Elmore County participated in the Battle for the County 7-on-7 tournament on Thursday night at the City of Wetumpka Sports Complex against the other four schools in the county. ECHS coach Kyle Caldwell went into the tournament expecting nothing but effort and a competitive spirit from his players.
In that, they succeeded.
“Overall, the competition level, not backing down from any challenges and the effort (Thursday), was outstanding,” Caldwell said. “We had about three or four guys going both ways a lot, and they were banged up a little bit and also just tired. But (there was) no complaining, no whining and just getting the job done.”
With fewer players on the sideline for Elmore County than some of the larger Class 6A schools playing, Caldwell’s main goal as a coach was to come out of the competition with healthy players, as the beginning of official practices with pads is approaching quickly.
“(I was) just glad to get out of there with a really good show,” Caldwell said. “And I thought we played really well at times, but to get out of there healthy is the main thing.”
The Panthers faced off against every team in the county once in round robin, and they won more games than they lost. However, winning games wasn’t necessarily the objective for Caldwell.
“Just do your job and don’t worry about the outcome,” Caldwell said. “If you play with 100% effort and do what you’re supposed to do, then you’re most likely going to have a good outcome. Just controlling what you can control and taking care of each other and again just getting out of there healthy because we start practice soon.”
Elmore County went up against Wetumpka in the semi-finals of bracket play. The Panthers put up a good showing but were ultimately beaten by the home team and reigning Battle for the County champions. Overall, Caldwell and the coaching staff were very pleased by their team’s performance against some stiff competition, even as many players were battling fatigue or lingering injuries.
“Connor Pike had a really good night,” said Caldwell. “I thought Blake Shaw did really well and Seth McGee battled through some fatigue and a hip injury all night and didn’t complain one bit. He just grinded through it.”