The Alexander City Outlook

By Justin Cowart

Football in the air with 7-on-7

Published 1:05pm Friday, June 22, 2012

Football season returns in mid-August but don’t tell the players of Benjamin Russell, Dadeville and Horseshoe Bend High Schools that.
The squads were braving the July heat yesterday afternoon at the first local 7-on-7 tournament at Dadeville High School.
Benjamin Russell started the tournament with two victories, as they took down Sylacauga and Horseshoe Bend.
Junior quarterback Bryant Horn finished 10-of-15 for two touchdowns in the win over Sylacauga.
Trey Minnifield had four receptions and the touchdowns in the win, while Marquis Odom had two receptions and a touchdown.
Benjamin Russell then went on to defeat county rival Horseshoe Bend in their second game, as Horn went 10-of-12 for three touchdown, including one to senior Quez Alvies, one to Deorte Russell and one to Craig Crouch.
Horseshoe Bend struggled offensively against Benjamin Russell, scoring only one touchdown, as senior quarterback Chase Cheaney connected with classmate Jay Glenn for a touchdown.
Cheaney finished the Benjamin Russell game 4-of-9.
Horseshoe Bend also lost their first game of the tournament vs. Sylacauga, as Cheaney connected with Glenn twice for touchdowns.
The host Dadeville Tigers looked solid offensively with two wins over Beauregard and Class 6A Opelika.
Returning senior quarterback Kaleb Beck finished the win over Opelika 10-of-16 passing with three touchdowns.
Senior Terry Toler, junior C.J. Tolbert and sophomore Anfernee Jennings had the touchdown grabs for the Tigers.
In their second game of the afternoon, Dadeville topped Opelika behind a strong defensive effort and Beck throwing a touchdown to Toler and junior Jessie Foster Jr.
Beck finished 6-of-14 passing in the win over the Bulldogs.
The tournament featured all three local teams, as well as Beauregard, Sylacauga, and Opelika as more games went into the later hours and were unavailable for press time.
The next 7-on-7 tournament that will be hosted by a local team will be Horseshoe Bend in New Site July 20.