After claiming second in Sanger’s North Texas Invitational tournament, the Decatur Eagles will host their first tournament in two years this weekend.
The Eagles will welcome 20 varsity teams to the James Wood Motors Decatur Invitational tournament Thursday through Saturday.
Decatur last held the event in the 2019 season.
“I’m extremely excited the tournament is back,” said Decatur coach Ryan Dykes. “It’s a great opportunity for the community to come out and watch the Decatur Eagles. We’ve got teams from all over the state coming in for this tournament. It’s also beneficial for Decatur because we’ll have thousands of people this weekend that are staying, eating and shopping in our town.”
The Eagles (3-6) will open the tournament with a pair of games Thursday against Wichita Falls (11:30 a.m.) and Weatherford (5:30 p.m.). Decatur will also play Arlington Heights 5:30 p.m. Friday and Granbury 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Decatur finished 3-1 at the NTI tournament last week with wins over Nocona, El Paso Riverside and Grapevine Faith. The Eagles fell to Kennedale in double-overtime in the championship, 58-55.
“If we were able to come out with four wins, I think it’d really help our players from a confidence standpoint,” Dykes said. “Our ultimate goal is to be playing our best when district starts, and that’s right around the corner.”
The Decatur tournament will also feature 32 junior varsity and freshman teams.
Alvord will also host the Bulldog Tournament this weekend.
“We’re excited about hosting this tournament,” said Alvord girls coach Stewart Richards. “There’s a lot of quality teams on the girls side. We’ve got state-ranked teams that are coming in, so it’s going to be a great tournament,”
On Thursday, the Alvord Lady Bulldogs (9-7) will take on Jacksboro (11:45 a.m.) and Bowie (4:45 p.m.).
Alvord finished the Iowa Park tournament last weekend with a 1-4 record. The team defeated Seymour, but fell to Bridgeport, Iowa Park, Nocona and Sanger,
“The Iowa Park tournament was pretty tough, but we were in those games late in the fourth quarter,” Richards said. “We just need to keep playing hard and finish the fight.”
The Slidell Lady Hounds (8-3) open the tournament with an 8 a.m. matchup against Nocona.
According to Slidell coach Lance Shelton, the Lady Hounds’ Pool A battle against Midway will be decided via a coin flip due to the two teams being District 22-A opponents.
Slidell is coming off a 3-1 run at the Chico tournament. The Lady Hounds fell to Paradise in the title game, 32-14.
In the boys tournament, the Alvord Bulldogs (3-4) will take on Saint Jo (10:30 a.m.) and Windthorst (6 p.m.) Thursday in Pool A.
“A lot of the teams in the tournament are within an hour of each other, so we’re all familiar with each other,” said Alvord boys coach Aaron Tefertiller. “I want to see consistency from my team. Right now, I’ve got three starters out, and we’re trying to work in some younger guys and some guys that just came in from football. We’ve only had a few practices with them, so we’re still trying to find ourselves.”
The Bulldogs split four games at the Chico tournament last week. Alvord defeated Olney and Prairie Valley, but suffered losses against Boyd and Electra.
In Pool B Thursday, the Chico Dragons (3-6) will face Nocona (1 p.m.) and Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy (7:15 p.m.). The Dragons wrap up pool play against Midway 8 a.m. Friday.
Chico was 2-2 at the Chico tournament with wins over Bryson and Valley View, and losses to Electra and Prairie Valley.
The Alvord tournament’s seeded games and championships will be played Friday and Saturday.
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