Gila Ridge High School hosts 7v7 football event

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Gila Ridge Hawks football team welcomed several other local high schools on their field Friday evening for a summer event in preparation for the upcoming fall season.

Traveling to Gila Ridge was Yuma High, Kofa, Cibola, Somerton and Antelope.

The teams took turns facing off against each other in receiving drills, while linemen matched up in strength competitions.

The event caps of the Hawks' week of training camp and gives them a little preview of their regular season schedule.

"It's really cool," Gila Ridge head coach Jessica Slaughter said. "It also gives us an opportunity to get all the local schools together and just get one big competition before we get into pads."

"It's a really good chance to get some preseason competitiveness, and I think it's really good for the team and I'm having fun out here," captain Edan Porter added on.

The recent realignment of divisions has the Hawks set to face some familiar foes on a more consistent basis in the Desert Southwest Conference.

Cibola dropped down a level to Division 4A while Kofa and Yuma got a promotion from Division 3A. As for Somerton, this will be the school's first year as a varsity program, competing in the same division.

"It's nice to see the teams we get to see [during the regular season]...just to get a feel for what to expect going into the season," Porter said.

The event lasted from 5-8 p.m. and precedes all the teams' official preseason starting up in the next couple of weeks.