Zumwalt West Avenges Loss, Takes 7-on-7 Tournament Title

On the final play of the day, the Jaguars got their revenge— and a tournament title.

After losing to Gateway Tech in pool play in a 47-45 shootout, West came back to beat their fellow Jaguars 28-22 in the championship game of the St. Louis Metropolitan Football Coaches Association Inaugural 7-on-7 tourney Saturday at De Smet Jesuit High School.

With 23 teams participating, there were plenty of the area’s top quarterbacks like Zumwalt West’s Drew Hare, Dalton Demos of Christian Brothers College, Gateway Tech’s Paul Rice, Ladue’s Brandon Carr, De Smet’s Conner Harrison and Lindbergh’s Peter Simpson. Each aired it out without having to worry about getting hit by an oncoming rush.

In the title game, Hare hit running back Ray Harris for the game-winning score on the final play of the 28-22 victory. The previous scores were all passes to standout receiver Kyle Echols, a Division I prospect who caught 65 passes for 1,123 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

“It’s always important to us to win,” Echols said. “We just play hard.”

The tournament was two-hand touch, played without pads and had no rushing attempts. There were six pools, with each pool winner sent to the Gold Division along with two at-large teams. The other teams were split up and seeded based on pool record and point differential between the Silver and Bronze divisions.

Ladue beat Alton 26-14 for the Silver Division title and Cardinal Ritter defeated Belleville West 27-14 to win the Bronze Division.

“We want to win here, but the whole purpose is to get us better for when we play Duchesne in Week 1,” said Fort Zumwalt North’s Joe Bacon, who is entering his fourth season as head coach. “As much as we want to win now, the fact that we’re getting better with what we’re doing out here is the most important thing.”

North was the top seed in the Bronze Division, receiving a bye in the first round.

Bacon held practices earlier in June and will have two more weeks in July before they open training camp in August. “Hopefully by then, (the new guys) won’t be rookies anymore,” he said.

Picking up an event that had been previously been held in one form at Columbia high schools Hickman and Rock Bridge, De Smet coach Pat Mahoney said his school made sense because of its location and facilities.

“Everybody runs 7s, but the difference maker is that they’re not as competitive,” Mahoney said. “Here you’ve got a lot of teams; you’ve got people you’re going to see later in the year, so the competition level rises. Now you get a little more game situations and get to do some coaching on the field.”

West coach Paul Day, entering his 12th season at the helm of the Jaguars, said he likes 7-on-7 tourneys because, “it gives you a chance to compete in the offseason and see where you’re at in your passing game and pass defense.”

The pass offense should be good with the 6-foot-3 Hare back. The senior threw for 3,201 yards and 24 touchdowns last year while leading the Jaguars to a 10-3 record.

Day said Hare, Echols and Harris have all been playing together since the sixth grade and are “very comfortable” with each other.

“I’m just glad we played well,” Day said. “Obviously 7-on-7s are conducive to the offenses. Whenever you win a game, usually it’s because the defense made a play.”

That play for West Saturday afternoon came from Alan Hall, who intercepted a Paul Rice pass to halt a Gateway Tech possession.

West will open 2011 against CBC and trounced the Cadets 35-12 in the first round of the single-elimination playoffs in the Gold Division. CBC, which defeated Fort Zumwalt South, Alton and Vashon to win its pool, was the No. 2 seed behind Gateway Tech in the top tier of the three divisions formed following pool play. The six pool winners and then two at-large teams—Zumwalt West and Maplewood-Richmond Heights—comprised the eight teams in the Gold Division.

“That’s going to be a really good game,” Day said of the opener against CBC. “It will probably come down to the end. It should be a fun one in Week 1.”