By Brannon King for the FCT

Football players and coaches from several schools across the state of Alabama came to Russellville July 14 for the annual Northwest Alabama 7-on-7 competition and Lineman Challenge.

Russellville, W.S. Neal, Central-Florence, West Morgan, Sheffield and Crossville made up one pool of 7-on-7 teams, while another pool consisted of Deshler, Jacksonville, Montevallo, Colbert County, Haleyville, James Clemens and West Point. Teams accumulated points by scoring on offense and defense. The defenses also earned points by creating turnovers and by stopping the opponents on downs. Games were 20 minutes each in length.

Russellville made it to the semifinals of bracket play and had a 6-1 record for the day.

W.S. Neal of Escambia County traveled the longest distance to participate, and they made it worth the drive by taking the 7-on-7 championship with a 28-21 win over Deshler in the finals. West Point took first place in the Lineman Challenge.

The Golden Tigers got the day started with a 23-11 win over West Morgan. Luke Barnwell took all the snaps at quarterback on the day and gained valuable experience. Barnwell threw three touchdown passes in the game, including one fade pass to Devin Buckhalter, where the receiver made a great play on the ball over a West Morgan defender.

Russellville defeated Crossville in game No. 2 by a 16-15 final. Crossville scored first and later built the lead to 9-0 before the RHS defense got a big stop, and then Logan Jones was on the receiving end of a TD pass on offense. The Russellville defense came up big again and made a couple of key stops, and Crossville missed an opportunity at the buzzer on a dropped pass in the end zone on the last play of the game.

W.S. Neal was the next opponent for RHS, and the two teams matched up for an evenly-played contest. Barnwell threw a TD pass to Bernard Phinizee for the first score. Theran Pounders then got an interception to make it 9-0 before Neal got a defensive stop. Buckhalter scored for Russellville in the game on a TD catch, and Nate Green knocked down a W.S. Neal pass late in the game to preserve the 18-16 win.

Russellville finished out undefeated pool play action with wins over Sheffield, 21-13, and Central, 18-15. Barnwell threw two touchdown passes in the win over Sheffield. Logan Jones caught one scoring strike while teammate Robert Hamilton also scored a touchdown.

Jones scored two more touchdowns in the win over Central, and Phinizee added a conversion caught after a Russellville touchdown.

After earning a first-round bye, afternoon bracket competition got started for the Golden Tigers as they took on West Morgan, and the Golden Tigers won 22-18. Jones had another big game, scoring two touchdowns, and he also picked off a West Morgan pass.

Russellville then met up with W.S. Neal again, and this time, the Eagles topped the Golden Tigers by a 16-14 score.

The two teams traded defensive stops to begin the game before Barnwell found Buckhalter on another fade pattern for a TD. The Eagles earned a 16-8 lead before Buckhalter again hauled in a touchdown pass to make it 16-14. However, the point-after try failed, and the Eagles moved on to the finals.

“I thought it was a great day,” Russellville head coach Mark Heaton said. “It was a great tournament, and everybody we had here handled themselves in a first-class way. That’s the most important thing.”

All of the players were tested by the hot weather and the large number of games played. “I’m proud of our kids and the way they are competing, and I appreciate the work ethic and the commitment they have made. I think we have big things in store,” Heaton said.

Putting on an event of this size takes a lot of hard work from a number of people. “I’m thankful for the support I have from the parents, from our community, the volunteers that we had – and I can’t speak enough about them,” Heaton added.

The 7-on-7 came a day after the Golden Tigers welcomed W.S. Neal to campus for a scrimmage and lineman competition to get some extra work in for both teams in preparation for the upcoming season.

“To have another team here and to create a competitive environment helps our kids grow. It puts your kids in a competitive and adverse situation, and you get a chance to see how they react,” Heaton said.