This weekend’s Shootout of the South 7-on-7 tournament is entering its 10th year and tournament organizer Adam DePriest couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s a prestigious tournament,” said DePriest, Harrison’s offensive coordinator and a former Pulaski Academy assistant coach.
Held at Mighty Bluebird Complex in west Little Rock, the event features 19 teams this year, with Fayetteville, Lake Hamilton and Pulaski Academy leading the way. (Pulaski Academy will split into two teams, Blue and Gold.)
Pulaski Academy has already won two 7-on-7 tournaments this month. The Bruins were named champions of the weather-shortened Sonic Air Raid in Searcy on June 7 and won the North Arkansas Championship last weekend in Harrison.
Each team will have six games today in pool play. There are two pool divisions with nine and 10 teams, respectively.
After today’s pool play, teams will be seeded based on records. Saturday’s championship is scheduled to be played at 3:30 p.m.
Several top Arkansas players are scheduled to play in the Shootout, including quarterbacks Ross Trail of Wynne and Will Hefley of Pulaski Academy and Fayetteville tight end C.J. O’Grady, who has orally committed to Arkansas.
While perennial Shootout participant Allen, Texas, will not compete in this year’s tournament for the first time since 2005, five out-of-state teams will attend.
Oklahoma City Heritage Hall and three other Oklahoma schools, Afton, Beggs and Stigler, as well DeSoto (Miss.) Central, will compete. Heritage Hall is led by senior quarterback Connor McGinnis (6-4, 188 pounds), a two star Rivals.com recruit who is being recruited by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Missouri, Kansas State and Tulsa.
Over the past decade, the popularity of 7-on-7 football has increased in the South, including Arkansas. The Shootout is one of the nation’s longest running 7-on-7 tournaments.
“It continues to grow,” De-Priest said.
“That’s what’s making it tougher to fill this tournament. The tournaments in Arkansas are doing a great job.”
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for DePriest this year, though. Two teams dropped out of the tournament because of coaching changes in March.
“We felt like we would have had 22 or 24 if that wasn’t the case,” DePriest said.
Lake Hamilton won last year’s Shootout title, beating Heritage Hall 37-28.
The Arkansas Activities Association’s mandated two week athletic dead period begins Sunday.