NBC 11 Sports: Central hosts 7-on-7 tournament in pre-season clash with Imperial Valley and Yuma schools
EL CENTRO, Calif., (KYMA, KECY) - With the weather warming up, turning the page to another football season fills the air.
Over Tuesday and Wednesday night, the Central Spartans breathed life into the upcoming season on the gridiron by hosting a 7-on-7 tournament - featuring 11 schools across the Imperial Valley and Yuma.
The round-robin style tournament gave each team a chance to play many different teams - some of which they won't play in the regular season, allowing for a bit of unfamiliarity to compete.
"It's great for the community to get back on the field and good for the high schools," said Central head football coach David "Rookie" Pena. "It's just good to compete and get back to our summer routine of competing against one another. Not only that, but developing the foundations of each other's offenses and defenses out here."
It was especially nice for some of the Yuma schools to be able to get a different look and hit the I-8 West to El Centro and get a taste of football back.
"It's good. We have a lot of good competition out here. Just love to see the boys fly around and it's been a great two days," said Gila Ridge head football coach, Jessica Slaughter. "We're kind of just trying to put the pieces in place, but overall I think we have a great group of guys this season and I'm excited."
Most of the teams will pick it back up over the course of the next two weeks - including Imperial hosting a tournament on Tuesday and Yuma Catholic hosting another on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
