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Warren football excited coming off 7-on-7 success

By Jordan Holland 4 min read

VINCENT -- Being competitive, the Warren football team wants to win at everything it does.

So, even though a 7-on-7 tournament doesn't have the highest of stakes, the Warriors were still thrilled to come out on top at their third annual Big Skill Challenge last Saturday.

Warren hosted nine other schools -- Parkersburg South, Waterford, Caldwell, Federal Hocking, Ravenswood, Roane County, Rock Hill, Logan and Beallsville. The Warriors were unbeaten throughout the tournament, capping it off by defeating South in the final.

"It's a great sign for us," said Warren head coach Jimmy Peyton. "Any time you can get your kids out and compete early, different competition, doing what we do, being successful at it -- they came out with a little bit of excitement. Our kids, you don't really have to coach effort as much as you used to. That's a good thing, that's a sign of maturity."

Warren's passing game, led by senior quarterback Jacob Sealey, looked sharp. The Warriors return a lot of talent at the skill positions and that talent was on full display.

"We looked really good," said junior receiver Tanner Pepper. "I was actually surprised. I knew we were going to be good this year, but I didn't know we were going to come and run through the tournament like we did. We played really well. Our guys have been working hard and I think all our hard work has been paying off. It's good to see."

Senior Nick Cressey is one of the top defensive backs in the area, but is continuing to improve at receiver as well.

"We came into it expecting to do good," Cressey said. "We went undefeated, I don't know if I was expecting that, but that was really nice. It was nice to see how our expectations have kind of come into play."

Obviously, it's a big jump from winning 7-on-7s in the summer to winning on Friday nights in the fall, but Warren is putting in the work to make sure the offseason success translates to the regular season.

"We've had 30 to 35 strong every day in the weight room," Peyton said. "They've really bought in. The kids understand it's about time we need to focus on the details. We talk every day, 'the progress we make is about the process we take.' We ask the guys to be process-oriented and they've done a heck of a job so far. The next step for us is just to be able to go out and compete."

The Warriors have gone 4-6 in each of the first two years with Peyton at the helm, but there's a lot of confidence within the program that they'll be able to take the next step this season.

"In my four years here, this is the most excited I've been for a season," Cressey said. "It's the best offseason we've had. I feel like we're looking pretty good."

Waterford was one of the smallest schools at the event, but held its own and competed well.

"We got better as the day went on," said Waterford head coach Eric McCutcheon. "It was a very hot and humid day. I was proud of my guys how they were still running around hard late in the day. Quarterbacks were still making the right reads. That's that mental aspect of the game, even though there's not a rush or anything, making the right reads. That's something we get better at each week."

Fort Frye begins 7-on-7 competition next Friday against Morgan, then again the following Wednesday at Williamstown.

"I like to try to hold off and get some camp under our belts and run through some stuff first before we go out there and start doing 7-on-7s," said Fort Frye head coach Eric Huck.

The Cadets, who advanced to the regional semifinals last year, will be extremely tough again this season despite dealing with low numbers.

"We have 30 kids right now, which is a little bit upsetting to see only 30 kids come out for football this year," Huck said. "It's a tough sport. It's a challenging sport. The good news is out of those 30, we've consistently had 25 or so kids in the weight room all summer. Those guys are working really hard. I think they can accomplish some big things this year."

Marietta, Frontier and Belpre all will be competing in a 7-on-7 tournament Saturday, July 20, at Don Drumm Stadium, while Warren heads to Raceland, Ky., for another tournament.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

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