High school football: 7-on-7 state tourney a chance for teams to compete while getting some extra work in

In recent years, many high school football teams have used some of their summer instructional days to compete against other schools in a 7-on-7 format. This year they'll get to find out how they stack up against the best teams without pads or a pass rush. The first Ohio High School Football Coaches Association 7-on-7 state tournament gets underway Monday with a regional tournament at Perry High School. Division II pool play begins at 10 a.m. with Division I taking the field at 2 p.m. Two local schools will take part with Avon competing in the large-school Division I bracket and Brookside playing in Division II. The top four teams from each division will travel to Columbus St. Charles on June 23 for the state finals. "Not everyone is jumping in and joining in," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "Obviously we did because we've got a new quarterback we're breaking in and new receivers we're breaking in so we felt it would be beneficial for us." The Eagles will be joined in Division I by 2024 playoff opponent Wadsworth, a University School team led by former Elyria Catholic coach Ben Malbasa, Mount Vernon, Maple Heights and Chaney. Chaney and Maple Heights will be Avon's opponents in pool play. For Elder, the event's primary purpose is to get his team a chance to work on situations prior to the start of the fall season and hopefully take advantage of two extra days on the field. "We're going to get the extra work," Elder said. "Seven-on-seven is totally different than real football. The team that wins the state championship in 7-on-7, good for them, but it's not real football. But if you do it right it's good reps." Normally teams get 13 instructional days and five acclimation days in which they can practice as a team between May 12 and July 31 but one of the perks of the state tournament is these days don't count toward that total. Brookside's bracket includes perennial state powers Kirtland and Perry along with Norton, Salem and Cleveland Central Catholic. "It's kind of a double-edged sword," Cardinals coach Scott O'Donnell said. "This is something the kids wanted to do but in June we're just getting kids back in the last couple weeks from baseball, track and other sports. So we're in a short time frame. We only had a couple of weeks to get ready for this." Other regionals will take place across the state Monday in Columbus, Kenton and New Richmond. Elder is hoping the tournament will serve as a teaching tool for his players as they prepare to defend the Division II state title. "If we're going to make mistakes we want to make them now," Elder said. "I'd rather have the mistake now that costs us a touchdown in 7-on-7 than in the fall when the conference championship or the playoffs is on the line." For O'Donnell, it's a chance to see where the Cardinals are and where they need to be. "We have kids that are very blessed with athletic ability in the skilled positions," O'Donnell said. "We're still growing and this is giving us a chance to put it all together as a team and see where we are. The biggest thing is to have fun and use it as a learning experience to get better as the summer goes on." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.