MEMPHIS, Tenn–The wait is almost over and high school football players can hardly contain their excitement.
“Friday night lights, there is nothing like it. Can you smell the hamburgers, and I would say the fresh cut grass, but they’ve got this beautiful turf field here at St. Benedict. But hey there ain’t nothing like Friday night here in Memphis,” said Briarcrest coach, Brian Stewart.
The high school football season is about a month away, better yet 35 days to be exact. And today’s 7-on-7 scrimmage is a little taste of the fun football season to come.
“It’s great, you get out, you get some jitters out, things you’ve been working on since we were able to get out and throw the ball. Timing and working against someone else on another team. You sit there and work against each other, everybody is trying to do the same thing when you are together. You get out here, you get to work against different schools, different defenses, it’s a good event,” said Bartlett coach Timothy Haney.
“These kids work so hard, and they get to come out here and play a game, it’s not like practice, it’s just fun. It’s a great teaching tool, and it’s a opportunity for these kids to showcase their talents,” said coach Stewart.
This is the second year St. Benedict held this 7-on-7 tournament.
“Well it gives every school and opportunity to get their quarterback and receivers here and get some work in, in somewhat game like situations,” said St. Benedict coach, John Cooley.
Now while it beats practice, some could argue, it favors one side of the ball.
“100%, it’s an offensive drill, defensive coaches hate it, you can’t hit anybody, it’s two hand touch, you can go over the middle and not get hit,” said St. Benedict offensive coordinator, Will Hudgens.
“It’s not my favorite brand of football, I’ll be honest with you, because me being a former lineman I like when the lineman get in there and get dirty. But it is what it is, it’s good for the skill guys to get out here and get their work in,” said Houston coach, James Thomas.
But either way, today marks a fun kick off to the season, before the season kicks off.
“It’s all about competition and competing and everybody wants to be the best so it’s just fun to watch the kids compete. They get into it. They look forward to it and they talk about it, even after it’s over with, they’ll still talk about it,” said coach Stewart.
The event had to be postponed in the afternoon due to the heat. The tournament will continue on Saturday.
