The third annual Panther Invitational Youth 7 on 7 Tournament was held Saturday at Panther Stadium on the campus of Siloam Springs High School.
The tournament featured 14 teams, including three from Siloam Springs, in two age groups -- a fourth/fifth grade division and a sixth grade division.
"This is the third year that I have hosted this tournament," said event organizer Branson Hall, "and was by far the biggest and most successful I have had. I want to thank all volunteers who came out and worked in the heat all day to make this possible. We had several high school and junior high football players there working hard all day long on the field as referees, time keepers, etc. The volunteers kept things moving in the right direction all day long around the stadium and in the concession stand. I could not have done it without them.
"I also want to thank the Siloam Springs Athletic Department for their support. We moved the tournament this year to the new Panther Stadium. This was a great way to show off the facility. We had dozens of compliments on how nice the stadium is. Also want to recognize coach Bryan Ross for his support of the tournament. I would also like to thank Tracy Billingsley and the Evan Thomas Foundation. Tracy supplied us with wrist bands for all coaches for the tournament. We were able to recognize the foundation several times throughout the day on Saturday to bring more awareness to the foundation."
All proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Siloam Springs Football Booster Club, Hall said.
All three Siloam Springs teams moved deep into the tournament, Hall said. Hall coached the sixth-grade team along with assistant coaches Marc Norberg, Marco Salcedo, Aaron Womack and Tyler Burke. Don Clark coached the fifth-graders, while Brandon Thurman coached the fourth-graders.
The Springdale Wildcats led by coach Haden Gilder took home the trophy for each age division with their fifth- and sixth-grade teams. The MVPs for the two age groups were Keegan Leeman, quarterback for Springdale fifth grade, and Colt Owenby, quarterback for the Greenwood sixth-grade team.
"This is something that takes a lot of work and requires a lot of people willing to volunteer their time and energy," Hall said. "The benefit for the boys is well worth the effort. There are very few tournaments in the country that provide this level of competition for this age boys. We had some of the best youth football players in the state here on Saturday."
Sports on 07/29/2015