CCHS 7-on-7 tourney set for Saturday

Six teams, including four from St. Mary, will compete in Central Catholic’s annual 7-on-7 tournament Saturday at Central Catholic’s practice field.
In addition to Berwick, the host school, Patterson, Franklin, Jeanerette and Ascension Catholic will be in action.
The Eagles’ practice field will be split into two, 40-yard fields for the tournament with action going on simultaneously on both fields for much of the event.
“It’s going to be a lot of good football played,” Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said. “It’s going to be a lot of competition.”
In addition to the competitiveness, Saturday also will provide a chance for teams to test their conditioning.
“Being out in that heat for six hours on a Saturday with a helmet on, it really tests your conditioning along with your competitiveness,” Minton said.
While Central Catholic will host a six-team event, Minton said getting teams to play in 7-on-7 tournaments has become harder and harder in recent years.
“Seven-on-seven has been a big craze over the last about seven to eight years, and actually the last couple years, it’s gotten harder to get teams that want to get into tournaments,” Minton said.
He said he is unsure why the lack of interest in recent years because he thought teams playing in “competitive” scenarios make teams better.
“If you look at baseball and basketball, those sports can play their actual sport over the summer,” Minton said. “You can play a complete baseball game. You can play a complete basketball game. Well, you can’t do that with football. This is as close as it gets to a competitive situation with football, so I don’t understand why more teams don’t want to get involved in it.”
In Saturday’s seven-on-seven, first downs can be gained at the 25-yard line and again at the 10-yard line.
As for scoring, six points will be awarded for a touchdown, while a defensive stop of the offense results in two points for the defense. An interception results in three points for the defense.
Saturday’s event is sponsored by Chet Sternfels and Advance Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation.
“He makes this thing possible,” Minton said. “Chet’s the driving force behind it, and without him, we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Below is the complete schedule of Saturday’s action:
—9 a.m., Central Catholic vs. Jeanerette (Field 1).
—9:30 a.m., Patterson vs. Franklin (Field 1) and Berwick vs. Ascension Catholic (Field 2).
—10 a.m., Central Catholic vs. Franklin (Field 1) and Jeanerette vs. Patterson (Field 2).
—10:30 a.m., Central Catholic vs. Ascension Catholic (Field 1) and Berwick vs. Jeanerette (Field 2).
—11 a.m., Patterson vs. Ascension Catholic (Field 1) and Berwick vs. Franklin (Field 2).
—12:30 p.m., Patterson vs. Berwick (Field 1) and Jeanerette vs. Ascension Catholic (Field 2).
—1 p.m., Central Catholic vs. Berwick (Field 1) and Franklin vs. Jeanerette (Field 2).
—1:30 p.m., Central Catholic vs. Patterson (Field 1) and Ascension Catholic vs. Franklin (Field 2).