something we've got to work on. That's something we've got to get better at. And it's just going to be a driving force for us the rest of the summer."
The tournament continued on Saturday. Results were not available at presstime.
In the final game against Tuttle, Siloam Springs quarterback Taylor Pool threw touchdown passes to Tate Criner, Chase Mills and Oren Stafford. Pool also completed a two-point conversion to Tanner Broyles earlier in the game.
The Panthers trailed 21-20 with 41 seconds left after the team's third defensive stand of the game, with each defensive stand earning two points. Interceptions were worth three points.
After throwing an incomplete pass, Pool hit Stafford on a crossing route across the field and he went untouched for the go-ahead score.
The Siloam Springs defense held Tuttle out of the end zone as time expired, including Elijah Coffey knocking down a pass on the final play.
"Tate Criner, Oren Stafford, Ransom Van Asche, those guys have had unbelievable summers," Craig said. "They've worked extremely hard. Their route running has improved. Their catching of the ball has improved. They've just done a great job for us.
"I thought Keegan Soucie had a really great day on defense. Elijah Coffey did some nice things on defense. Just still trying to get everybody in the right spot, but overall I thought they did a nice job."
Craig reminded the Panthers that 7 on7 events are nice for what they are, but they aren't a true reflection of what football is.
"You don't win a state title out here playing 7 on 7 in shorts and a T-shirt," he said. "But what you do is you work on your offensive sets. You work on your plays. You work on your systems and you want to see your kids compete. There's going to be times where you're overmatched, but the whole thing comes back to competing as hard as you can. As a coach I can look out there and go, OK, we're competing our rears off and we got beat. I can live with that. But if we go out there and make excuses and lay around I struggle with that."
Sports on 07/14/2019