Bainbridge High School’s inaugural event allows teams to put their passing-game offenses, defenses to the test.
Not all football games are played in stadiums, feature pads or helmets, or even require teams to compete 11-on-11.
“I have like six friends in my neighborhood,” South Kitsap junior quarterback Franklin Fox said, “and we used to play on my grandmother’s cul-de-sac. People would get messed up.”
Street football, backyard football, pickup football, whatever you want to call it — some elements of those informal gatherings that pigskin enthusiasts often play growing up were present Saturday as Bainbridge High School hosted the inaugural Battle of the Bay 7-on-7 football tournament. The event featured eight 40-yard fields spread all around campus: two on the main stadium field, two on the baseball field, and four on the grass area located behind the baseball and softball fields.
“It’s fun, isn’t it?” said Bainbridge head football coach and tournament organizer Dan Schoonmaker as he made his way between contests, making sure the event ran as smoothly as possible. The Spartans, who had a varsity and JV team competing, were joined by Central Kitsap, South Kitsap, Kingston, Decatur, East Jefferson, Meridian, Mount Rainier, Nathan Hale, Roosevelt (varsity and JV), Stadium, Sumner (varsity and JV), Thomas Jefferson and Todd Beamer.
Much like girls flag football, which had a popular high school debut at South Kitsap and North Kitsap andover the winter, Saturday’s tournament represented an energetic summer alternative to classic organized football, which is played in the fall.
Offenses featured a quarterback, a snapper, four receivers and a running back, while defenses consisted of linebackers and defensive backs. There was no running plays, just all passing (quarterbacks had four seconds to throw the ball and there was no pass rushing on defense). Tackling involved touching anywhere between a receiver’s neck and ankle. Most players wore fitted shirts or jerseys, shorts and cleats. The only helmets worn were by Bainbridge — and those were soft, padded helmets.
For games, which lasted between 25-30 minutes, teams traded possessions and offenses needed to go 40 yards in a maximum of seven plays to score a touchdown (seven points) and interceptions were worth two points for the defense. Officials were on site to keep track of scoring and throw the occasional flag, which usually meant an interference call against the defense.
Central Kitsap head football coach Mark Keel said one of the benefits of 7-on-7 is getting players, specifically younger ones, caught up to the speed of the game at the varsity level. The Cougars opened Saturday morning with a practice game against Sumner and had a couple interceptions.
“Those balls that were picked off, those were completions in practice when we’re going against our C-team,” said Keel, whose team won the consolation bracket over Sumner’s JV squad. Roosevelt topped Sumner’s varsity in the winner’s bracket.
Schoonmaker described 7-on-7 as an “offensive-minded” game that allows quarterbacks and receivers to develop chemistry and timing.
“For defenses, guys learn defensive rotations, they learn coverages, they know it’s going to be a pass,” Schoonmaker said. “But if you ask any defensive coach, they would say these (types of tournaments) are way more for the offense. And they are.”
In the future, Schoonmaker said he might opt to move the tournament to a date earlier in June since several schools had conflicts with team camps (or injuries resulting from those camps). Players like Fox, who’d never played 7-on-7 before, felt the tournament was a success and it was a chance of his team to improve with the 2024 high school season in September approaching.
“If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it to win,” Fox said. “We’re not here to mess around.”