Homestead High School was right at home Saturday afternoon at the Colts/Indiana National Guard HSPD 7-on-7 North Regional due to hosting the event for 31 other high school football programs. Not only did they provide great facilities, they provided great play, which lead them to capturing the 2012 North 7-on-7 Regional Championship.
"Today was a great opportunity for our school to host such a great event," Head Coach Chad Zolman of Homestead said, "and to top off the day by winning the event makes it even better."
The Spartans are coming off a 2011 campaign where they bolted to a 10-0 start but fell to Kokomo 44-41 in the second round of sectionals. Despite coming up short last season, the Spartans are poised to get better by using events like the 7-on-7 Tournament.
"Today is all about building continuity with the team and getting our timing together," Coach Zolman said. "We know this isn't 'real' football without the pads, but this is an opportunity to get better as a team."
Even though the Spartans were hosting the tournament, morning pool play did not treat the Spartans well. Homestead went 1-2 in their first three games of the day.
"We got a tough draw today with three other great team," Zolman said. "Even though we started 1-2, we knew our guys still had a chance to make some noise."
Pool B consisted of Homestead, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne North Side, and Valparaiso, which also turned out to be the final four teams in the tournament.
After losing to Valparaiso earlier in the day, Homestead was able to get some revenge and knock off the Vikings 28-14 in the championship game.
"Our guys never quit or gave up today," Zolman said. "We now have an opportunity to represent our half of the state Tuesday night."
With Heritage Christian winning the South Regional Championship last Saturday, Homestead will face the Eagles Tuesday night at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
"We have never been to the Colts complex before and we couldn't be more excited about this opportunity."
The winner of the championship game Tuesday night will represent the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL High School Player Development National 7-on-7 Tournament July 12-15th at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. It is the first time all 32 NFL teams will be participating in the national tournament.
For complete coverage on the championship game Tuesday night, check out Colts.com/MyIndianaFootball.
