Football: Elgin’s finest to gather at St Edward

St. Edward’s Greg True Field will be the epicenter of the Elgin football scene tonight.

With summer practices winding down and the start of the high school season just over a month away, the Green Wave is hosting an event that will showcase all four of the city’s football programs plus Streamwood.

Elgin, Larkin, St. Edward and Streamwood will put their varsity teams on display during a round-robin 7-on-7 passing tournament and lineman challenge that starts at 8 p.m.

Prior to the varsity competition, St. Edward’s sophomores will engage in a 7-on-7 game and lineman challenge with the junior varsity squad from Westminster Christian, which is fielding a high school team for the first time this fall. The lower-level event begins at 6:30 p.m.

St. Edward coach Mike Rolando invites all local football fans to come out, grab dinner from the Green Wave booster club’s concession stand and get a preview of what to expect from Elgin’s teams during the 2012 season.

“If I were a high school football fan, this would be a good opportunity to kind of get my fix to hold me over until the season starts Aug. 24,” Rolando said. “A lot of times if you’re an Elgin fan you never get to see Larkin or St. Ed’s because you’re always going to the Elgin game. The same goes for fans of St. Edward and Larkin.

“Everybody probably reads about everybody else in the paper, but you don’t get a chance to get out and see what some of those players at other schools look like. This is just a neat opportunity to see all the local talent on the same stage.”

The varsity 7-on-7 tournament will feature two games at a time being played on 40-yard fields, and each game will have its own announcer.

In between the 7-on-7 games the linemen from each school will engage in various strength tests such as a tire throw and bench press competition. The linemen will also be involved in other events on the track surrounding the field while the 7-on-7 games are in action.

Among the big-name players to keep an eye on at the event are Larkin lineman Alex Schabert, Larkin running back Mo Jackson, Streamwood running back/linebacker Vince Williams, Streamwood lineman A.J. Mitchell, Streamwood defensive back Austin Mugnai and Streamwood receiver Blake Holder, who committed to Northern Illinois earlier this summer.

This marks the second straight year St. Edward is holding a summer football showcase, but it is the first time the event will be made up entirely of local schools.

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