After a year off due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Tournament hosted by Shiloh Christian gets back to business Wednesday.
The 20-team event will take place Wednesday and Thursday at Shiloh Christian and Fayetteville High fields. There are 16 squads from Arkansas, three from Oklahoma and one from Missouri.
Play begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and continues through 10:30 p.m.
“It’s a great opportunity with some solid football programs, and any time you can sharpen yourself with competition in this area, it turns out to be a positive in the fall,” Shiloh Christian head coach Jeff Conaway said.
The tournament comes right after the dead week in Arkansas when high school players are prohibited from working out with their teammates at school facilities.
“It is one of those tournaments after the dead week that really gets everybody back into the football swing of things and it really forces everybody participating to get their stuff in gear because it is time to compete," Conaway said. "I think that is a good thing in July. The season is just really around the corner after this.”
Some of the headlining players include Shiloh Christian linebacker Kaden Henley (Arkansas commit), the Fayetteville duo of wide receiver Isaiah Sategna (Oregon) and Kaiden Turner (Indiana), and Bentonville receiver Chas Nimrod, who has an offer from Aransas and several Power 5 schools.
Some of the top quarterbacks slated to participate are Little Rock Christian sophomore Walker White, Shiloh Christian junior Eli Wisdom and Tulsa Victory Christian senior Triton Chandler.
Pool A
Alma
Bentonville
Charleston
Harrisburg
Fayetteville
Heritage Hall (Okla.)
Little Rock Christian
Ozark
Shiloh Christian
Tulsa (Okla.) Victory Christian
Pool B
Baptist Prep
Fayetteville
Glendale (Mo.)
Green Forest
Greenwood
Springdale Har-Ber
Rogers
Russellville
Stillwater (Okla.)
Van Buren