The annual IMG National 7 on 7 tournament kicked off this morning with a ton of talent from all over the nation gathered at IMG Academies for the grand event. Defending Champions, Team Tampa took the field for the first pool play game at 10:45a looking to find a groove and earn a top seed for Sunday’s tournament play.
SLOW START
The defending Champs started slow. In their first game of the day, Team Tampa could not find any cohesiveness on either side of the ball. The offense sputtered and the defensive played slow. The team as a whole showed little “Swag” and attitude. QB Chase Litton and his receivers could not get on the same page. A few sloppy routes, wrong routes, high throws and lack of communication kept the offense out the end zone the majority of their drives. The defense played lazy and on their heels. The secondary was stressed and the line backers were slow to attack.
THEN IT ALL CHANGED
After a wake up “L” in game one, The defending champs played like the defending champs. They strapped on their hard hats, pulled together as a unit and fought their way out the corner. Backs against the ropes, the boys from Tampa Bay showed life. The offense attacked in game two and the defense made plays when needed. In game three with the game on the line, Team Tampa flexed their muscles with a last minute drive to take the lead and the defense preserved the win. And just as an added measure, in game four, the team had some fun by watching other contributors make big plays on the big stage. Team Tampa finished the day 3-1.
TOP TEAMS
1 SOUTH FLORIDA EXPRESS – Too talented, too fast
2 TOP RECRUITS – most cohesive TEAM
3 FLORIDA FIRE – The young QB is special
4 CAM NEWTON ALL STARS – Solid, not great! But solid
5 TEAM TAMPA – The skill is there. The attitude is coming
TEAM TAMPA A LIST (Made big plays often)
ARTAVIS SCOTT, EAST LAKE – If a play needed to be made, turn on and point the Bat signal, Tay to the rescue
CHASE LITTON, WHARTON – Played like a man when the team needed him most
RAHEEM HARVEY, LARGO – I think Team Tampa found that possession receiver they were missing
MAURICE HALL, GIBBS – Doesn’t matter what position he played, his presence was felt
TEAM TAMPA B LIST (Solid play)
DONTERIO FOWLER, NORTHEAST – Quitely made some big plays. Also was thrown in the “deep in” as a CB and didn’t sink.
GEORGE CAMPBELL, EAST LAKE – played both sides of the ball and showed skill at each position.
JOC ELLISON, LAKEWOOD – Started slow, came on strong in game 2 and 3.
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PRESS RELEASE
The road to the IMG7v7 National Championship officially got underway on Saturday with pool play. The 25 teams in the Club division represent 13 states and Canada, all competing for the coveted championship ring. Today, it was evident that the South Florida Express of Miami, Fla. is pulling out all the stops to win it all this year, and dominated the field on their way to claiming the No. 1 overall seed.
“We’re clicking right now and everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do and playing well and we’re beating everybody right now,” said QB Sean White (University School, Miami, Fla.). “We’re not focusing on any other teams, just focusing on what we do, and we have to keep playing the way we’ve been playing and nobody should beat us.”
For the South Florida Express, they have competed in the IMG7v7 Championship each year, and for some of the players, it is one of the highlights of the offseason.
“I love IMG man, I look forward to this time year every year, coming to such a nice facility and playing against the best athletes,” said South Florida Express WR Sam Bruce, nephew of NFL great Isaac Bruce.
However, the South Florida Express cannot rest easy, because Orlando’s Central Florida Top Recruits are in the hunt after going 4-0 in their pool, and narrowly missing the No. 1 seed by only several more points allowed than the South Florida Express. Led by QB D’eondre Francois (Olympia High School, Apopka, Fla.); RB Isaiah Ford (Trinity Christian HS, Jacksonville, Fla.); and CB Duke Dawson (Dixie County HS, Cross City, Fla.), the Top Recruits are poised to make a run for the title on Sunday.
Two other teams who are turning heads at this year’s Championship are Team Delaware (Wilmington, Del.) and AWP Sports (Ft. Wayne, Ind.). Both teams entered this year’s even quietly, and have been impressive, each going 4-0 in their pools and securing first round byes with the No. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively. For Team Delaware, led by high school teammates QB Darius Wade and WR Chris Godwin, committed to Boston College and Penn State, respectively, this is their first time to appear in the IMG7v7 National Championships, and they are no longer under the radar after stellar performances today.
However, for AWP Sports, this is their second time in the IMG7v7 National Championship. They reached the 2012 quarterfinals behind the outstanding play of LB Jaylon Smith, who signed with Notre Dame in 2013. This year, led by DB Drue Tranquill (Carroll HS, Ft. Wayne, Ind.), the team is ready to set the standard for AWP.
“We’re looking for nothing short of a championship here, and we’ve been preparing for about a year now,” remarked Tranquill about his expectations for AWP. “They did a great job last year of setting the stage and raising the bar high, but we’re looking to exceed that this year.”
The other teams who received first round byes were the South Florida Fire (No. 5); North Cobb HS (No. 6); and Team Tampa (No. 7).
The action gets back underway with the second round of the bracket tournament on Sunday morning, June 23, at 9:00 a.m. on the West Campus of IMG Academy.
The event is open to the public, and admission is free.
To see more stories, photos, full results of today’s pool play and the final stats for the 1-25 seeded teams, visit the IMG Academy website by clicking HERE.
To view the full bracket for Sunday’s games, visit NFA7v7.com by clicking HERE.
