Seven-on-seven football has been around for quite a while, but in recent years it has become more popular for high school teams.
This year as a preliminary to the U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic at Toms River North High School, there was a seven-on-seven game between teams from Howell High School and Toms River North High School.
Each squad won a preliminary county tournament, with Howell winning in Monmouth County and Toms River North representing Ocean County in the game that was played before the All-Shore Gridiron Classic on the evening of July 14.
Howell won the 30-minute seven-on-seven game, 26-21, over the Mariners.
Howell High School varsity football coach Cory Davies said the seven-on-seven game is becoming popular. He said it allows coaches to get together with their players and work on their offense.
Defense is an equally important part of football and some coaches, Davies said, play seven-on-seven for just that purpose.
Howell got back into the seven-on-seven action two years ago when Davies realized he had two players vying for the starting quarterback position and that entering tournaments was a way to get a good look at both players.
The idea worked. Jimmy Ryan eventually won the starting position and led Howell to a 9-2 season and a Shore Conference division title.
There is no quarterback battle this year at Howell, since senior Ryan Davies is firmly entrenched after a season in which he passed for 2,864 yards and 36 touchdowns (a Shore Conference record), set a state record for passing yards in a game (470) and directed Howell (6-4) to an appearance in the state playoffs.
What is wide open this year is the Rebels’ wide receiver corps. Davies used the seven-on-seven tournament to get an idea about which players could be a factor this fall.
“What [seven-on-seven] has done for us is give us an idea about kids we don’t know much about,” the coach said.
Juniors Brandon Yaegel and Tory Robinson excelled as wideouts for the Rebels in the seven-on-seven action. Yaegel saw some action last year and Robinson saw most of his playing time at linebacker. “They have great hands,” Davies said.
Pat Devine and Nick Craig have also shown potential to be dependable receivers.
Backup quarterback John Quinlan, a junior, received playing time during the tournament.
Defensively, Dave Jimerson and Walter DeCanio have shown speed and quickness as outside linebackers, and John Oftering, who was moved from the secondary to inside linebacker, has been right at home at his new position.
The secondary of Yaegel,
Davies, Devine and Craig played well.
In the seven-on-seven format the ball is placed at the 40- yard line and the offense has three plays to pick up a first down on the 25. The next first down is at the 10, and the final set of three downs begins at the 10. The offense can go for a touchdown at any time and there is no tackling; it’s touch football.
The seven players on offense are the quarterback and six receivers. The defense cannot rush the quarterback. However, plays are limited to 4 seconds and if the quarterback does not get his throw off in under 4 seconds, the play results in a loss of down.
Defensively, teams use a number of combinations: three linebackers and four defensive backs is popular; other squads may like a four-linebacker look.
A pass interception counted as two points in the tournament.
After a team scores a touchdown it can go for one point from the 5-yard line, or for two points from the 10.
TheMonmouth Country seven-on-seven tournament was played at Holmdel High School on July 11. Howell opened with a two-touchdown victory over Keansburg. The Rebels slipped by Matawan, 21-20, when the Huskies went for two points and the win and were stopped. In the final, Howell defeated Shore Regional in overtime, 20-14. Howell scored on its first play and the Blue Devils were stopped on their three attempts to score.
That victory set up Howell’s game with the Ocean County seven-on-seven winner Toms River North on July 14.
As luck would have it, Howell will open its 2011 varsity football season on Sept. 10 at Toms River North.