Friday, Jun. 27, 2008

Panthers QBs, Receivers Tuning Up

CHHS Football

By John English

Contributing Writer

The Colleyville Heritage football team had a strong showing in last week’s 7-on-7 tournament as the Panthers took first place in a field of nine teams at the competition.

CHHS offensive coordinator John Furin said he was pretty happy with what he has seen from his team at the tournament and throughout the 7-on-7 season.

"We had a good week," Furin said. "We played in the MGP, which is a little fundraiser thing they put on, and we ended up winning that tournament. There were eight other teams in the competition, so that was good for us."

Furin said his team looked good in a couple of different areas in the competition and said a number of players have stepped up for the Panthers so far.

"I think that our play at wide receiver was very good," Furin said. "A bunch of those guys, like Stan Smith, Brandon DeFrance, Jake Skinner, Kyle Millan and Bryan Head had a really good day. Both of our quarterbacks, Steven Hill and Gavin Valline, both played well also."

Furin said the Panthers will be with only one quarterback at this week’s competition, however.

"This weekend, because Steven’s out of town, Gavin is going to be our quarterback," Furin said. "It is going to be a state-qualifying tournament on Saturday, but we feel pretty good about that."

Furin said the summer has gone pretty much as expected and said he has seen steady improvement from his team throughout.

"We’ve always tried to use the 7-on-7 season to improve on offense and improve our route-running ability," Furin said. "Communication, both verbal and non-verbal, between the quarterback and his receivers is very important, and the ability for the receivers on our offense to find openings or voids in the zone is something we try to work on."

Furin said the 7-on-7 season is the time when starters really start to emerge and said he is seeing that happen.

"This is when we really expect them to do that," Furin said. "If there’s something there that we haven’t seen, it’s time for them to show it ... but we are still looking, and we are always evaluating."

Colleyville Heritage will compete in a state-qualifying competition at Arlington Bowie on Saturday.