The T.R. Miller
Tiger football team hosted the LA Air Raid Challenge, a nine-team 7-on-7 tournament, Friday at home.
Joining TRM in the tournament were Pace, Luverne, Straughn Mobile Christian, St. Luke’s, Bayside Academy, Thomasville and Montgomery Catholic.
In four pool play games, TRM went 3-1.
TRM opened with a 22-18 win over Pace before losing to Mobile Christian 38-20. Against Straughn, TRM won 24-14 before getting a late interception against Thomasville to win 18-17.
Bayside Academy took the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament followed by Mobile Christian, TRM, Pace, St. Luke’s, Thomasville, and Straughn. Luverne took the eighth seed and Catholic took the ninth seed. Luverne (No. 8 seed) and Catholic (No. 9 seed) were to meet in a play-in game to determine who would face off against No. 1 seed Bayside Academy.
Weather conditions in the area cancelled games before the single elimination part of the tournament could begin.
TRM assistant coach Mikel Riggs headed up the event and said he thought the day went pretty good despite the rain.
“For a first year event, the LA Air Raid Challenge, went very good,” Riggs said. “You learn a lot any time you try something new and this event was no different.
“We had a total of nine teams, including T.R. Miller, attend the event, with the total number of athletes and coaches just shy of 300.
This event was possible due to the hard work of our T.R. Miller Quarterback Club Volunteers and the amazing sponsors that helped support this event.”
Riggs said each team was able to play four pool plays game in the morning.
“After breaking for lunch, we were unable to continue with tournament play due to the weather conditions,” he said. “Other than those elements that were out of our control, the first annual LA Air Raid Challenge was a success.”
As for the play of the TRM Tigers in the event, Riggs said as a staff, they thought the team played well.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we felt our kids competed and never quit,” he said. “They fought through the heat and played very hard against quality opponents. We are looking forward to the season and seeing how this team develops.”
Riggs said despite the tournament being rained out after lunch, there are plans to put it together next season.
“We received a lot of positive feedback from each team that participated and they plan to come back next year,” he said. “We plan to take what we learned from this event and make it bigger and better in 2016.”