Updated: Big Blue 7-on-7 Football Advances to Championship Round

Swampscott’s Big Blue football team joins 23 other finalists in the Under Armour Northeast 7v7 New England Championships beginning at 4 p.m. at Bishop Fenwick High SchoolTuesday.

The finalists emerged from 90 schools from throughout the six-state region that participated in North, South, and East Regional competitions played throughout July.  Swampscott High coach Steve Dembowski organizes the tournament and has witnessed its tremendous growth during it ten year history.  The tournament really took off, however, in 2011 when sports apparel giant Under Armour signed on as principal sponsor.

“Under Armour brings so much to the table, and we elevated the tournament to match their expectations,” said Dembowksi.   “The opportunities for New England High School athletes to get involved in 7 on 7 football have increased but, ours is in a class by itself.  We are host three Regional Tournaments with 40 teams at each location. (Some schools participate in more than one Region).  All teams are guaranteed a minimum of four games, with the finalists at each location advancing to the New England Championships.”

Under Armour provides every player with two compression t-shirts and a pair of black shorts that serve as the official game uniforms.  Coaches are also provided an Under Armour shirt. 

The fast-paced 24-minute running-time games are played on a 40-yard gridiron with teams of 7 players each. Two sanctioned referees enforce the game’s unique rules, including the four-second time limit in which a quarterback must release his pass or be deemed “sacked.”  The offense has 20 seconds to snap the ball once it is spotted after a play.  The games involve no running plays, blocking or tackling; plays are stopped when a receiver is single-hand tagged by an opponent.

Offensive teams can achieve a first down by reaching the 25 yard line in three plays, and another first down at the 10 yard line. A touchdown scores six points, with one point added for a conversion from the five yard line or two points if the conversion succeeds from the 10-yard line.  

“The tournament is a great way for New England high schools to get teams together in the summer to compete,” explained coach Dembowski.  “Players get to work on team concepts, and coaches get to see their young players develop.  And everyone has a blast!”

While the regional tournaments were formed in five-team round robin competition, with the top two teams advancing, Tuesday’s championships will feature six four-team pools seeded according to wins and points scored in their regional games.  The top two teams from each pool will advance and be re-seeded.  The top four teams receive a bye into the quarterfinals, and then single elimination games will determine the champion.  

Swampscott won the tournament in 2011, but has its work cut out for it in the highly-competitive championship round.  “I’m happy for our players that they earned their way into the Championship with a strong showing in the North Regional,” said coach Dembowski.  “More important, though, these repetitions add valuable experience against top notch competition so at this point, this is all a bonus.”

Tuesday, Swampscott faces Monadnock at 4:30, Manchester West at 5:30, and Methuen at 6 p.m.  Any further play will depend on their success in the pool round.

Schools vying for the championshipTuesday are South champion St. Paul’s of Connecticut, South finalist Mansfield, East champion Reading, East finalist Chelmsford, New Hamphire entries Exeter, Lebananon, Winnacunnet, Memorial, Mondadnock, St. Thomas, Concord, Portsmouth, and Manchester West; Maine entries from York and Falmouth; and Massachusetts schools St. John’s Prep, Winthrop, Methuen, Lynn English, Swampscott, Haverhill, Tewksbury, Greater Lawrence, and Bishop Fenwick.

Bishop Fenwick High School is located at 99 Margin Street, Peabody.