The number of teams taking part in this year’s Best of the West 7-on-7 continues to grow. Officials announced four more teams Monday that are set to take part in the passing tournament later this summer at Tiebreaker Park and the Stadium of Champions.
Madisonville-North Hopkins finished the 2021 season at 3-8, falling to Logan County in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Maroons return three players that all saw noteworthy time at quarterback last season. Wyatt Coleman, James Davis, and Anias Mitchell. Mitchell figures to see more time at receiver this season, leaving more of the quarterback snaps to Coleman and Davis. Quintin Rodgers is the top returning receiver, having caught 13 passes for 544 yards and six touchdowns.
The Maroons’ crosstown rivals are also headed to this year’s Best of the West. Hopkins Central ended the 2021 season at 6-5, losing to Hopkinsville in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Storm will be looking to replace prolific passer Adrian Stringer, who passed for 2337 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. No other QB on the roster had more than six passing attempts for Central last year. The Storm’s top returning receiver is set to be Logan Rodgers, who had 570 yards and seven touchdowns.
Making their first appearance will be the West Creek Coyotes. West Creek finished 2021 with a record of 2-8. Their wins last year came over Northeast and Whites Creek.
Returning to the Best of the West are the 2019 champs, Pearl Cohn. The Firebirds finished the 2021 season at 11-2. Their season ended in the Tennessee football playoffs with a 21-7 loss to Tullahoma.
The latest teams join the following as ready to take part this summer:
Bowling Green
Gibson Southern
Logan County
Daviess County
Owensboro Catholic
Trigg County
Clarksville
Macon County (TN)
Stratford (TN)
Bullitt East
This year’s Best of the West 7-on-7 is set for July 15 and 16.
