PEABODY — One of the annual events of summer that signifies the beginning of the fall high school football season will take place this weekend at Bishop Fenwick when the Under Armour Northeast 7 v 7 New England East Regional Football Series rolls into town.
Among the 40 teams who will be competing in the East Regional this Saturday are the host school and Lynnfield, which will be tested, having drawn one of the tougher brackets. The Pioneers open against Winthrop at 10, then take on Burlington at 11:30, Beverly at 1 and Lowell at 2:30. Lynnfield’s pool play games will played on Field 8.
Classical will play in pool 6, taking on Wilmington at 10, Arlington Catholic at 11, Watertown at 12:30 and Haverhill at 2. English plays next door in pool 7, taking on Wakefield at 10, Mystic Valley at 11, Newburyport at 12:30 and Billerica at 2. Swampscott plays in pool 3, taking on Northeast Metro at 10, Edward Little of Maine at 11, Masconomet at 12:30 and Malden at 2.
Fenwick opens up against Revere at 10, then plays Chicopee Comprehensive at 11, Groton-Dunstable at 1 and Buckingham, Browne and Nichols at 2:30. at 12:30. Crusaders’ pool play games will be played on Field 2.
In last year’s East Regional, won by Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), Fenwick went 3-1 in pool play. The Crusaders defeated Triton 20-7 in round one, then knocked off Edward Little 13-12 in round two. They clinched a spot in the Sweet 16 with a 20-13 win over Revere, then dropped their final game to Haverhill, 22-7.
In the elimination bracket, Fenwick was eliminated by Milton.
Like Fenwick, Lynnfield also posted a 3-1 record in pool play, but it wasn’t easy. The Pioneers won their first two games in nail biters, beating Billerica 7-6 and Malden, 22-21. They fell to Watertown, 20-12 in round three, then regrouped with a 19-6 victory over Gloucester to earn the top seed out of Pool B. They beat Pingree in the round of 16, but fell to Milton in the quarterfinals.
The event was formerly known as the Swampscott/Lynnfield 7v7 Shootout. As that event’s popularity increased, the tournament expanded in 2011 with the addition of a second regional site and a new sponsor in Under Armour. The following year, the South regional event was added.
The tournament format is typical of most 7v7 tournaments in that games are limited to 24 minutes of running time and are played on a 40-yard field with each team getting three downs and just two first downs per possession to reach the end zone. Every play from scrimmage must be a pass and quarterbacks are given a maximum of four seconds to unload the ball before the down is forfeited.
Teams play in a five-team round-robin format with the top two teams from each group advancing to the 16-team playoffs where the format switches to single elimination.
Eight fields are in simultaneous use, with every game starting and stopping at the same time.
Pool play begins at 10 a.m. with the final round of games scheduled for 2:30 p.m., making it a long day for those teams surviving and moving on to the championship’s elimination rounds, which are scheduled to begin at approximately 3 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.
The winners and finalists from the three regional sites qualify for the New England championship. In addition to the six automatic qualifiers, four wild card teams also qualify to fill out the 10-team field.
Thanks to Under Armour’s sponsorship, each participating player goes home a winner with approximately $75 of Under Armour gear.
For complete game schedules, go to www.northeast7v7.com.
