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Lucky Number 7-on-7: Allen wins at NIKE Football Festival
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Saturday's NIKE Football Festival at Craig Ranch and the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney was unique in that it featured not just 7-on-7 football, but five other events.
That uniqueness drew rave reviews.
"The kids loved it," said Johnny Ringo, Plano East head coach. "You got a tent with your team's name on it, there were plenty of activities to keep everyone busy; it was just a heck of an event."
"The whole day was an absolute blast," he said. "The kids, parents, coaches, everybody enjoyed it."
Adding to the enjoyment for the Eagles was the fact they won the 7-on-7 competition and placed second overall during an event that also factored in points for quarterback challenge, lineman challenge, wide receiver best hands competition, SPARQ challenge and place kicker challenge.
"I've been here for six years," Fleener said, "and outside of the [Shootout of the South], which we won in 2006, this is the first 7-on-7 event we've won during my time."
Allen went unbeaten in Pool A by defeating Richardson Pearce, Irving MacArthur and familiar foe Euless Trinity, who ended the Eagles' 2011 season.
"It was fun to interact with the [Trinity] guys when not so much was on the line," Fleener said.
What occurred on the field was not as much fun for the Eagles' opponents. Starting quarterback Oliver Pierce frequently connected on touchdown passes with wide receivers Troy Knudson and Cameron Calcote while Pierce himself was on the end of multiple receptions when he moved out to the slot to take passes from Connor Greenberg.
But while offense usually dictates 7-on-7, the NIKE event had a different structure that necessitated strong defensive play.
With three plays allotted to gain 25 yards, teams were awarded three points for a defensive stop and five for interceptions. Michael Jacob, who had six picks, greatly aided Allen in that cause as did Chad Adams and Christian Sam.
"Our defense was really involved because of the set up," Fleener said, "and they played very well; they scored 100 points for us."
That total included points accumulated in the elimination rounds as Allen beat Pool B champ DeSoto and Pool D winner South Oak Cliff. The semifinal battle of the Eagles had Allen trailing by double-digits on multiple occasions before scoring 14 unanswered to start the second half. The finals were a bit of a reversal as Allen held the lead on SOC much of the way before needing a late stop to hold on for the 7-on-7 title.
"I think our no-name offense sort of helped us here," Fleener said. "People don't know who to focus on, so we were able to spread the ball around well."
Allen equated itself well in the other events too, leading to the second overall finish.
The Eagles won the SPARQ challenge, which takes a player's height and weight into account along with its scores in vertical jump, power ball toss, 40-yard dash and the 5x10x5 (also known as pro agility). Jacob posted a time of 4.17 seconds in pro agility.
Allen had seven players take part in the lineman challenge.
"I think the linemen probably had the most fun," Fleener said. "This was our first lineman challenge and they all stayed the whole day, jumping around and high-fiving their teammates."
Marcus Davis participated in 4-of-5 lineman competitions while Lance Williams put up 16 reps of 205 pounds on the bench press.
No such variety of events will be on the slate this weekend as Allen leaves for Arkansas today for the Shootout of the South. The Eagles have been a staple of the 24-team, multi-state tournament for years, winning the event in 2006 and falling to host team Pulaski Academy in the finals the past two seasons.
Pool play begins Friday with the elimination rounds Saturday.
"This is a really tough event," Fleener said, "plus our kids don't know these teams, so there isn't any trash talking online or anything like that."
And there are other benefits to competing in the event.
"As far as team building goes, it is unbelievable how much this experience helps us," Fleener said. "The parents set up the rooms and everything else, so the guys can worry about team bonding and playing football together."
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