Lithia, FL – The Zenith of the 9 Route 7 on 7 Tourney did not disappoint. The Wildcats and the Panthers gave all live spectators and the thousands that viewed the live televised broadcast, their monies worth. The Plant Panthers came out of this dog fight on top but not after Wharton forced and won in a double overtime game. The tournament was double elimination and because the Plant came into the championship game undefeated, Wharton needed to beat them twice to win the whole thing. Game 1 was two 20min halves, which Wharton won in double overtime 54-52. Wharton had to win the second game also to give Plant their second loss and win the 9 Route tourney, but the 27min running clock for game 2 saw the Panthers of Plant regroup, refocus and win 29-20 which gave them the 9 Route Tournament Championship. Click HERE for Championship Game Photos

JUST BRILLIANT

The quarterback is the hardest position to evaluate in a 7 on 7 setting because there is no pressure on him except releasing the ball within 4 seconds. But, ball placement, accuracy, arm strength, decision making and touch can all be evaluated in such a setting. Wharton’s rising sophomore QB, Chase Litton was just brilliant during Sunday’s Championship Game. Having football playing and coaching experience, you never want to show a young player too much love in order to keep him level headed and striving to get better. But, in this case, it’s hard not to say how well this young man played. He displayed leadership and motivation in addition to how well he tossed the ball around. I don’t know what his final stats were, but I do know that the only bad balls he threw were the ones his receivers dropped. He did an excellent job looking off receivers and coming back to his 2nd or 3rd option. His ball placement was excellent. 80% of the time, Litton put the ball where only his guys could get it. When he needed to squeeze a ball in, he put the mustard on it. When he needed to put some air under the ball, you would think Tom Brady threw it. I was highly impressed with his 3 day performance.

WHAT IS COACH GOING TO DO?

I had a great one on one conversation with Plant Head Coach, Robert Weiner last week and in short we discussed his QB situation and how Plant has never been a two QB offense under coach Weiner. But, Coach Dub [Weiner] has to rest in his bed at night and ask himself “Self what am I to do? I have 2 very talented QBs and even another young QB with promise. I need a drink”! Rising senior QB, James Few was absent from 9 Route visiting various college campus. Rising Junior Plant QB, Aaron Banks arrived at FishHawk Sport Complex with red horns over his head and I overheard a conversation he was having with himself in the restroom. It went something like this (all fictional) “James is not here…he he…I get all the reps. I will dominate this event and show my coaches why they will have to play me in the fall. I am Aaron Banks! Aaron Banks is me! Stay away James, stay away”! After hearing this I wanted to report it to the authorities, but decided not to in order to see if Banks would light up the tournament like he told himself he would, and he did! Banks played extremely well and hilited his weekend with a big time signature championship performance. He hooked up with 4-5 different Plant receivers for scores and keep drives alive with his decision making.

Coach Weiner will have his work cut out for him this year as both James Few and Aaron Banks have reportedly been playing well throughout the summer. Both have different capabilities and will make their argument for the starting QB.

THE MAN!

In this Championship Game, the star power was there. However, the go to guys were not the ones you would expect. Nyere Thompson, Wharton WR and Wesley Bullock, Plant RB, grabbed the attention of all spectators. Thompson made some big time, timely receptions with great concentration and soft hands. He has a huge frame and used his body to shield away defenders. Litton kept feeding him the ball and like a hungry, untamed “Wildcat”, he kept eating and hurting the Plant defense. On the other side, 5’5” Wesley Bullock racked up yards after yards because he was too shifty in the open field and too fast up the sideline. Rarely was Plant in first and long or second and long situations because Bullock was picking up 10-15 yards per catch on 1st or 2nd down.

STAR POWER

Plant WR, Austin Aikens and Wharton ATH, Vernon Hargreaves Jr gave the fans every bit of excitement a heavy weight fight should. Aikens was quit most of game 1, only touching the ball 1 or 2 times. One reason being that, Hargreaves was usually covering him, making it hard for Aikens to find any free space. When Wharton was in their zone coverages, the curl defenders did a great job getting a body on Aikens to deny him the ball. But when it mattered and time was running down and the Panthers needed a play, #85 had the ball in his hands. Aikens made a few snags in game two which sealed the fate for the Panthers. He proved to be that silent killer that defenses hate.

Hargreaves was a force on both sides of the ball. He covered Plant’s best receiver and then doubled as Chase Litton’s playmaker. Hargreaves put a few moves on a few defenders where it looked like the defenders were break dancing. He seemed to get open at will and demanded the ball. He put pressure on the Panther defense which actually allowed some of his teammates to get open.

Both Aikens and Hargreaves have some BCS verbal scholarship offers and on this day, they looked liked BCS players.

THE HEROS

The MVP, Derrick Mann, Plant WR – This will be short and sweet, but needs to be said. Mann outplayed everybody. He was money every time the ball was thrown in his direction. He caught the easy passes and gained the easy yards. He caught the hard passes and grinded out the tough yards. He played both sides of the ball and may have missed 5 plays in two games. Mann worked his tail off to get open and fought of defenders with every muscle in his body. His teammates rallied behind his play and congratulated his efforts.

Wharton RB, Darius Page makes all the big catches. In traffic on the sideline, in the end zone, Page gets it done! He will not strike you as a player with much agility or soft hands, but this RB contains both. Page played gritty and like a man filled with “WANT TO” all weekend long. Each time Litton needed the hard yards, he was looking for Darius and never did Darius disappoint.