2017 USA Football 7on7 recap: New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando and Houston

By Stephen Spiewak | Posted 6/21/2017

The second weekend of USA Football 7on7 action took place last weekend, with four tournaments held around the country.

In New Jersey, Louisiana, Florida and Texas, high school teams competed, came together, sharpened their offenses and defenses and improved.

Here’s a rundown of each event:

Shabazz prevails in New Jersey

The New Jersey high school football landscape has been dominated during the last decade by non-public schools.

That makes Shabazz’s victory in the USA Football 7on7, held in conjunction with the New York Jets, even sweeter.

Shabazz emerged victorious from a field that included the likes of non-public powerhouses Bergen Catholic and DePaul as well as public school Stalwart Montclair:

Win or lose, the opportunity to take the field where the Jets practice was an opportunity that all teams embraced.

"It was pretty cool, seeing the football field and the equipment the Jets players use," one player said. "It was definitely an awesome experience.

Out-of-state team takes home the title in New Orleans

In a field loaded with top Louisiana teams in the New Orleans USA Football 7on7 hosted by the Saints, it was a Mississippi team that claimed victory.

Shannon (Miss.), a Class 4A team in the Magnolia State that finished 6-5 last season, defeated Mandeville (La.) in the finals after knocking off Edna Karr (La.) and St. Paul (La.) earlier in the tournament:

The field also featured St. Augustine, the alma mater of recent NFL first-round draft pick Leonard Fournette.

Mainland wins Orlando 7on7

Top teams from throughout central Florida flocked to the USA Football 7on7 in Orlando.

However, no one could touch Mainland (Daytona Beach, Fla.).

After finishing pool play 5-0, Mainland won convincingly every step of the way to capture the regional title:

Mainland has been one of Florida’s most consistent programs, losing just four times over the past three seasons.

The 2017 season will be a unique challenge for Scott Wilson’s squad, as it will be without superb signal-caller Denzel Houston.

Houston, who finished his career with more than 8,000 yards and 124 total touchdowns, is off to college, where he’s transitioning to a receiver.

With the title-winning performance over the weekend, Mainland demonstrated that its opponents should not expect much drop-off this fall.

In Houston, Dickinson comes out on top

No state boasts more competitive 7on7s than Texas, which takes its high school team passing tournaments very seriously.

That makes the achievement of Dickinson even more impressive.

In a field of teams that featured Cypress Ranch and Humble among other top Houston-area programs, Dickinson went undefeated, finishing 5-0 in pool play and navigating through the playoff bracket to claim the regional crown.

While the win is impressive, its impact on the team’s season this fall could be even more significant.

“It gets our timing down, helps us for the fall,” said Myles Lewis, the team’s running back. “(It) helps everybody learn their routes and when to throw it.”

SEE ALSO: Why this top HS coach thinks 7on7s are critical to his team's development

Click here to learn more about the USA Football 7on7 program.

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