Nation Ford finishes fourth at Cam Newton 7-on-7 national championship

Nation Ford ultimately fell short of winning the Cam Newton Foundation 7-on-7 high school football tournament Saturday, but the Falcons were encouraged by a fourth place finish in surface-of-the-sun heat.

“We showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart,” said Falcons coach Michael Allen.

Dorman won the event, the championship culmination of six Cam Newton regional tournaments. The team from Spartanburg downed a talented Cartersville (Ga.) squad in the finals to win the title at Nation Ford.

The Falcons fell into the consolation bracket with an early 26-23 loss to Cartersville, Allen’s team left to rue two interceptions, each worth three points to the opponent.

Nation Ford proceeded to win three straight elimination games, bouncing Dutch Fork’s junior-varsity team 37-8, Woodward Academy (Ga.) 16-7 and South Meck (N.C.) 20-5.

Jonesboro (Ga.) – led by rising senior Clemson commitment Zerrick Cooper at quarterback – finally ended the Falcons’ tournament mid-afternoon with a 34-12 beating. Nation Ford had battled back through the consolation bracket to reach the finals of the Cam Newton regional tournament at Olympic High School in late June, but couldn’t repeat the feat Saturday. The 15-team tournament boasted some of the top teams in the Southeast, and a number of ACC and SEC recruits.

“The level’s a little higher here with the competition,” said Allen, whose team is finished with 7-on-7s for the summer. “If you’re trying to win it, the loser’s bracket is not the place to be.”

Overall, it was a positive day for the Falcons. Their ability to move the ball offensively is evident, but the team continues to focus on defensive improvement after allowing over 40 points per game last season.

“We got a lot of things accomplished that we wanted to get accomplished, without some of our key players,” said Allen. His team was missing likely starters Alex Stennett, Halen Burgess and Harry Goodwin. “Defensively – in 7-on-7 – I thought we made progress with our defense. We’ve shown improvement so we look forward to continuing to work with them.”

The event wasn’t nearly as successful in terms of wins for Lancaster, but it was an invaluable experience for a Bruins squad that lost nearly 30 seniors to graduation. At a time in the summer when many high school teams have wrapped up their 7-on-7 slate, Bobby Collins’ team can’t get enough repetitions.

“We were out here all day Friday and Saturday. You can practice as much as you want to practice but live reps against some of the best teams out of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, we’re gonna take this opportunity to get better,” he said.

Lancaster lost 28-10 to Jonesboro to fall into the consolation bracket, then ended the day with a 23-13 loss to Wheeler (Ga.). Wheeler led 13-5 before a Bruins interception and a touchdown catch by Cordarius Tinsley tied the game at 13-all. The Georgians made plays late to get the win, though.

Bruins players looked deflated headed toward their bus, a combination of harsh lessons and unrelenting heat melting their confidence. But Collins’ team, which boasts a solid offensive line and a pair of bruising running backs, isn’t built for 7-on-7 football like Nation Ford is, and the Bruins coach knows it.

“We’re gonna run the football,” he said, before grabbing a plate of food and herding his team to the parking lot.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Nation Ford finishes fourth at Cam Newton 7-on-7 national championship."