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Sports

Wentzville Holt Wins Three at 7-on-7 Tournament

This weekend in Creve Coeur.

CREVE COEUR — A 7-on-7 football tournament is the perfect opportunity to showcase the quarterbacks.

There were plenty on display last Saturday at .

The St. Louis Metropolitan Football Coaches Association held its inaugural 7-on-7 tourney at De Smet with 23 teams from Missouri and Illinois participating.

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Top area quarterbacks like Dalton Demos of Christian Brothers College, Gateway Tech’s Paul Rice, Ladue’s Brandon Carr, DeSmet’s Conner Harrison, Fort Zumwalt West’s Drew Hare and Lindbergh’s Peter Simpson all aired it out without having to worry about getting hit by an oncoming rush.

The tournament was two-hand touch, played without pads and had no rushing attempts.

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“The biggest thing is that the quarterbacks get work,” De Smet coach Pat Mahoney said.

In addition to the quarterbacks, there were also plenty of new coaches at new schools. , University City, Brentwood, Lutheran St. Charles, Columbia Hickman, Alton, Belleville West and Gateway Tech all have someone new to lead the program. That made Saturday’s 30-minute games even that much more important.

“We’re real excited to see them together and out here, especially in a competitive environment,” said Holt , who had previously coached at Warrenton. “They’re all new to this and, at times it’s frustrating, but our kids are picking it up and learning. That’s always a good thing to see. As long as we can compete, I think we’re going to walk away happy.”

The Indians went 3-2 on the day, losing in the semifinals of the Silver Division, the second tier of the three divisions formed following pool play.

“We played some quality teams and it is what it is,” said Moore, adding that four of his “starting” defenders are new to varsity play and Saturday’s experiences could prove invaluable.

“They’re doing pretty well,” Moore added, “but they can get better.

“It’s not a real game, per se, but it’s allowing our quarterbacks to make reads, our receivers to get practice running the routes, allowing our safeties, d-backs and linebackers to work on our drops in the different coverages we may use in the fall. It’s important. If you don’t have these, everything’s brand new in the fall. Now, when we get to the fall, we’ll be ready to roll.”

Picking up an event that had been previously been held in one form at Columbia high schools Hickman and Rock Bridge, Mahoney said his school made sense because of its location and facilities.

“Everybody runs 7s, but the difference maker is that they’re not as competitive,” Mahoney said. “Here you’ve got a lot of teams; you’ve got people you’re going to see later in the year, so the competition level rises. Now you get a little more game situations and get to do some coaching on the field.”

Zumwalt West was the overall champion, defeating Gateway Tech in the Gold Division title game. Gateway beat West in pool play in a 47-45 shootout. Ladue beat Alton 26-14 for the Silver Division title and Cardinal Ritter defeated Belleville West 27-14 to win the Bronze Division.

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