By Thomas Grant Jr.
There was early summer football action at Blythewood High School this past Saturday.
The annual Justin Bethel 7-on-7 Gridiron Classic pitted teams from the Northeast and around the Palmetto State against each other in a series of bracket and tournament games.
Host school Blythewood looked to repeat as champion sponsored by its alumnus and former NFL player. Bethel spoke with every team after their final contest and present checks of $4,000 and $1,000 to the two finalists.
This year saw Wilson and Mauldin reach the championship game. The Tigers edged the Bengals 19-18 while the Mavericks, coached by former Airport head coach and River Bluff assistant Andre Cook, defeated top seed Fairfield Central 27-16.
With the score tied in the final seconds, it came down to a short touchdown pass by Tamaury Echols to Da’Von Bowman to win it for Wilson.
The Classic did feature a first round rematch of the “Battle of the Axe” between Blythewood and archrival Westwood. This time, the Bengals came out on top 21-11 led by quarterback Johnny Collins and wide receivers wide receivers CJ Johnson, Benjamin Norman Hendrix, and Carter Coleman.
Quarterback Carrington Carter and lefthander Josiah Henryhand share reps for Westwood. Tight end Uriah Lofton was a top target.
