Championship
Team Tampa repeated as the IMG 7v7 National Champions. In a rematch of the winner bracket championship game, Team Tampa faced South Florida Expressed who fought their way out of the loser bracket. The result would be the same.
To keep it short, lets hit the hot spots:
Chase Litton was too good and too consistent. He was accurate and made the right pass at the right time.
Artavis Scott could not be stopped. He shredded the SFE secondary and did what he wanted, when he wanted.
George Campbell caught on and became the show. Snagged balls out the air and made one circus catch that had the crowd covering the mouth’s in amazement.
Donterio Fowler was super serviceable. Made key plays all game long.
Raheem Harvey kept the chains moving. When a first down was needed, Harvey’s number was called.
Aaron Covington brought attitude to the defense. He was lockdown in every sense of the word.
Team Tampa defeated South Florida express 25-24. Below is how their championship day went.
Game 1
Team Tampa took the field fresh and ready to rock and roll. After a 3-1 pool play day on Saturday, the defending champs played with a chip on their shoulder vs Gulf Coast this morning.
Chase Litton threw 4 TD passes to four different receivers. The offense only failed to score on one offensive possession, clicking on all cylinders. They looked very sharp and had a goal on each play called.
The defense, lead by CB Aaron Covington and Artavis Scott were hard to score on. Gulf Coast did manage to punch it in the end zone twice, but the Team Tampa defense locked down on multiple occasions. Both Covington and Scott had interceptions in the contest.
Game 2
I could say “Survived” and that would be appropriate. However, “Battled” to a 17-15 win is more fitting. In a game vs Central Florida, Orlando based team, Top Recruits, Team Tampa matched the intensity and made plays when needed.
The game started off with Top Recruits casually crossing the field during pre game with some hand clapping and chants in a friendly/rivalry manner to set the tone.
Top Recruits struck first on their first possession. Then Tampa came back with 6 points of their own. Top recruits would score again and then stop Team Tampa on their next drive making the score 15-6.
Aaron Covington made the biggest play of the game, making a beautiful interception on the 9 route down the far sideline. Score 15-8. Team Tampa then put together a productive drive capped off by a Litton to Campbell TD and Scott extra point. Score 15-15.
Team Tampa defense stood tall, stopping Top Recruiting and earning 2 points which would be the 2 points to take the lead and preserve the win.
Game 3
Unexpected dog fight for Team Tampa as the Team Delaware proved to be a respectable opponent. Team Tampa would win the game 24-16, but not without digging deep.
Early, it looked like Tampa would route the Delaware squad. Litton hit Joc Ellison early for a big gain, setting up an Artavis Scott catch and scamper for a score. Tampa would punch again on defense, earning 2 points with a defensive stop. Both teams would trade TDs, Litton throwing a rainbow to Joc Ellison and hitting Maurice Hall in stride for a big score. With the score being 22-16, Team Delaware had one more chance to tie the game. However, just as the defense had be doing since the second game on Saturday, they fenced off the end zone and celebrated the win.
Game 4
The match up everyone was waiting for: Team Tampa vs South Florida Express. Main field surrounded by spectators, Tampa didn’t “Ease Up.” But eventually threw the “Ts Up” in victory after a solid win vs the South Florida rival.
Litton was good. Managed the game and did not turnover the ball. He put together solid scoring drives displaying good decision making and accuracy. Joc Ellison was the spark plug early for the team with several chain moving catches and runs. Then George Campbell set it on fire, high rising over three defenders to bring down a perfectly played red zone corner route from Litton.
Aaron Covington is quietly the team MVP. At the very least, the defensive MVP. He broke up a couple passes and knocked away a big go route on 3rd down to give Team Tampa 2 points for the defensive stop.
South Florida Express would not go down without a fight. Sean White orchestrated a few good scoring drives. The last being a big connection to Sony Michel making the score 31-22. SFE would stop Team Tampa on the next possession making the score 31-24 and a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left in the game. As they have been doing all day, the defensive secondary, led by Maurice Hall, knocked down a few Hail Mary attempts and preserved the win.