Arkansas 7-on-7 Football: 2011 Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Preview

The 2011 Southwest Elite 7-on-7 will begin tomorrow (Friday, July 8) with 24 teams competing for the championship and to qualify for the 7-on-7 National Tournament in Hoover, AL. This looks like the strongest field the tournament has had and has increased from 15 to 24 teams. Arkansas teams make up just over half the field with 14 teams, while 10 teams will come from Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

The teams will be divided into 3 pools of 8 teams. Pool play will begin Friday at 2:00 with teams playing 4 games. Last games on Friday will be at 5:30. Teams will resume pool play with 3 games on Saturday beginning at 8:30 and ending at approximately 11:25. The teams will break for lunch and return for a 24-team double-elimination tournament beginning at 12:30. The finals will be at 4:00.

Here is a list of the teams in their pools. Teams that are ranked in our mid-season top 10 will have our ranking beside them. The teams in bold are the teams that we have picked to win their pool.

Pool A

Arkansas Baptist
Broken Arrow (OK)
#8 El Dorado
#2 Fayetteville
Lakeside
Olive Branch (MS)
Springdale
Stillwater (OK)

We feel that Pool A is the strongest pool with Fayetteville, El Dorado, and last year's champion Olive Branch.

Pool B

Bentonville
Calvary Christian (Shreveport)
Greene County Tech
#?? Har-Ber
Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City)
Mayflower
McAlester (OK)
Victory Christian (Tulsa)

Har-Ber should have little trouble in Pool B; however, Heritage Hall is dangerous with Sterling Shepard (committed to Oklahoma) and Barry Sanders, Jr (who has over 15 BCS offers).

Pool C

Bastrop (LA)
Charleston
#5 Heritage
Hillcrest (Springfield)
Jonesboro
Midwest City (OK)
Mountain Home
Shiloh Christian

Pool C may be the most balanced. Rogers Heritage has an up and coming quarterback in sophomore quarterback Josh Qualls, and they will be tough to beat when he is on. Hillcrest has the number one ranked player in the nation in 6'6" receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Bastrop had some big wins at Lousiana's Air Attack Challenge and perennially one of the top teams in 7 on 7 in Arkansas, host Shiloh Christian will be looking to improve on their performances at the Sonic Air Raid and Ouachita Baptist 7 on 7. Jonesboro is the most intriguing team to us as we are unfamiliar with their history in 7 on 7, but they are an improving team with the highest rated recruit in the state according to rivals.com in athlete Zac Brooks, who has committed to Clemson.

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

2:00