The 10th annual Northwest Louisiana 7on7 Charity Invitational Presented by Louisiana National Guard is scheduled for Friday at Freedom Fields.
Reynolds Moore started the tournament in 2015 before his third season as head coach at Benton to help teams prepare for the season and raise money for local charities and people in need.
Moore stepped down as head coach following the 2024 season but is keeping the 7on7 tournament going.
This year’s gate proceeds and donations will go to Harvest Laborers, a charity funding missions and life-giving ministries.
Twenty-five teams are competing including Airline, Benton, Parkway, Haughton and Bossier.
Other teams competing are Captain Shreve, Evangel Christian, Natchitoches Central, Huntington, Byrd, Ouachita Parish, Alexandria, Fontainebleau, Northwood, North DeSoto, Pineville, Dunham, Leesville, Calvary Baptist, Junction City, Ark., Logansport, Loyola, North Webster and Benton,Airline and Evangel JV.
There are five pools comprised of five teams. Pool play begins at 4 p.m. The last pool games are scheduled for 7:20.
A single-elimination tournament is scheduled to start at 8:20.
7on7 football involves mostly passing although handoffs are allowed behind the line of scrimmage. Players wear helmets, t-shirts and shorts. Tackles are made pulling a flag. Both the offense and defense can score points.
While success in 7on7 tournaments doesn’t necessarily translate into success in the fall, they can offer somewhat of a preview.
Last year, Airline won the Charity Invitational. The Vikings went on to go undefeated in the regular season.
Airline defeated Evangel Christian in the championship game in a matchup that featured quarterbacks who had outstanding falls, Airline’s Ben Taylor and Evangel’s Peyton Houston.
Taylor is continuing his career at Northwestern State. Houston is back at Evangel for his junior season,
Chase Williams has taken over the quarterback position at Airline. The Vikings won a 7on7 tournament at Ouachita Baptist in Arkansas last week.
While there’s no guarantee that teams will have all their players available because of other summer commitments, other potential quarterbacks to watch include North DeSoto’s Luke Delafield, Benton’s Malachi Zeigler, Haughton’s Taylor Weathersby, Parkway’s Kaleb Williams, Natchitoches Central’s Owen Smith, Alexandria’s Karsen Seller and Loyola’s Bryce Restovich.
Airline’s Kenny Darby is among the state’s top receivers and college recruits. An LSU commit, he visited Alabama last week.
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