DALTON, Ga. - Depending on who you talk to, 7-on-7 football competitions are either an important part of the high school football preseason or they're just a nice way to build team team chemistry and work on conditioning.
Make no mistake, though, the Southeastern 7-on-7 Championship in Dalton this weekend is a big deal to most of the 32 teams entered. Eleven states are represented, and there are multiple state champions as well as elite individual prospects spread out over the four locations.
Whether the teams put much stock in the final scores or not, each of the coaches involved had one word on their tongues during Saturday's pool play: "Compete."
"We came out here the first game and we felt like we didn't give a great effort and compete, which is what we always want to do," said Baylor coach Phil Massey, whose team lost to Sacred Heart of Illinois but won its next three games in Pool B.
"We had one or two guys in that first game that were putting forth a good effort and the other guys were not, so we need everybody competing on every snap. That's what you learn in these competitions. They keep a score in these events, so we're going to compete."
Baylor went on to earn one of the four championship round berths from Pool B, securing the fourth spot with a 35-14 win over Southeast Whitfield in the Red Raiders' final game of the day. Sacred Heart went 7-0 in pool play to earn the top spot, with Alabama's Park crossing going 6-1 and Glades Central (Fla.) 5-2.
In Pool A, Dalton earned a championship round spot with a 5-2 day, joining pool champion Spartanburg (S.C.), Opelika (Ala.) and Maplesville (Ala.).
In Pool C, surprising Christian Heritage finished third with a 4-3 record, including a 21-20 win over Ringgold. Dutch Fork (S.C.) is the pool champion, with Jones County (Ga.) second and Jeff-Davis (Ala.) fourth.
In Pool D, Northwest Whitfield went 5-2 to win a championship-round berth, with Central-Phenix (Ala.) topping Pace Academy (Ga.) in the final matchup to win the pool and Bowling Green downing North Florida Christian to win the final spot.
Play in the championship and consolation brackets starts this morning at 8:30, with the championship game slated for 3:30 in each bracket.
* Want an example of just how important these competitions are for certain teams? Two elite prospects, Tavien Feaster of South Carolina Class 4A champion Spartanburg and Dutch Fork defensive back Stephen Davis Jr., flew overnight from The Opening 7-on-7 competition in Oregon to Dalton in time for early action.
To Dalton High School's chagrin, Feaster arrived just in time to make the winning touchdown catch on the game's final play as Spartanburg edged the Catamounts, 29-23, in Pool A.
Spartanburg may have won the game, but Dalton receiver Zek Cobb continued to impress. Cobb, a 6-foot-4 junior who caught 36 passes for 636 yards last year, is being recruited by SEC schools. Though the Spartanburg defense focused on him, the lanky Cobb caught three passes, including a 40-yard touchdown.
"Zek is really a special talent," Dalton offensive coordinator Bill Napier said. "He really showed out in the playoffs against Salem and (eventual Class AAAAA champion) Northside-Warner Robins when our leading receiver, Peter Sigmon, was out with mono. He showed what he can do, and now we're ready to lean on him a bit."
* The Dalton-Spartanburg game was just one of several nail-biters involving Chattanooga-area teams. Baylor's 21-18 win over Alabama's Charles Henderson also came down to the final play when Cade Bearden intercepted a pass to give the Red Raiders three points.
Dalton's Christian Heritage, the smallest school in the field, defeated Jeff Davis of Alabama 16-15 when the Lions were able to stop a two-point conversion with a minute to play and were able to hold on to the ball for the final minute.
Preston Poag's team had the most exciting start to the day, also winning by one over Mount Healthy of Ohio and by three over Harding Academy of Arkansas but losing by one to Dutch Fork and by eight to powerful Jones County of Georgia, which averaged more than 30 points in its first five games.
The best game, however, might have been Ringgold's 24-23 win over McCallie. Ralph Potter's Blue Tornado led 23-16 after a JaVaughn Craig touchdown pass with 16 seconds to play before the Tigers rallied.
After getting a first down at the 19 on a pair of passes, Ringgold had one play left with a second to go. Senior quarterback Devin Lancaster rolled out and found Michael Layman for the touchdown, which put the Tigers within a point. The two then hooked up for the two-point conversion from the 15-yard line, with Layman making a juggling catch as he went to the turf for the win.
Winning coach Robert Akins, whose team was missing five starters due to basketball and baseball commitments, was happy to see his team rebound after two lopsided losses to begin the day in Pool C.
"The first two games this morning, against the state runner-up in South Carolina (Dutch Fork) and the team in Ohio (Mount Healthy), we got beat like a drum, but this win gives us confidence that we can compete," Akins said. "We stepped up in this game, which was exciting. That's what this is all about, competing.
"This isn't what we're going to look like as a final product, but it gives us an indication of who can play as backups and that kind of thing."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.