Central Catholic was 5-0 at its annual 7-on-7 Tournament Saturday at the school's practice facility. The Eagles were joined by six other teams, including two from the Tri-City area, Berwick and Patterson. The event also featured a lineman challenge. In the top photo, a Central Catholic receiver heads up field, while in the middle photo, a Patterson player catches a pass. Above, a Berwick lineman competes in drills. (The Daily Review/Photos by Corwin Murray)
CCHS finishes 5-0 at its 7-on-7 tournament
Central Catholic hosted its 7th annual 7-on-7 football tournament at the Central Catholic High School practice field Saturday in Morgan City.
“I think everything went well considering the heat,” Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said. “The teams were very competitive, and I didn’t see anybody dragging. It was really hot, but we had all the water, energy drinks, tents and stuff to keep the kids safe. I think everyone got better, and that’s the reason the teams were there.”
The Eagles went 5-0 in the tourney, beating Hanson 29-0, Franklin 23-12, Gueydan 22-8, Berwick 23-8 and Patterson 18-17 in the finale.
“I saw some good things I really liked like the fact that we’ve developed some good depth over the last couple years,” Minton said. “We will have fewer players having both ways this year, and that could be big for us.”
Patterson was 4-1 with the lone to Central Catholic 18-17. The Lumberjacks beat Jeanerette 25-4, West St. Mary 26-2, Berwick 19-18 and Franklin 14-12.
“We got a lot of good work,” Patterson Coach Don Jones said. “Tommy (Minton) does a real good job with the tournament. But I hate three things: 7-on-7, picture day and jamborees, and it’s that time of year. But fall camp starts Monday, and we can start to get things installed.
“I’m really happy with the way this group does its business,” Jones added. “I’ve never had a group that works so hard in the offseason program, and that’s saying something with all the teams I’ve been around. They are blue collar, hardcore workers, and they grinded through Saturday’s competition and the heat. But we were not happy with dropping the last game to Central Catholic.”
Berwick finished 0-4, losing 17-15 to West St. Mary, 24-17 to Jeanerette, 19-18 to Patterson and 23-8 to Central Catholic.
“We didn’t perform as well as we have in other 7-on-7 tournaments,” Berwick Coach Mike Walker said. “We never got into a rhythm throwing the ball offensively, but defensively we played pretty well. The defense made some big stops and turnovers to give the ball back to the offense.”
Berwick had its first official practice Monday and will put pads on July 30.
Final records for the Central Catholic tournament were: CCHS 5-0, West St. Mary 2-2, Gueydan 2-2, Jeanerette 2-2, Franklin 1-3, Hanson 1-3 and Berwick 0-4.