7-on-7, Big Uglies bring out summer football

On Saturday, the second annual Midwest 7 on 7 tournament and Big Uglies
challenge took place at Panther Stadium in Derby. This brought out some of
the area's finest athletes to compete in a football-related atmosphere during
the summer.

The area schools competing in the event were Derby, Goddard, Mulvane, Wichita
Collegiate, Haven, Valley Center, Remington and Wichita West. A team from
Newkirk, Okla. also competed in both events, bringing some out-of-state competition
into the mix.

Derby head coach Brandon Clark came up with the idea for this event a year ago
when he saw high school athletes competing in summer baseball and basketball
and decided to create something for football.

"Anytime they (players) are using a football or doing drills, they are getting better,
having fun and learning to compete," Clark said.

During the Big Uglies Challenge, teams competed in events such as an obstacle course,
Tire Flipping, 5-man sled, Medicine Ball throw, Quarterback throw, Bench (reps), and the final event
Tug of War. The Derby 1 team won the obstacle course and Sled challenges, while Goddard
won the Medicine Ball and Bench challenges. The Tug of War challenge was formatted into a
bracket style contest. Valley Center 1 and Derby 1 met in the championship of the Tug of War
in which the Hornets outlasted Derby to win the event.

"We just had to go 'balls to the wall', our attitude was we had to win," incoming senior Jesse
Ingle said.

The overall team champions were decided after the event scores were tallied. Derby 1 was the
overall champion of the 2009 Big Uglies Challenge, with Goddard and Derby 2 finishing right behind.

"Today was great, very organized and it was great to see how you compare to other linemen," Ingle said.

The 7 on 7 portion of the day began in the morning with pool play consisting of two pools
with four teams. Each game took 25 minutes to play without the clock stopping.
The Bracketology was decided based on each team's performance in pool play.

Entering the championship game of the tournament, Remington and Wichita Collegiate were
both undefeated, creating an anticipated close game. Incoming freshman, Markus Phox, played
quarterback for Collegiate because senior Blake Jablonski attended a camp at Harvard this
week. Phox helped the Spartans take a 13-6 lead with two strikes to the endzone. Remington
started what would be their final offensive series with under 5 minutes to go. Minutes later, the
Broncos squeezed a pass into the endzone attempting to tie with the extra point. The PAT failed
when a Collegiate defender swatted a pass down. They later ran out the clock for the win.

"This event helped us get used to each other and gave us time to work," Phox said.

Phox added that he wants to compete in the event every year and continue to get better.

A total of 35 workers took time to help out and make the event possible this year.
Clark hopes that in the future other schools in the state will want to put on events similar
to the Midwest 7 on 7 & Big Uglies.

"This isn't a moneymaker for us, just a chance for our kids to play football," Clark said.