MANDEVILLE —Bowling Green School reached the third round of bracket play and Franklinton made it to the second round in the 2019 Southeast Louisiana Invitational 7-on-7 that took place Friday and Saturday at Lakeshore High School.
The teams played five games of pool play with four on Friday and another Saturday morning before they were seeded by record for bracket play.
Bowling Green went 5-0 in pool play. The Buccaneers had a bye in the first round of bracket play. They defeated Chalmette, 20-2, before being defeated by Slidell, 18-15, in the third round.
“It was the first time a lot of these guys had done it. We tried to prepare them what kind of tournament it was. It’s a long, grueling tournament and they showed a lot of toughness,” Bowling Green coach Boomer Nunez said.
Nunez said that three offensive players stuck out in wide receivers Steven Cooper and Cade Knight and quarterback Rashaan Duke.
“Steven, he’s projected as a college receiver and we just moved him to receiver this year,” Nunez said. “He played defense last year. He gives us a different kind of athletic ability at receiver and he’ll win a lot of one-on-ones and help us replace what we lost last year. He’s a great route runner and has good hands.”
Nunez said that Duke is also projected as a college receiver.
“We’re asking him to play a position he hasn’t played. He’s a really good receiver and he’s filling a void at quarterback for us and doing a good job,” Nunez said.
Nunez said that Knight is a player who is going to work hard for you.
“He’s a possession receiver. He’ll go over the middle and he’s not scared to get hit. He fits the part because he’s a great possession receiver,” Nunez said.
Nunez said that Bowling Green has a bunch of players returning defensively.
Nunez said that one guy who is stepping up is safety Matthew Downs.
“He didn’t play much last year, but had a really good offseason and decided he didn’t like sitting and as of now, he’s a starter for us,” Nunez said.
Another player who stuck out is senior cornerback Braden Edwards.
“He hasn’t played since like seventh grade,” Nunez said. “We convinced him to come out. We’d be in a hole if he didn’t play, but he’s come in and been very coachable and picked up the defense very well.”
Franklinton went 3-2 in pool play.
In bracket play, the Demons defeated Sulphur, 35-14, but were topped by Covington, 12-11, in the next round.
Franklinton tallied a touchdown with 18 seconds left against Covington, but were unable to make the 2-point conversion.
“It was certainly good work for us, something that will benefit us further on,” Franklinton coach Jonathan Barber said. “The passing game takes the longest to develop on both sides of the ball and this tournament gave us the opportunity to improve on both sides. This is the best 7-on-7 tournament we go to. Craig Jones does a great job.”
Barber said running back Mike Martin had a phenomenal tournament.
“He might have the best hands on our team, so in a 7-on-7 he excels and we can use him for some things out of the backfield,” Barber said.
Barber said that Caleb Brown made some plays.
“He battled with an injury,” Barber said. “He hurt his ankle early on and he was able to battle through that and made some plays will provide him some confidence he needs moving forward. I think he can have a big year for us.”
Defensively, Barber said that defensive back Lamar Gray had a really strong tournament.
“He’s finally starting to play the way I expected him to play last year,” Barber said. “He’s gotten stronger, faster and bigger in the weight room and that’s led to his better play. That’s all attributed to him. He works hard and I expect him to have a big year moving forward.”
Games were 21 minutes long. The first 20 minutes had a running clock with the final minute having the typical clock rules.
Possessions begin 40 yards from the end zone. First downs were at the 25 and 10-yard lines. Quarterbacks had four seconds to throw the ball.
Teams could score points offensively and defensively.
Touchdowns were six points and point after touchdowns are 1 or 2. One-point PATs are at the 5 with 2-point conversions are at the 10. There were no 2-point attempts in the pool play.
Defensively, teams got three points for an interception (there are no points for an interception return for a touchdown) and two points per turnover on downs.