FOOTBALL: IT'S TOO GOOD TO PASS UP NIKE TOURNAMENT FEATURES TOP OFFENSES.Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer The Nike 7-on-7 passing tournament will have a little less flash and more of a focus on substance today at Long Beach City College. The area's most prestigious passing tournament since it began four years ago, the Nike 7-on-7 always has been about getting the biggest names and top prospects. Last year, the tournament even flew in top-rated quarterback Mitch Mustain Mitchell Mustain (born February 27, 1988 in Springdale, Arkansas, U.S.) is an American college football quarterback at the University of Southern California (USC). Mustain played his freshman year of college at the University of Arkansas in 2006 before transferring to USC in 2007. and his high school team from Arkansas. But the best players and most prominent schools don't always make for the most exciting passing competition. Some high school teams are built around the pass, and some just aren't. This year's lineup shows an obvious change in philosophy. The eight who received special invites are Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , Edison of Huntington Beach Huntington Beach, city (1990 pop. 181,519), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast, across from Santa Catalina Island, in an oil-producing area; inc. 1909. It manufactures aerospace vehicles, aircraft parts, optical instruments, and heat transfer equipment. , Hart of Newhall, Mission Viejo Mission Vi·e·jo A community of southern California southeast of Irvine. It is mainly residential. Population: 96,300. , Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, Valencia and Verbum Dei of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Play begins at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium Veterans Memorial Stadium is the name of several different facilities:
Only Oaks Christian won a division title last season, and that was Div. XI. Four division champions played in the event last year. Long Beach Poly and Oaks Christian, with Notre Dame-bound quarterback Jimmy Clausen James Richard "Jimmy" Clausen (born September 21, 1987, in Thousand Oaks, California[3]) is an American football player. He is a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame. , are the two schools that meet the previous tournament standard of being filled with top college prospects. ``There's a lot of prestige in having these big-time players,'' said Greg Biggins of Student Sports, who coordinates the event. ``At the same time, we're calling it a passing championship. If we have teams that (struggle) in passing tournaments, it doesn't look as good as taking a team like Culver City, who no one knows about but has done well in summer tournaments.'' If looked at for passing-league achievement, this tournment is an all-star assembly of teams. Culver City won the Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. tournament, Edison won the Dana Hills of Dana Point tournament, Verbum Dei won the L.A. Watts Games, Oaks Christian won the Saugus tournament, Valencia won the Bonita Bonita (Spanish and Portuguese for "beautiful") is the name of:
``They are teams that have been successful this summer,'' Hart coach Mike Herrington said. ``A lot of tournament champions there. We've faced a lot of these teams already, but this tournament carries a little extra prestige because it's eight teams by invitation only.'' Biggins said he waited longer on the final invites than ever in order to see how the teams performed this summer. He could have had a marquee program like defending Div. IV champion St. Bonaventure of Ventura, but said he couldn't justify taking a team knocked off in the quarterfinals of the Bonita tournament over Valencia, the team that won the title. One team that Biggins wanted that won a title last season and has done well in passing tournaments was defending Div. II champion Canyon of Canyon Country. However, there was an issue in getting the best phone number to reach Canyon coach Harry Welch, and by the time Welch called back the teams were set. matthew.kredell@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Oaks Christian's Jimmy Clausen, who has committed to Notre Dame, highlights today's Nike 7-on-7 passing tournament. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News Box: NIKE 7-ON-7 PASSING TOURNAMENT |
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