By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Tanner Morgan will be spending the weekend doing what he loves to do – firing passes to his Ryle football teammates.
Ryle is one of 22 high school teams from seven states that will compete in the Southeastern 7-on-7 Championship on Friday and Saturday in Dalton, Ga. They’ll be playing games where passing is the only way an offensive team with seven players can advance the ball against a defensive team with seven players.
Morgan is a senior quarterback who has passed for 7,664 yards during his high school career, so you know he’s glad to be taking part in the pre-season event.
“It’s passing all day, Morgan said. “What could be better than that? I’m excited to go down there and sling it against some of the best.”
Most of the teams in the 7-on-7 tournament are from Georgia and the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. High school football is serious business in those states so the competition this weekend should be pretty intense.
In a 7-on-7 game, each possession starts at the 40-yard line and a quarterback must release the ball within four seconds. A receiver is down when an opposing player touches him with one hand below the neck.
A team can get a first down at the 20-yard line, but the only way to score a touchdown is on a pass play. Points are also awarded to a defensive unit that intercepts a pass or forces a turnover on downs.
“It’s going to be a really nice test for us to see where we stand and how we compete with those other teams,” Morgan said. “There’s going to be a lot of good players down there, a lot of 5-star (college) recruits, so it’s going to be very beneficial for us to go down there and see what we can do.”
Morgan was recruited by Western Michigan University because of his passing skills. If he throws for more than 2,400 yards this season, he’ll become one of the few Kentucky high school quarterbacks to surpass the 10,000 mark in his career.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback has been listed among the leading candidates for Mr. Kentucky Football going into the 2016 season that begins on Aug. 19.
“That’s a good feeling,” Morgan said. “But, for me, to chase an individual award is not important at all. What I’m really focused on is trying to win a state championship for Ryle. Being named Mr. Football would be cool, but I’m not worried about that at all.”
Last year, Ryle lost in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs and finished with a 9-3 record. The Raiders have seven offensive and six defensive starters returning from that team, according to coach Mike Engler.
“We have 16 seniors and they’re a great group,” Engler said. “Their leadership has been unbelievable. They want to go out winners and I think they’ve got a chance.”
N. Ky. football teams playing in Crosstown Showdown games
Four games involving Northern Kentucky high school football teams are on the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown schedule for the upcoming season.
The 19th annual high school football showcase that includes teams from around the area begins Friday, Aug. 19 with Walton-Verona at Lloyd at 7 p.m. and Campbell County at East Central (Ind.) at 7:30 p.m.
Covington Catholic will take on Oak Hills (Ohio) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25 at Mount St. Joseph University. The fourth game is Newport Central Catholic at Cooper at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the participating schools. For a complete schedule of the 19 games that are part of this year’s Showdown, go to http://skylinecrosstownshowdown.com.
Ryle golfer among top scorers in N. Ky. Men’s Amateur
Ryle junior Ryan Clements, the medalist in last year’s Region 7 boys’ golf tournament, tied for eighth place in the Northern Kentucky Men’s Amateur that was played this week at Traditions Golf Club in Boone County.
After shooting even par 72 in the first two rounds, Clements carded an 81 in the final round on Wednesday. He was the youngest golfer among the top 10 finishers in the tournament, which included some of the top amateurs from courses in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.
The 2016 Kentucky high school golf season opens on July 29 with Clements as the defending Region 7 champion. He is one of three returning golfers on the Ryle team that won last year’s regional team title by 16 strokes.