Every year, high school football teams will attend preseason 7 on 7 tournaments. These tournament games are much like the pro bowl. They are fun to watch because teams air the ball out, score points, and encounter little to no contact. Do these tournaments have any impact on the regular season, though? How does your high school team play once they throw in an offensive line and a running game, instead of only having a passing game?

Last season, Fayetteville won the 7A State Championship. They, however, did not fare as well in the National 7 on 7 tournament. In this tournament, Fayetteville started off well, before losing to Prattville (AL.), 36-3. After that game, they beat Oxford (AL.), followed by a 32-35 loss to Lassiter (GA.).

Based on post season national rankings from MaxPreps.com, a CBSSports.com site, the only game of those final three which was an upset was Fayetteville’s final loss to Lassiter. However, considering the lop sided loss to Prattville and Fayetteville’s inconsistent play, one has to wonder how Fayetteville would have performed with blocking or a running game.

In Shiloh Christian’s case, they opened up with a win against Aurora Chirstian, and were eliminated by Oxford (AL.) With a win and a loss, Shiloh finished at 1-1, a .500 record. That is comparable to their regular season record, 5-6, or .454. Even without regular season pressure and the added postions, Shiloh’s performance at the tournament seemed fitting when compared to what the regular season would look like.

Lake Hamilton also entered the tournament. Entering as a 6^th seed, they went on to pull some upsets and become the champions of that tournament. Looking like a surprise team, they went on to prove themselves in the regular season, finishing with a 12-2 record.

Har-ber High School was in that tournament, but were upset by Memphis University School. Although Har-ber only finished the season 8-4, they did have a win over Fayetteville, who won the 7A State Tournament.

In the Local Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase Championship, Bentonville prevailed as the victor. This was to be expected from a team who finished the regular season undefeated. They did, however, go on to receive one loss, which came in the state championship game. Of course, Bentonville looked sharp the local tournament and their success was largely reflected in their regular season.

Generally, there seems to be some correlation of success from 7-on-7 tournaments to the regular season. Despite not having an offensive line or running game, teams who succeed in the early tournaments tend to succeed later. After all, they get to showcase and get some practice in for quarterbacks, wide receivers, most of the defense.  Fayetteville was a bit of an outlier, although that is too be expected as teams are just trying to shake the dust off early and getting into the first competition of the year. However, teams such as Lake Hamilton, Shiloh Christian, and Bentonville, will continue to prove that these tournaments are useful and can indicate success or lack of success.

Written by Staff Writer Joe Gibson