Are you ready for some football?
Prep passing tournament, linemen competition at Legends Stadium today
High school football season is nearly two months away, but anxious Flathead Valley football fans can get an early gridiron fix today at the 7-on-7 Passing Tournament and Valley of the Hogs Linemen Competition at Legends Stadium.
Flathead High School was host to its first passing tournament last year. Eight varsity teams and four junior varsity squads participated in the inaugural event and Braves head coach Grady Bennett said today's tournament will be similar, except the offensive and defensive lines will be too busy to watch passes fly from the sidelines.
Linemen are usually left out of passing tournaments because there is no blocking or tackling involved, but they will compete as four-member teams in seven events today. The hogs will test their strength, balance, agility, quickness and stamina with events such as the sled push, bench press, truck push, tug-o-war, tire-flip relay and obstacle course. The linemen will finish with a mystery event, which Bennett and his staff concocted this week.
Bennett and new Flathead defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Arron Deck designed a competition for linemen because linemen are often overlooked by fans and bored during passing tournaments.
The big guys in the trenches get their chance to shine today, but Flathead's linemen weren't thrilled when Bennett told them about the competition.
"So far, they're just looking at it like 'here we go, another day,'" Bennett said.
But Bennet believes the competition will benefit and entertain the linemen - even if they don't believe him yet. Campers at Flathead Brave Football Camp tested the obstacle course this week and the course was a big hit.
"Instead of just doing the mundane drill work, you actually get to compete," Bennett said.
Bennett said the events will showcase a variety of the skills needed for line play because some events favor powerful athletes with brute strength, while some require greater speed and dexterity.
Several outstanding linemen will compete, including Flathead's Dan Ogden and Bob Hickey. Ogden (6-foot-1, 255 pounds) will play some fullback for Flathead this fall, but he is participating in the linemen competition rather than the passing tournament. Ogden has already been offered a scholarship by Montana State and Hickey (6-5, 290) is being heavily recruited as well.
The passing tournament features varsity teams from Browning, Cut Bank, Libby, Whitefish and Flathead and junior varsity teams from Flathead, Ronan, Whitefish and Browning.
Varsity teams in the lineman competition are Browning, Ronan, Libby, Cut Bank and Flathead, while junior varsity squads from Browning, Ronan and Flathead will compete.
As the only Class AA program at Legends Stadium, Flathead will feature two varsity teams in the passing tournament and linemen competition. Flathead 1 is comprised mostly of seniors while Flathead 2 is primarily juniors.
The passing tournament and lineman competition begin at 9 a.m. and will last well into the afternoon. Admission is $1 for students, $2 for adults and $5 for families. Concessions will be available all day.