PRESS RELEASE

BRADENTON, Fla. (March 30, 2014) – Eighteen teams descended on IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. to take part in the IMG7v7 Southeast Regional Championship, and if the event was any indication, the balance of power in Florida football may be shifting north, with an all-Jacksonville final between the River City Kings and Pro Impact concluding the event. The final pitted the Northside Jacksonville-based River City Kings against Westside Jacksonville’s Pro Impact. The River City Kings, led by Florida State commit, senior QB De’Andre Johnson (First Coast HS/Jacksonville, Fla.), and South Carolina commit, senior LB Sherrod Pittman (First Coast HS/Jacksonville, Fla.), made an impressive run, going undefeated in pool play and entering the final as the No. 2 seed after toppling Tampa’s Unsigned Preps, 19-18. However, they met their match in the final, as Pro Impact, featuring LSU commit, senior CB Kevin Toliver (Trinity Christian/Jacksonville, Fla) and Florida State commit, senior ATH Derwin James (Haines City HS/Auburndale, Fla.), upset River City, 23-14.

“This is seven-on-seven, so if you get hot at the right time, and are consistent, you have a chance to win it all,” remarked head coach Gerard Ross, a former member of the Seattle Seahawks in his playing days. “This is mine and Coach [Guss] Scott’s vision, professional players coming back to Jacksonville and making an impact on Jacksonville kids’ lives, River City has the same mission … [Jacksonville] is overlooked sometimes because there’s so much talent down south, but there’s talent in Jacksonville and today shows that,”

Pro Impact struggled early on in pool play, going 1-3, but turned the corner with the start of the championship tournament. The team overcame a steep obstacle in the semifinal, faced with the challenge of Miami’s South Florida Express Elite, the winners of the 2012 and 2013 IMG7v7 Southeast Regional. The Express, likewise, struggled in pool play, but were resurgent in the tournament after upending the two-time national champions, Team Tampa, with ease in the opening round. Although senior QB Brycen Lee (Lafayette HS/Mayo, Fla.) pulled the team together to knock off the Express, 19-18, en route to the title.

“In the beginning I wasn’t really accurate, then I caught a rhythm, and we started focusing more on getting yards instead of stretching the field every time,” Lee said of the team’s performance. “This experience is going to help me a lot next season, because my team is switching to the spread from the pistol, so playing here is going to help a lot.”

Another key player for Pro Impact, who coaches cited as the key player on defense, was senior ATH Javarius Davis (Ed White HS/Jacksonville, Fla.).

Davis added, “It feels great taking the championship back to Jacksonville, and hopefully we can come back and do the same thing at the National Championship.”

Additionally, one team, Perfect Performance, went the distance looking for the best competition. Perfect Performance trekked more than 940 miles from Washington D.C. to Bradenton, Fla. in search of the most elite level of competition.

“The best competition along the East Coast is probably in Florida, so we wanted to come here and compete. We have some good kids in the D.C. metropolitan area, so we felt like this would be a great opportunity for them, and those who are being recruited or are looking to play college football, and for them to see what football really is in the rest of the country,” said Perfect Performance Head Coach Leonard Stevens. “We brought three teams, and they had a great time and will take this experience and use it as motivation through the rest of their offseason.”

The full list of teams to compete in the IMG7v7 Southeast Regional included: GVP All-Stars (Miami, Fla.), GVP All-Stars Elite (Miami, Fla.), Marion County Stars (Ocala, Fla.), Next Level Night Hawks (Tampa, Fla.), Perfect Performance Orange (Washington D.C.), Perfect Performance Grey (Washington D.C.), Perfect Performance Red (Washington D.C.), Pro Impact (Jacksonville, Fla.), Rat Pak Football (Orlando, Fla.), River City Kings (Jacksonville, Fla.), South Florida Express Elite (Miami, Fla.), South Florida Express Pro (Miami, Fla.), Team 239 (Naples, Fla.), Team Belle Glade (Belle Glade, Fla.), Team Tampa (Tampa, Fla.), Team Tampa Too (Tampa, Fla.), Treasure Coast Elite (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and Unsigned Preps (Tampa, Fla.).

To see photo highlights of the IMG7v7 Southeast Regional Championship, check out the photo gallery on Flickr by clicking HERE.