PEABODY — Even with the extreme heat, the rain early Saturday and the explosion that shut down Route 1 in Saugus, the Under Armour Northeast 7v7 Football Tournament held at Bishop Fenwick High School this weekend was a raging success.
Football fans from around the state packed into the Bishop Fenwick athletic complex to watch their teams compete for the championship and a chance to play at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. Local teams weren't overly successful, as no North Shore team made it to the quarterfinals, but Swampscott, Hamilton-Wenham and Marblehead all qualified for the playoffs along with 21 other teams down from the 48 that competed.
Big Blue skipper Steve Dembowski coordinated the entire tournament with Under Armour, while Bishop Fenwick head coach and Athletic Director Dave Woods supplied the facilities. There was plenty of water on hand, trainers circling the games, and fans in lawn chairs and under sun tents, some staying to watch even after their respective teams had been eliminated.
"Football players are usually competitors, and the coaches are, too," Dembowski said of the teams and fans alike toughing out the heat for a weekend of gridiron action. "The coaches sign 'em up, and the kids show up and they battle. That's what it's all about."
Dembowski went on to further express why he feels this 7-on-7 tournament, which he began back in 2004, is so important to high school football players.
"No. 1, the kids are getting free gear," said Dembowki, who pointed out that all other high school sports have opportunities in the offseason. "There is AAU basketball, hockey summer leagues — every other sport has a place for their kids to get better. This isn't exactly football, but it's an opportunity for kids to work on skills that apply to football. And it's a bonding opportunity teams can take advantage of. That's what makes this tournament special."
The Big Blue were on fire Friday night, scoring more than 100 points total in their first four games, earning the top seed and a bye (along with Methuen, Duxbury, Chelmsford, Oliver Ames, Norwood, Longmeadow and North Andover) going into the playoffs. But some defensive struggles against a familiar Winthrop team saw Swampscott bounced by the Vikings in overtime of its first playoff game.
The Big Blue's Thanksgiving Day rival, Marblehead, also made the playoffs, but the Magicians weren't able to filet the Fish, and Gloucester sent coach Jim Rudloff's team packing. A familiar face was working with the offense, as former Magician signal caller Hayes Richardson, who was a part of the 2009 Super Bowl team, lent his expertise to quarterbacks Ian Maag, Gus Percy and Matt Millett.
"The tournament has been great; it's given our kids a chance to learn how to compete. The kids put in a lot of hard work this summer. This is the first chance to go against other kids and really work on the skills they have been practicing," Rudloff said. "The biggest thing is that they get to go against other human beings, and we get to see the weaknesses in ourselves and some of the teams we play."
Rudloff liked what he saw from his group, especially running back Will Quigley, who was a key piece in last year's offensive scheme and figures to be again come the fall. Joel Katz and Oliver Gregory also had strong weekends, as the two along with Quigley will be the team's tri-captains this fall.
As many good things as he saw, Rudloff felt his Magicians were a bit feast or famine, something he attributed to effort.
"Our kids competed, and when we went 100 percent, we were as good as any other team. But when we decided to take a play off, we could be as bad as anybody in the tournament, and that is what we learned about ourselves," Rudloff said. "We are going to be as good this year as we want to be. Our desire and our work will take us where we need to go as long as we don't let other teams dictate what we do."
The most impressive showing by a North Shore team came from Hamilton-Wenham, as the Generals not only qualified for the playoffs but defeated Pentucket in the opening round before falling in a hard-fought game against Chelmsford.
"I think we surprised people today. No one (outside of H-W) thought we'd make it that far, and we did really well," noted Trevor Lyons, a running back on last year's squad and one of the fastest returning players in the Cape Ann League.
"(The tournament) is perfect. I loved it. We got to get together, and now we know each other a little bit more, and we got to play together. I think it will help us in the season."
Chelmsford made the finals of the Bentley Shootout earlier this summer and yesterday the Lions went on to defeat Oliver Ames to take home the Northeast 7-v-7 championship. On top of that, Chelmsford has been extremely successful in past Northeast 7-v-7 tournaments, reaching the championship the last four years and winning it back in '09. Bottom line, the Generals got to see how their passing attack and defense stacked up against the best of the best.
"This was the first time we were able to really get some work in, and we were competing against some teams that were above us. We were just very pleased with today (Saturday)," said Hamilton-Wenham coach Andrew Morency, who took the Generals to the postseason last fall for the first time in program history. "Anytime you can get together as a team in a competitive spirit such as this, it's advantageous to the competing teams. You are able to see the little things like poise and competitiveness. It got hot out here, and you could see who was hustling and who was not."
Lyons and Steven Brao took turns running the Generals offense from the quarterback position. With the graduation of last year's pocket man Dylan Keith, finding a QB has to be high up on the list of priorities for Morency and the Generals. This weekend, both Brao and Lyons had their moments, leaving H-W with two very formidable options entering the season. Mix in the big, bruising Elliot Burr at fullback, and the Generals already have a bit of thunder and lightning in the back field, as Lyons can fly with the best of them.
Getting his first look at the Generals offense from inside the huddle was Luke Wendt, formerly of Masco, who transferred to H-W this year and could be a big component in this Generals team. Wendt, who looks like he could play left tackle for the Generals, appeared as if he had been a part of the H-W offense for years, even catching back-to-back passes that set up H-W's final score against Chelmsford.
"It was fun, we got to practice our routes, the QBs and the wide receivers got to bond a little bit before the season, which is really important," Burr said. "Trev (Lyons) is a great athlete, and getting more reps (at QB) is the best thing for him. Luke (Wedt) is the man, he's an athlete and a big guy, and we are going to love having him on the team this year."
