Inaugural Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Begins Friday

Shiloh Christian will host the inaugural Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase this Friday and Saturday in Springdale. The tournament will provide spectators with exciting games as some of the top teams in Northwest Arkansas and some strong out-of-state competition will be there.

There will be 12 teams divided into two pools of six. Each team will play five intrapool games and two games from teams outside their pool. The tournament will be after lunch on Saturday with seeding being from the teams' pool play record.

Arkansas Teams:

Shiloh Christian - The Saints are one of the top passing teams in the state and have one of the most talented junior classes in the state regardless of competition. They have two very good junior quarterbacks in Kiehl Frazier and David Matthews. They are the defending 4A State Champions.

Bentonville - The Tigers are the 7A State Champions and will threaten for the title again this year as they return almost everyone on the offensive side of the ball. They have one of the best coaches in the history of Arkansas High School football, in Barry Lunney, Sr. He is one of the pioneers of the spread offense in Arkansas, however, Bentonville has not been historically strong in 7-on-7 competition.

Arkansas Baptist - The Eagles are not traditionally a top team in their classification, but they have fared well the last few years in 7-on-7 competitions. That can partly be attributed to their quarterback, Logan Quinn, and his go-to receiver, Greg Bowie. Bowie is gone, but Quinn will still be leading the team as the signal caller.

Mayflower - The Eagles are coming off one of their best seasons in history, but they have graduated many of the reasons why. However, Coach Jed Davis is ready to show that this team is not going to just lay down. They competed well at the Shootout of the South with their only big loss coming to Fayetteville.

Har-Ber - All you need to know is that the Wildcats are the defending 7-on-7 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. They will also be one of the favorites to win the 7A title this year.

Fayetteville - The Purple Dogs won the Shootout of the South, rolling through pool play and the tournament undefeated and almost unchallenged. They have arguably the best quarterback in the state in junior Brandon Allen. They also have a very athletic and polished receiving corps.

Springdale - The Red Dogs are coming off of a tough season but will return 13 starters off of that 5-6 team. In order to do well this weekend, they will need junior quarterback Joseph Calcagni and some receivers to step in for graduated Missouri commit Ashton Glaser and one of the state's best receivers last year, Ladarius Eckwood.

Siloam Springs - The Panthers are building a tradition as they have been to the playoffs for four straight years in the tough 5A West. They are now under first year head coach Bryan Ross, who has been the offensive coordinator. Siloam should do well this weekend with their offensive and defensive systems, but they are relatively new on the 7-on-7 circuit.

Out of State Teams:

Jenks (OK) - The Trojans were the 6A runners-up last year and have one of the best programs in the region.

Muskogee (OK) - The Roughers finished 7-4 last sason and were conference runners-up.

Metro Christian (Tulsa, OK) - The Patriots finished 9-3 last season under first year head coach Jared McCoy.

Neosho (MO) - The Wildcats finished 8-4 last season and finished first in conference.
UPDATE: NEOSHO WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. SHILOH JUNIOR VARSITY WILL BE TAKING THEIR PLACE ON THE SCHEDULE.



We feel the favorites for the tournament are Fayetteville and Shiloh Christian. Both teams boast great quarterbacks and well-polished receivers with great offensive systems. Although Har-Ber is the defending national champions, they may not have the experience at quarterback to string together enough wins against these teams to win this tournament.

Admission for the tournament is free. Concessions will be available and will be ran by Chik Fil A.

The schedule for the weekend can be found here: http://www.pinnaclepreps.com/2009poolplay.pdf

More information on the tournament can be found on the tournaments website: http://elite7on7.com/

Fountain Lake Tournament Preview (July 11)

The longest running 7-on-7 tournament in the state is this weekend at Fountain Lake. Fourteen teams will participate. Seven schools will compete for a "large" division (5A-7A) title, while the other seven will compete for a "small" division (2A-4A) championship.

The tournament will begin at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Each team will play six games against the other teams in their pool. The top two teams in each pool will then play at 5:40 for a championship in their division. Pool play games will be 20 minutes running clock. The championship game will be two 15-minute halves.

The large division teams that will be competing are Conway, Bryant, Lake Hamilton, Lakeside, Morrilton, Pulaski Academy, and Fountain Lake Junior Varsity.

Lake Hamilton is a threat to win every tournament they play. Pulaski Academy has lost just four tournament games this summer to two teams, Arlington Bowie and Bryant. Unfortunately for them, Bryant lamblasted them in the finals of the Arkansas Sports Performance Center Summer Showdown at Robinson, and Bryant will be the favorite to win on Saturday.

Conway and Morrilton have the athletes to cause matchup problems for each of these "favorites," and Lakeside is capable of beating any of these teams, especially with the short 20 minute length of the games.

The small division teams is host Fountain Lake, Ashdown, Perryville, Mansfield, Centerpoint, Bismarck, and Magnet Cove.

Although Ashdown will be the most athletic team, Fountain Lake may be the favorite with their experience in 7-on-7. They played very well in the Shootout of the South, handing North Little Rock their only loss in pool play. They fell two points short against Lake Hamilton and Magnolia, and were within a touchdown against 7A Rogers Heritage. Expect Perryville to compete for one of the top two spots and play for the championship. Mansfield may also surprise some people.

The cost of admission to the tournament is free. Concessions will be available with drinks, hot dogs, and nachos. Water will be provided for the players, and a hospitality room will be available to the coaches. T-shirts will be awarded to the champions of each division.

SCHEDULE

9:00
PA vs Fountain Lake JV
Centerpoint vs Magnet Cove

9:25
Conway vs Lakeside
Fountain Lake vs Mansfield

9:50
Lake Hamilton vs Morrilton
Ashdown vs Bismarck

10:15
Bryant vs Lakeside
Magnet Cove vs Perryville

10:40
PA vs Morrilton
Fountain Lake vs Ashdown

11:05
Conway vs Lake Hamilton
Centerpoint vs Bismarck

11:30
Fountain Lake JV vs Morrilton
Mansfield vs Ashdown

11:55
Bryant vs Lake Hamilton
Perryville vs Bismarck

12:20
PA vs Conway
Fountain Lake vs Centerpoint

12:45
Lakeside vs Lake Hamilton
Magnet Cove vs Bismarck

1:1o
Fountain Lake JV vs Conway
Mansfield vs Centerpoint

1:35
Bryant vs PA
Perryville vs Fountain Lake

2:00
Morrilton vs Conway
Ashdown vs Centerpoint

2:25
Lakeside vs PA
Magnet Cove vs Fountain Lake

2:50
Fountain Lake JV vs Bryant
Mansfield vs Perryville

3:15
Lake Hamilton vs PA
Bismarck vs Fountain Lake

3:40
Morrilton vs Bryant
Ashdown vs Perryville

4:05
Lakeside vs Fountain Lake JV
Magnet Cove vs Mansfield

4:30
Conway vs Bryant
Centerpoint vs Perryville

4:55
Lake Hamilton vs Fountain Lake JV
Bismarck vs Mansfield

5:20
Morrilton vs Lakeside
Ashdown vs Magnet Cove

5:50 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Fayetteville wins 7-on-7 Shootout of the South

Fayetteville went undefeated through Friday's pool play and rolled through Saturday's tournament before finishing with a 49-48 nail biting victory over Arlington (TX) Bowie to win the Baptist Health Shootout of the South Championship. Bowie scored with 40 seconds left to pull within one point but failed on their two-point conversion as Fayetteville's Nathan Grady knocked down the pass for the championship.

Pine Bluff defeated Greenbrier, 30-28, to take home the Chenal Heights Nursing and Rehab Shootout Consolation title. Lake Hamilton defeated Captain Shreve (Shreveport, LA) to win the SportStop Shootout Consolation bracket.

Brandon Allen of Fayetteville was given the Top Gun Award for best quarterback. Montrae Nelson of Arlington Bowie won the Most Outstanding Receiver Award, and Fayetteville's Nathan Grady was recognized as the Most Outstanding Defensive Player.