Morris hosts three teams in 7-on-7 football competition

MORRIS – With the Independence Day holiday come and gone, it was time Tuesday for another summer tradition.

The Morris football team hosted its first 7-on-7 competition, featuring teams from Plainfield Central, Romeoville and Dwight.

The field was divided in half and each team had two turns of 10 offensive plays and one of five to try and score as often as they could. The only lineman on the field was a center, and there was no contact or running plays. Each team went up against the other three teams.

While it may not have been full-contact football and no official score was kept, it was an opportunity to compete against players from another school.

Both Morris and Dwight had successful seasons last year. Morris went 8-5 and advanced to the Class 5A semifinals for the second straight season before losing to eventual state runner-up Joliet Catholic Academy. Dwight, meanwhile, reached the Class 2A playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Farmington and finishing the season 8-4.

Romeoville had a 4-5 record last year, just one win shy of Class 8A playoff berth and the program’s best win-loss record since 2013, which was also the last time the Spartans made the playoffs. The injury bug bit Plainfield Central hard last season, and the Wildcats finished with 0-9 in coach Robby Carriger’s first season.

Because of injuries, the Wildcats saw freshman Tommy Morrisette start the final two games of the season at quarterback, and he returns this year to lead the team.

“Tommy definitely showed his toughness last year,” Carriger said. “He had to start games where a bunch of our starting offensive line and skill guys were hurt. The maturity he has shown over the last nine months, you wouldn’t know it was the same kid. When we started lifting on Dec. 1, he was the first one there, and he has been a leader of this team ever since, and the guys want to work for him.

The thing about him is that he had never played football before he came in as a freshman last year. He has gotten bigger and stronger, and he is only going to get better."

Carriger also pointed out the promise of senior receivers Stefon Griffin and Torrance Freeman.

“Stefon will also be a cornerback for us, and he is a very fluid player who can make plays on both sides of the ball and will play at the next level. Torrance Freeman will play at receiver and running back, as well as in the defensive backfield. Every program should have 50 Torrance Freemans in it. He holds his teammates accountable, and he does what we ask of him. He’s a great leader for us.

“We’ve had a good turnout this summer. We were pretty senior-heavy last year, so a lot of guys are going to get their chance to play this year, and they are excited about it.”

Romeoville returns Southwest Prairie Conference East Offensive Player of the Year Richard Conley at quarterback, as well as three starting offensive linemen and three starters on defense.

“Getting that fifth win is definitely one of the goals this year,” Romeoville coach Justin Trovato said. “We have built the numbers in the program, and last year we were one win away from the playoffs. The playoffs is the next step. We will have to replace some key players from last year, but we have a lot of talented kids who will be able to step in and perform well.

“On defense, we will be pretty small, but we will be fast. In our conference, being small shouldn’t hurt that much since we are quick. We have been seeing good effort and progress from the guys so far this summer. With technology today, you can film every practice and scrimmage and learn from them. These kids love football, and we want to transfer that love and enthusiasm to Friday nights.”

It was the first time competing at Morris for Dwight, which is a predominantly running team. But coach Luke Standiford hopes that this type of competition will benefit the Trojans, who return eight offensive starters from last year. Key figures returning are senior offensive and defensive linemen Jake Wilkey and Will Anderson; senior running back and linebacker Joey Starks; junior running back and linebacker Ayden Collum; and senior running back and linebacker Evan Cox.

“We were probably 90% running to 10% passing last year,” said Standiford, who has guided the Trojans to playoff appearances the past two seasons. “We would like to be more balanced and get to about 60% running and 40% passing.

“Coming to competitions like this will help us out a lot. We have some teams in the conference that run the spread, so seeing teams like we saw today will help us learn how to defend it. We only have about 200 kids in the school, and these teams are far bigger than that and have athletes that we won’t see. That will help us when the season starts.”

Morris returns several offensive linemen and quarterback Brady Varner, along with a talented group of running backs, which includes seniors Caeden Curran and Keegan Kjellesvik and junior Mick Smith. Curran led the team in rushing last season with 808 yards and nine touchdowns on 164 carries, while Varner threw for about 2,000 yards and had 19 touchdowns.

“I’m super confident coming into this year,” Varner said. “We lost some guys, but we have been having a good summer, and everyone is working well together.

“We’re going to have a good running game. We have a lot of good running backs and a good offensive line. I have been working on my running in the offseason and want to be a threat to run the ball and throw it.”