WESSON – The first Co-Lin 7-on-7 FootballTournament is history. It attracted seven teams who were willing tolabor under the scowling summer sun in Stone Stadium. Despitethe  oppressive heat andhumidity, it  receivedpositive feedback from the participating high school players andtheir coaches.

    Even though it was touch football and the passing game was ofprimary importance on every snap, there was no shortage ofintensity. Some of those touch tackles became enthusiastic shoves.Heck, this is football.

    Most importantly, players and coaches who had never met on thegridiron became acquainted as they shared their love for the game.Football was the common denominator.

    Participating teams came from Brookhaven, Bogue Chitto, Hazlehurst,Franklin County, North Pike, Winona and Brookhaven Academy. No, theearth didn’t shake and the sun didn’t grow dim when BrookhavenAcademy defeated North Pike 26-12 in the Thursday afternoonchampionship game.

    North Pike, for the unknowing reader, was the Class 4A staterunner-up last season. Coach Chris Smith’s Jaguars are missing manyof those standout players including their quarterback. However, theJaguars knocked off Brookhaven and Franklin County to reach thefinals.

    Brookhaven Academy, under the direction of new  head coach Tripp McCarty, alsograduated a bunch of players from last season’s Class AA statesemifinals squad. Remember, 7-on-7 is passing, catching and passdefense. BA performs all three of those skills extremely well.

    BA quarterback Gage Posey passes the football with accuracy andpower. The southpaw will be a junior this fall. Expect the Cougarsto throw the ball a lot.

    In the 7-on-7 format, the center flips the ball to the quarterbackand he has four seconds to attempt a pass. There’s no time forindecision.

    “Our team gave a lot of effort today,” said Posey. “We have a newcoach and we are learning a lot of stuff.  We can build on this.”

    Posey also has a strong supporting cast of receivers, led byall-stater Christian “Bubba” Keene. Receivers like Jeff Rushing andWill Lucas made some spectacular catches. They also played defenseand Lucas had three interceptions against North Pike.

    “This is fun,” said Lucas, as  he took a break from the earlierBA-Bogue Chitto game. “It’s a little bit faster than what weusually play but it’s a good experience.”

    Lucas and the Cougars were 1-3 in the morning session but came backstrong after lunch. They defeated Bogue Chitto and Hazlehurst toreach the finals.

    Bogue Chitto all-state linebacker Kevin Brothern did his best ondefense but he longed for full contact with helmets and  shoulder pads. “I like it but youcan’t tackle.”

    BC head coach Gareth Sartin said it was a profitable experience forhis team and a welcome change from the daily grind of offseasonworkouts. “It’s good to come out and do something different againstother people.”

    Sartin saw potential in his team. His receivers dropped severalpasses.

 

    New BHS coach Wade Henderson brought two units of players to thetournament. A few  of themsaw action on both sides of the ball.

    “We will be defending spread offenses this season,” said Henderson.”It’s good for our defense. It helps unify them as a unit. This istheir first time at Co-Lin and it’s good for our kids.”

    The Panthers were Class 5A state runners-up last season.

    For sure, there was no shortage of enthusiasm on the BHS sidelines. Coaches shoutedencouragement and so did the players. Defensive line coach JessieBowman chastised the volunteer referee.

    Someone joked, “Hey Jessie, (Fred) Tillman is going to flagyou.”

    After BHS quarterback Zach Smith gave his team a 2-touchdown leadagainst North Pike, a few of the BHS players joked about sendingthe Jaguars to the bus, especially when defender Jonah Hillintercepted a pass. However, the Jaguars had other plans.

    Quarterback Jermon Jordan ignited a comeback with two TD passes.”Who’s going to the bus, now?” grinned a North Pike defender, as hewalked along the sideline.

    It was obvious the Panthers didn’t like losing as the two teamsexchanged handshakes after their 20-minute game. They don’t expectto lose, not even touch football.

    All-Region 5A linebacker Kalen Calcote voiced the feelings of histeammates. “We got to work on pass defense and catching the ballbut I missed the contact.”

    When the defensive backs and wide receivers went up for thefootball, there was some pretty good contact. That’s what footballis all about.

    McCarty wore a black, knit shirt with the Cougar logo and defensivecoordinator Johnny Ball gushed enthusiasm as he spurred his defenseduring the tournament.

    “We need to be here because we need to know what we must work on,”said McCarty. “We need to play fast and it’s great conditioning,especially for our young kids.”

    Larry Williams, Co-Lin’s new defensive coordinator, directed thetournament. He was expecting several more teams to participate butconflicts with the Fourth of July weekend presented a problem.

    “It went real well and we had 15 teams committed,” said Williams.”Most of all, we want to take care of our district kids.”

    Co-Lin head football coach Glenn Davis said he wants to make thetournament an annual affair. It certainly benefits everyoneinvolved.

 

    Contact sports editor Tom Goetz by Email:tgoetz@dailyleader.com