be the nation's high school football capital, and the state produces college and NFL players almost as fast as McDonald's produces Big Mac's.

However, the conveyor belt slowed to a crawl this year compared to seasons past as only six players from Texas high schools were taken in the first three rounds of the draft.

In 2009, there were six Texans taken in the first round alone and there were 26 players taken from the Lone Star state last year, while 24 players were selected this year. Not much of a difference, but of the 24 players taken, nine were selected in the final round of the draft (round seven).

Here's a breakdown of players taken in the 2011 NFL draft that attended high school in Texas.

Jacquizz Rodgers from Lamar Consolidated was selected
in the 5th round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

Gray Gives Horns Verbal Commit

If Aledo's Johnathan Gray fulfills the verbal commitment he made to Texas today, it gives Texas the top rated running backs in Texas the past two seasons, after the Horn's nabbed Cibolo Steele powerhouse RB Malcolm Brown last year. The Longhorns ran a formidable spread offense when Vince Young and Colt McCoy were in the driver's seat, but with such a talented backfield should this still be their offense of choice? Word is a "Bring Back the Wishbone" chant went up in Austin today.

State's Top Running Back Set to Announce

According to his father, Aledo running back Johnathan Gray is set to announce his college choice next Friday on his birthday. Gray is one of the top backs in the nation and is positioned to break the state record for career touchdowns next season as he only needs eleven scores. That should come early in his senior season as he had eight TD's in last year's state title game alone.