Good showing for Nation Ford at Cam Newton 7-on-7 tourney

Nation Ford came up short on the last play of the game from the 5-yard line in a 20-12 loss to Dutch Fork Friday in the finals of the Cam Newton Foundation 7-on-7 tournament at Olympic High School.

“They stopped us, and they won,” said Nation Ford coach Michael Allen. “We were down to the laaaast two seconds.”

Rock Hill, South Pointe, York and Lancaster also competed in the tournament, which boasted some of the top programs from the Carolinas. South Pointe beat York 30-5, bouncing the Cougars out of the tournament , while Lancaster lost on the same field at the same time to Westwood, finishing Friday with a 2-2 mark.

But South Pointe, which went 5-1 on Thursday, fell to Hough in the next round. Rock Hill also succumbed at the same level, the third round of the consolation tournament, losing to Shelby.

Nation Ford lost to Dutch Fork, the Silver Foxes denying two late Hail Mary attempts to dump the Falcons into the consolation bracket. On a sizzling day, that made the trek back toward the final considerably tougher. But Michael Allen’s team beat Hough, Blythewood and Davidson Day to set up a rematch with Dutch Fork, one that ended similarly to their first meeting.

No worries for the Falcons, whose rising senior receiver Hank Tuipulotu was named offensive player of the tournament.

Nation Ford will host the Cam Newton Foundation 7-on-7 Nationals in early July, an event they would have qualified for either way - as the host or the second-best team Friday. They won't meet Tommy Knott’s Dutch Fork crew again, though, with the Charlotte Observer reporting that the Silver Foxes were already committed to another tournament in Georgia.

Regardless, “We’ll come back and we’ll compete,” said Allen. “It’s good work, man. It’s an opportunity to get better.”

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Good showing for Nation Ford at Cam Newton 7-on-7 tourney."