PREP FOOTBALL Top teams, players meet in Alma 7on7 event

ALMA -- When presented with the opportunity to be the new host for one of the state's premier 7on7 tournaments, Alma football coach Doug Loughridge didn't balk at that chance.

"We are really excited about this," Loughridge said. "I think it's going to be one of the more competitive tournaments in the state this summer. The location makes it easy. It was a no-brainer."

Lumber One 7on7 Showcase

At Airedale Stadium, Alma

Live streams

Field one: https://www.youtube…

Field two: https://www.youtube…

Today

Field One

Alma vs. Fayetteville White, 9 a.m.

Russellville vs. Van Buren White, 9:25 a.m.

Alma vs. Van Buren Green, 9:50 a.m.

Bentonville West vs. Van Buren White, 10:15 a.m.

Alma vs. Northside Red, 10:40 a.m.

Bentonville West vs. Northside Black, 11:05 a.m.

Alma vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 11:30 a.m.

Bentonville West vs. Russellville, 11:55 a.m.

Alma vs. Mansfield, 12:20 p.m.

Bentonville West vs. Fayetteville Gray, 12:45 p.m.

Field Two

Mansfield vs. Northside Red, 9 a.m.

Fayetteville Gray vs. Northside Black, 9:25 a.m.

Northside Red vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 9:50 a.m.

Farmington vs. Fayetteville Gray, 10:15 a.m.

Fayetteville White vs. Van Buren Green, 10:40 a.m.

Farmington vs. Van Buren White, 11:05 a.m.

Fayetteville White vs. Northside Red, 11:30 a.m.

Farmington vs. Northside Black, 11:55 a.m.

Fayetteville White vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 12:20 p.m.

Farmington vs. Russellville, 12:45 p.m.

Field Three

Springdale Har-Ber vs. Van Buren Green, 9 a.m.

Bentonville West vs. Farmington, 9:25 a.m.

Fayetteville White vs. Mansfield, 9:50 a.m.

Northside Black vs. Russellville, 10:15 a.m.

Mansfield vs. Springdale Har-Ber, 10:40 a.m.

Fayetteville Gray vs. Russellville, 11:05 a.m.

Mansfield vs. Van Buren Green, 11:30 a.m.

Fayetteville Gray vs. Van Buren White, 11:55 a.m.

Northside Red vs. Van Buren Green, 12:20 p.m.

Northside Black vs. Van Buren White, 12:45 p.m.

Single-elimination tournament, 2 p.m.

Championship game, 4:30 p.m.

The seventh annual Lumber One 7on7 Showcase, moving from Charleston, will consist of a stacked field again at its new venue of Airedale Stadium.

Alma, Springdale Har-Ber, Mansfield, Fort Smith Northside, Bentonville West, Farmington, Fayetteville, Russellville and Van Buren will compete in varsity play.

Pool play beings today at 9 a.m and will seed teams for a single-elimination tournament that starts at 2 p.m. The championship is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

There will be three fields of play for the event with two for varsity play and one for junior varsity play. The event also will be streamed on the school's YouTube page.

"We are really looking forward to this event and making it the best we can," Loughridge said. "Bryan Smith is the tournament director and has run this tournament for a long time. He has done an amazing job putting this together."

Alma returns its quarterback in Landon Blair and its leading receiver in Grayson Bailey heading into the tournament. Loughridge said his team is looking forward to getting a lot of work with its new offense under first-year offensive coordinator Greg Kendrick.

"The players are so excited to be here hosting this," Loughridge said. "If you could pick just one player to have back each year, it would be the quarterback. He is a year older and a year better. We are breaking in a new offense. But I think this event will help, and he has been very efficient in the spring."

Northside plans to play two quarterbacks at the varsity level with Dreyden Norwood and Matthew Hollenbeck leading the way. The duo will split time at the tournament as they look to make progress as first-year starting quarterbacks.

"This event will help them out a lot," Northside coach Mike Falleur said. "You get a lot of reps at an event like this. You throw the football and make your reads all day. It's big for the quarterbacks, but it is for everybody else as well."

Falleur said Northside doesn't schedule a lot of 7on7 events, but he said he finds it provides a lot of value to a team and is a way for his players to compete at a high level in the summer.

"This gives the team an opportunity to get better when on a Saturday they might be playing video games or hanging out," Falleur said. "Our kids really enjoy these events and have a lot of fun. It's throwing the football around, which is popular. And defensively, it is a lot of man-to-man coverage, which they like to do."

Van Buren will be without two wide receivers and its quarterback in Gary Phillips, who will be at a camp in Tennessee today. Connor Brady will get most of the snaps for the Pointers at quarterback and get an opportunity to show his skill set.

"We will be missing some key guys for an event like this," Van Buren coach Crosby Tuck said. "But this is an opportunity for others. It will be a good test for Brady. I'm excited to put him in the fire and get those reps. This is an opportunity to prepare him for a situation we might be in later but hopefully doesn't happen with injuries."

Jaiden Henry, the son of first-year defensive coordinator Moe Henry, will also get some work as the signal caller. This event is well suited for Jaiden Henry, as he will get work at all three positions he can play for the Pointers.

"He will be a receiver and defensive back for us," Tuck said. "But we will also use this opportunity to get him a look at quarterback. There might be a package we use with him this season. This is a great tournament for him to get used to all of our systems. He has a lot of football reps, but he just needs reps in our system."

Although 7on7 is generally considered to be an offense-first game, Loughridge, a defensive-minded coach, believes the other side of the ball can gain a of experience, too.

"It's an offensive game, and the defense is at a disadvantage," Loughridge said. "But you have to stop them one or two more times than they stop you. When it comes down to it, getting points off of turnovers is big. The first thing that gets you beat on defense is not being lined up right. The ability to line up and learn to do it against these different looks makes it easy in the fall."

Loughridge has seen the rise of 7on7 in the summer around the country and the state throughout his coaching career. He is now glad his program is hosting the high-quality event for teams in the area.

"Every other sport you can go play in the summer," Loughridge said. "You can play travel baseball and basketball. There isn't much you can do football-wise other than 7on7. It keeps things competitive with these tournaments. It helps with our game."

Sports on 06/15/2019

Upcoming Events