WITH 16 teams converging on Jefferson’s practice fields for a full day’s worth of passing league games, Dragon coach T. McFerrin promises this much:
“It’s a lot of football,” McFerrin said. “The kids are dog-tired when it’s over with, I can tell you that.”
Jefferson hosts its second-annual passing league tournament Tuesday (June 12), starting at 9 a.m.
The day features a busy schedule of one-hand-touch, seven-on-seven games, testing team’s passing skills and pass coverage in a competitive environment.
“You’re going to see some great, great athletes out there,” McFerrin said.
Jefferson offensive coordinator Ben Hall agreed. He said players tend to get a little fired up about going against another team.
“It gives the kids a chance to compete more than anything,” Hall said.
The passing league tournament features teams big and small — ranging from Class A programs to the those in the newly-created Class AAAAAA.
The teams, other than Jefferson, include Athens Christian, Jackson County, Lincoln County, Madison County, Union County, Rabun County, Banks County, South Carolina’s T.L. Hannah (the high school featured in the movie “Radio), Mill Creek, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett, Archer, Gainesville, Flowery Branch and Monroe Area.
“It just gives us the chance to get out and get good quality reps against some teams you don’t see,” Hall said.
Other teams Jefferson will see, Hall noted. Jackson County, Rabun County and Union County are on this year’s Dragon schedule.
Each team will play five games before lunch. A single-elimination tournament begins after lunch. It’s a fun day for the Dragons — at least most of it.
“It’s fun until about that seventh game,” McFerrin said, noting that fatigue usually settles in at that point.
Of course, coaches see this as time well-spent.
The Dragons lost their top two receiving options off last year’s team and will overhaul their entire secondary. The Jefferson staff is interested to see who will emerge.
“You really find that out in the passing league, and we lost the entire secondary,” McFerrin said. “We’re going to have four new starters in the secondary and we’re going to find out who can make plays in the secondary. It’s a good barometer for coaches.”
McFerrin said the team has a little bit more depth for this year’s passing league tournament. It has also made some strides since spring football. The Dragons were shorthanded then due to injuries and players still involved in other sports. Not now.
“We’ve caught up a little since the spring,” McFerrin said. “I think we’ve made some progress … Hopefully, we’ll be ready for our own tournament when it comes on the 12th,” McFerrin said.
NOTES: Peachtree Ridge won the tournament last year. Jefferson reached the quarterfinals … Games are one-hand touch. Teams start at 40 and have three downs to reach the 15, then three more to reach the 10 and three more to score … Everybody team is guaranteed five, 22-minute games. Twenty of those minutes are played with a running clock. The final two minutes are regulation clock. Each game includes at least two officials.
