Prep Football: Bulldogs, Wildcats test 7-on-7 skills at national tournament

SPRINGDALE -- Two Northwest Arkansas programs familiar with one of the elite 7-on-7 tournaments are headed back again to see how they match up against some of the top teams in the nation.

The USA Football 7-on-7 National Championship begins today with pool play in Hoover, Ala. Both Fayetteville and Springdale Har-Ber, regular participants in the tournament in the past, will compete over the next three days against almost 50 teams from across the nation.

USA Football 7-on-7 National Championship

WHEN Today-Saturday

WHERE Hoover, Ala.

NWA TEAMS Fayetteville, Springdale Har-Ber

NOTABLE Previously the National Select 7-on-7, USA Football’s national tournament is a 48-team field which includes top high school football programs from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

SCHEDULE Today — Pool play, 2:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Friday — Pool play, 8 a.m to 4 p.m.; Bracket play, 6 to 8 p.m.; Saturday — Bracket Play, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

"It's 48 teams this year and in the past it's been 32 teams there," Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "I'm sure it's an even tougher field and you want to win two games on Friday because when you get to [bracket play] if you've won a couple of games then anything can happen."

High school teams in Arkansas are allowed to participate in three 7-on-7 tournaments each summer. Har-Ber has been to the Iowa State 7-on-7 Tournament and the USA Midwest Regional 7-on-7 in Kansas City. Wood said he has been pleased with the Wildcats' success, as they won the tournament at Iowa State and were a semifinalist in Kansas City.

"It's shaping up alright," Wood said. "We've had a pretty good summer. The trick for us now is we're coming out of dead period and we have to get right back into it."

Har-Ber replaces several key playmakers from last season's Class 7A state runner-up team, including quarterback Fuller Chandler and running back Luke Hannon. But the Wildcats believe what they've built for 2016 will line up well against top competition, particularly this week at Hoover.

"It's kind of hard losing an Austin Henderson, Luke Hannon and Fuller [Chandler]," Wood said. "But we've got a lot of good guys coming back also and we're going down there to make some noise."

Har-Ber has previously been to Hoover for the national tournament -- when it was known as the National Select 7-on-7 -- from 2008-10 and again in 2012. The Wildcats won the tournament in 2008, while Arkansas also produced the champion in 2006, Shiloh Christian, and 2004, Springdale High.

Fayetteville has played in the Arkansas Classic 7-on-7 at Little Rock Christian and in the Shootout of the South at Pulaski Academy prior to this event at Hoover, finishing as a quarterfinalist in both tournaments. While the Purple'Dogs return as much or more experience at key skill positions as any team in the 7A-West, led by Wake Forest commit quarterback Taylor Powell, dealing with summer injuries and adjusting to new coach Bill Blankenship have been top priorities this offseason.

"I look at it from a standpoint of evaluating [7-on-7] as far as competitiveness, and I like what I've seen out of this group we have," Blankenship said. "We have a lot of talented players at receiver and Taylor Powell is special at quarterback. It's been fun to be up close to watch him. Barrett Banister is another guy who stands out. A guy who is fundamentally sound and does the right things."

The Bulldogs appear to be a favorite in Class 7A once the games begin in September. As far as 7-on-7, Blankenship is more concerned with finding depth and seeing improvement that will help Fayetteville win the games that count in the fall.

"I have a hard time focusing on winning a 7-on-7 tournament, and I hate saying that because anything you get into you should try to win," Blankenship said. "But my goal is when we leave [Hoover] we'll know that we can match up with some of the top teams around."

Sports on 07/14/2016

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