By Michael Lindsay
Nine high school football programs from across Tennessee converged onto Crossville’s Duer Soccer Complex Tuesday morning for 7-on-7 action hosted by Stone Memorial.
Upper Cumberland programs Clay County, Gordonsville, Monterey and York Institute joined the Panthers along with Sequatchie County, Coalfield, Kingston and Lenoir City.
“We had 9 great teams here from across the Upper Cumberland and beyond,” said Stone Memorial head coach Derik Samber. “It’s good to get work this time of year and see somebody other than your own guys. It’s good for quarterbacks to see multiple looks and go through his progressions against them. Our quarterback sees our defense every day, so it’s good to see four different teams and their coverages. For our defense, it’s good to see different route concepts.”
Clay County made the deepest playoff run of the participating teams as the Bulldogs finished runners-up in Class 1A in 2022 with an overall record of 13-2.
“It went good,” said Clay County head coach Bruce Lamb. “We’ve got a lot of things we can work on, and it’s good to see who can play where. It’s always good to play against great competition; they get tired of seeing each other every day.”
2022 state semifinalists in attendance included York Institute and Coalfield while Gordonsville and Monterey advanced to the state quarterfinals last season.
High school football teams in Tennessee can compete in two days of 7-on-7 prior to the TSSAA dead period (June 26 – July 9). High school football kicks off on the Upper Cumberland Thursday, Aug. 17 as Smith County travels to Gordonsville.
