Russell Hedges
rhedges@bossierpress.com
Benton head football coach Reynolds Moore doesn’t believe in messing with a formula that works.
The third annual Benton Tiger Charity Invitational 7-on-7 Tournament, which begins Friday and concludes Saturday at First Baptist Bossier’s Freedom Fields, will look a lot like last year’s.
As of press time, 16 teams were scheduled to compete in pool play Friday. That will be followed by a double-elimination tournament Saturday.
Joining Benton are Bolton, North DeSoto, Haughton, Captain Shreve, North Caddo, Huntington, St. Mary’s, Green Oaks, Airline, Northwood, Mansfield, Parkway, Calvary, Tioga and Southwood.
Louisiana Tech’s Boston Scott, a 5-foot-6, 199-pound junior running back, will speak to the players during a break in the action at some point Friday afternoon.
Gate proceeds will be donated to Shreveport Diabetes Sports, Inc., which funds research to help cure juvenile diabetes. The proceeds will be donated in honor of Max Abernathy, who has the disease. He is the son of North DeSoto head coach Scott Abernathy.
If there is one thing that Moore could change about last year’s tournament, it would be the weather on the final day.
Benton and Captain Shreve were playing in the afternoon championship round. The Gators were leading 24-17 with 5:56 left to play when the teams were called off the field because of lightning.
Not long after that, as a severe thunderstorm approached, Captain Shreve was declared the winner. The Tigers would have had to defeat the Gators twice to take the title because Shreve had beaten them 16-15 earlier in the winners’ bracket semifinals.
The Gators had also defeated the Tigers in pool play.
“We knew the rain was coming,” Moore said at the time. “We saw the radar. It was the right thing to do. They deserved it. They were 7-1 on the tournament.”
With players like All-Parish quarterback Garrett Hable and All-State receiver Doyle Adams Jr. returning, Benton can be considered one of the favorites to win this year’s title.
