Plant City, FL – Mel Kiper Jr. National 7-on-7 tournament qualifying observations
Dennis Rosario
BCP Contributor
Dr Phillips: Absolutely the most fundamentally sound team out there yesterday. While breezily moving through their schedule they finally came along to playing Jesuit, meeting a team just as precise as them and won in the Final. Quarterback, Nick Patti is definitely one to look out for in the future.
Jesuit: Jesuit had a great run today, playing with enthusiasm and poise. They even had to play the Semi and the Final without one of their biggest targets due to heat exhaustion. This is a well coached group of young men and should do well in DC for the National Series Final.
Plant City: There really isn’t enough I can say about this team. With many returning athletes and also some new blood, Plant City is definitely going to raise the bar this season. After a long day of beating many teams with pure athleticism they came to meet there match in the Semi against Jesuit where they lost leaving many in disbelief considering their momentum and home town advantage.
Eastside: Now if you wanted to see a fast game, these were the guys. These kids really came out to play but their schedule was full of teams almost just as fast and more seasoned. After a long day playing most of the best teams out there they fell short to Plant City and ended up in a point war with 2 other teams. Eastside has a good future with their QB and many young athletes on the team.
Spoto: Can you say INTENSE ?! Wow ! If the opposing team is calm be prepared to get rubbed off on because it wasn’t taking them down today especially with WR, Geronimo Allison, this boy is a huge deep and red zone threat. Aside from just that, Spoto was very exciting to watch today, making it all the way to the Final 4 where intensity met fundamentals and the victory went to Dr. Phillips.
Bloomingdale: This program is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With a young QB, Cody Crouse and a combination of young/returning cast, Bloomingdale is excited for a good season. Bloomingdale just came up short when it counted yesterday, getting beat not for a lack of talent, but apprehensive play. Throughout the day they ran into teams like Dr. Phillips and Jesuit that were just a bit much to deal with. But, with some commitment this offseason Bloomingdale should turn the corner a lot sooner than later.
Vanguard: Overall Vanguard had a good day. Running into teams like Bloomingdale, DP, and Jesuit along the way. Just came up short when it counted. Young team but not afraid to get dirrrrty.
Wiregrass: Wiregrass opened the day playing a high energy team in Spoto, who truly set the tone for them and they road that wave straight into the Final 6 where they lost to Plant City by a small margin. Wiregrass is a fairly new program but has many promising aspects to them.