Footballs are flying everywhere… Local schools participating in 7-on-7 leading up to summer practice
Published 6:00 am Monday, July 15, 2019
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders An Elizabethton receiver awaits the football in 7-on-7 action Friday morning against Trinity.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A receiver for Elizabethton pulls the football in after making a catch.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders After making the catch, a Cyclone receiver eludes two David Crockett defenders.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A move by a Cyclone receiver causes a Crockett defender to loose his footing in Thursday's 7-on-7 action from Citizens Bank Stadium.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders An Elizabethton quarterback throws out of the end zone while being closely evaluated by Cyclone head coach Shawn Witten.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A Happy Valley quarterback prepares to throw a pass downfield.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Two Warrior defenders go up to break up a pass intended for a Cyclone receiver.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Happy Valley's quarterback looks to fire downfield as the Warrior coaching staff looks on.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders An Elizabethton receiver turns the corner after catching a pass while being chased by a Happy Valley defender.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A Cyclone quarterback throws a pass while head coach Shawn Witten looks on during Thursday evening's 7-on-7 at Citizens Bank Stadium.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR STAFF
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
After winter and early spring conditioning and weight lifting, local high school football teams are beginning to sense a new season is right around the corner as many are taking advantage of 7-on-7 passing leagues.
The leagues only engage the receiving corp and quarterback on offense and defensive backs on defense but provide invaluable opportunities to see how players respond against someone else in a different colored uniform.
Thursday night at Citizens Bank Stadium, five teams came together taking about eight to nine plays each on offense and defense over roughly a 20-minute time span.
Those teams included host Elizabethton, Happy Valley, Dobyns-Bennett, David Crockett, and Unicoi County.
Even though there weren’t any pads popping, that didn’t stop the athletes from going all out in attempts to pull in tough passes and make defensive stops.
Not only were the players and coaches excited to be on the field, but evidenced by the turnout, fans are ready for the season to be underway as well.
Elizabethton was back at it on Friday morning early as the Cyclones welcomed Trinity and Morristown to Citizens Bank Stadium for another round of 7-on-7.
If fans didn’t make it out for these two opportunities, there is more 7-on-7 on tap today (Saturday) at Hampton High School as the Bulldogs will host their annual passing league.
The action began on Friday and will pick back up today at 10 am as Happy Valley, Unaka, North Greene, the Silverbacks, Johnson County, and Hampton will compete in five sessions before the tournament starts at 1 pm.
In the early morning sessions, Hampton will take on the Silverbacks while Happy Valley and Unaka square off as well at 10 am.
At 10:30, the North Greene Huskies will match up with the Longhorns of Johnson County while the Silverbacks II will tangle with Hampton II.
Hampton and Happy Valley go head-to-head at 11 am as will the Rangers of Unaka and the Silverbacks.
Unaka and Johnson County meet at 11:30 am with Hampton and North Greene taking the other end of the field.
The last session at noon will feature Happy Valley and Johnson County on one end of the field and the Silverbacks and North Greene at the other.
The tournament will take place once again at 1 pm.
Fans will be able to purchase concessions as the event serves to help raise funds for the Hampton program.
There will be more 7-on-7 opportunities in the next couple of weeks leading up to when teams put on full gear for practice preparing for the first official kickoff of 2019.
