No running allowed: 7v7 spotlights high school passing game

TOMÉ — Summer officially arrived last Friday, while the unofficial start to high school football season may have kicked off the same day as well.

Valencia, Los Lunas and Belen were on the field in nearly 100 degree heat, minus helmets and pads, playing in 7v7 competitions.

For the second straight year, VHS hosted a 7v7 tournament featuring nearly 20 varsity and junior varsity teams from as far away as Las Cruces to the south and Pojoaque to the north. This version of football is non-contact, focusing on passing-game offense and defense.

LeDarrius Cage, Valencia’s head coach, was pleased overall with his Jaguars performance.

“I thought it was a good day for us,” Cage said. “We got a chance to see where we are at with our skill guys.

“We still have a lot of work to do in order to be ready for August.”

Teams were grouped in pool-play and Los Lunas coach Greg Henington praised the setup.

“Coach Cage and Valencia did a great job running the tournament,” Henington said. “There was good competition for everyone.”

Despite the heat, Henington said the Tigers showed focus.

“We saw a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” Henington said. “There’s stuff we need to clean up, but overall I think we’re definitely on the right track.”

Henington points out that 7v7 does not include a key aspect of football, which is the offensive and defensive lines. Those players did take part in a series of competitions called the “linemen challenge.”

The Belen Eagles also played in 7v7 action, finishing with a 2-2 record in a tournament hosted by Valley.

“We play a lot of young guys in our secondary that are still learning coverages,” said coach Kevin Peña. “The boys played hard and a lot of young kids saw what it was like to go against varsity” competition.

Peña pointed out that quarterbacks Logan Gonzalez and Ted Cisneros did a good job running the offense for the first time against varsity competition.

Belen opens the season August 22 at Bloomfield.