Several of the West’s best will be in Southern California this weekend for
the Regional Qualifying Event for the IMG Madden 7on7 Tournament.
The tournament begins on Saturday, and continues on Sunday, and there will be
plenty of talent on the field at Redondo Union HS, with the top four teams
qualifying for a berth in the IMG Madden 7on7 National Championship in
Bradenton, Florida in June.
Sixteen teams will be in the tournament including three of the top four
finishers at last month's NLA Elite 7on7 in Las Vegas.
Here is a look at the top players expected to participate this weekend.
1925 finished as the runner up at the Vegas 7on7 for the second year in a row,
and is looking to win their first 7on7 tournament in the Southland. Led by Harbor City
(Calif.) Narbonne four-star passer Troy Williams, 1925 has a slew of stellar
receivers like Santa Monica (Calif.) Sebastian LaRue and Mission
Hills (Calif.) Alemany's Steven Mitchell, both top 100 prospects by Scout.com and
four-star as well as another pair of four-star receivers in Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks
Christian, Francis Owusu and John Ross from Long Beach (Calif.) Jordan. Another receiver
who's gotten Pac-12 offers is Xavier Shepard from Lakewood (Calif.).
Defensively, Encino (Calif.) Crespi safety Tyler Foreman is one of the standouts
with teammate Brandon Arnold and sophomore Dwight Williams, who was the NFTC
Linebacker MVP, also leads their defense. Underclassmen to watch include
Long Beach (Calif.) Jordan receiver Rashead Johnson and Westlake Village
(Calif.) Oaks Christian cornerback Malik Cyphers.
B2G won the 2010 and 2011
Badger 7on7's, but lost in the quarterfinals last month. They'll look to
rebound with their loaded squad which features USC commit Chris Hawkins, a
four-star cornerback from Rancho Cucamonga, and Ohio State commit Marcus Baugh,
a tight end out of Riverside (Calif.) J.W. North. Other headliners for Team B2G's 5-Stars includes five-star safety Priest Willis out of Tempe (Ariz.) Marcos De Niza and Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) teammates Tahaan Goodman.
Receiver Drew Wolitarsky from Canyon Country (Calif.) and Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne
receiver A.J. Richardso and freshman receiver Trent Irwin from Newhall (Calif.)
Hart round out a touted receivers corps. Other top players to watch from
5-Stars include Duarte (Calif.) linebacker Denzel Talifero, Ventura (Calif.) St.
Bonaventure running back Zachary Green, who just committed to Arizona and Long
Beach (Calif.) Poly safety Iman Marshall, a 2015 prospect.
One of the surprise teams in Vegas was I.E. Elite, who came in as relative
unknowns and instead made it to the semifinals and finished in third. Two
of the best linebackers in the West play for I.E. Elite, Rancho Cucamonga
(Calif.) twins Alani Latu and Viliami Latu and they head a defense that also
features fast rising cornerback Delvin Batiste from Upland (Calif.), and Long
Beach (Calif.) Poly linebacker Jayon Brown. Offensively, I.E. Elite has
quarterback Gage Pucci, who made the all-underclass team last month, and a very
good receivers group led by Chino Hills (Calif.) receiver Jack Austin, Rancho
Cucamonga (Calif.) receiver Jermel Walker, Etiwanda (Calif.) receiver Jordan Villamin and La Verne (Calif.) Damien receiver Josh Savage.
Team 4th Quarter Sports also found themselves making a surprising run to the
semifinals in Las Vegas, losing to eventual champs Utah. One of the most
overlooked quarterbacks in the West, Los Angeles (Calif.) Salesian slinger Jihad Vercher, will lead an offense that also features Salesian receiver Jermaine Kelly and other two-way threats like Marquis Ware and Jamardre Cobb as well as
Dionza Blue.
The Frat Boyz made a nice run in Vegas, losing in overtime to 1925 in the
quarterfinals after going unbeaten in pool play. They'll feature the top
prospect in the entire event in Su'a Cravens, the five-star safety from Murrieta
(Calif.) Vista Murrieta. Offensively, the Frat Boyz have Pasadena (Calif.)
Maranatha quarterback Andrew Elffers and Perris (Calif.) Citrus Hill receiver
K.J. Young as well as Pomona (Calif.) receiver Terrell Mosby. Joining
Cravens on defense is Menifee (Calif.) Heritage athlete Darius Allensworth and
Fontana (Calif.) Summit cornerback Charles Okonkwo.
Players to watch from B2G Scorch include Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey receiver
Delvon Hardaway and safety Jayme Otemewo, San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills cornerback Devin Holiday,
Monrovia (Calif.) receiver Mason Bryant and Redlands
(Calif.) East Valley safety Tre Wilcoxen.
Team Pro-Sports comes down from the Silicon Valley and they have one of the
top sophomore quarterbacks in the West, San Jose (Calif.) Bellarmine Prep's K.J.
Carta-Samuels as well as two-way prospect Kenneth Olugbode and another San Jose
(Calif.) native in Oak Grove athlete Chidobe Awuzie.
Arizona's "Those Guys" features a host of stellar receivers in Phoenix
(Ariz.) Mountain Point 2014 prospect Jalen Brown, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral
receiver Jake Roh and Jalen Ortiz from Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial.
A year ago, Alliance 1 won the AIGA 7on7 tournament and they're back in the
Southland with freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, where he'll be joined
by his Braves teammate Davonte Young, a three-star running back as well as
sophomore defensive back Jaleel Wadood.
Next Level Academy from San Bernardino will have quarterback Stephen Johnson
from Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Los Osos as well Fontana (Calif.) Kaiser running
back Marquette Washington.
Pride 'N Skillz is headed by sophomore quarterback Eban Jackson from Long
Beach (Calif.) Poly, while BBT from San Bernardino has Upland (Calif.)
quarterback Nate Romine, who led the Highlanders to the CIF-SS Inland Division
semifinals in 2011 running their offense.
Team 808 features a slew of underclassmen from Nevada powerhouse Bishop
Gorman in Las Vegas. Their quarterback is 2015 prospect Danny Hong and
they also have tight end Alize Mack from the 2015, but the top prospect for 808
is 2014 safety Nathan Starks, one of the elite prospects nationally.