North Gwinnett hosts 7 on 7

The hottest trend over the past few years in Georgia high school football has been a shift from a run-based, Wing-T offense to the pass-happy spreads that have changed the college game. Many programs have switched to the shotgun formation to throw the ball around, and perhaps the best way to practice this offense is in 7 on 7 tournaments, which have become the latest craze sweeping the nation. Today and tomorrow, North Gwinnett will host one of the Southeast’s deepest 7 on 7 tournament fields with Georgia powers Grayson, Central Gwinnett, Centennial, Grady, Jefferson County and Gainesville taking part, as well as out-of-state powers Spartanburg (S.C.) and Byrnes (S.C.). Pool play will begin today at 9:30 a.m. with Grayson’s A team taking on Spartanburg. Grady will also take on North Gwinnett’s A team at 9:30 a.m. Some interesting games to keep an eye on over the course of the day will be Gainesville vs. North Gwinnett’s B team, Centennial vs. Grayson’s B team, Byrnes vs. North Gwinnett’s A team, Central Gwinnett vs. Jonesboro and Shiloh vs. Gainesville. The pool play results will lead to bracket seeding, and the teams will take part in a double-elimination tournament on Friday with the winners eventually meeting for the 2012 North Gwinnett National Select qualifying championship.

The rules of 7 on 7 are different than regular football. Each squad has seven defenders going up against seven offensive players. Each possession starts on the 40-yard line going in. The offense can pick up a first down by crossing the 25-yard line and the 10-yard line. A team gets three downs to make a first down, and the quarterback must pass the ball within four seconds of the snap of the ball. If the QB cannot get the ball to at least the line of scrimmage, the play will be treated as a sack and a loss of down. No running plays are allowed and a team cannot attempt double passes or shuffle passes. A player is brought down with one-hand touch. There is no kicking/punting in 7 on 7.

The scoring is somewhat similar to regular football in that touchdowns are six points. PAT snaps are at the five-yard line or ten-yard line for a two-point conversion attempt in tournament play. The scoring differs in that the defense scores points for an interception (three points) and a turnover on downs (two points).

For the complete pool play schedule, CLICK HERE