By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – They made a run at the title.

The Troup Tigers competed in a seven-on-seven passing tournament at Auburn University on Saturday, and they made it all the way to the championship game before falling short.

Troup finished with a 6-1 record, with its only loss coming to Pinson Valley (Ala.) in the championship game.

Troup had the ball at the end with a chance to pull even with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, but it was Pinson Valley hanging on for a 28-20 victory.

Pinson Valley is led by head coach Patrick Nix, the former quarterback for the Auburn Tigers.

His son, Bo Nix, is the quarterback for Pinson Valley, and he had a big day to lead his team to the title.

“We had the ball, and the clock ran out on us,” Troup head coach Tanner Glisson said. “We didn’t have enough time there at the end.”

Still, it was a successful day for the Tigers, who won their pool with a 4-0 record before winning twice in bracket play to reach the championship game.

Troup quarterback Montez Crowe was on target all day, and he was getting the ball to a talented group of receivers.

“It was good competition there,” Glisson said. “There were some good teams. And we competed well.”

Troup spent its time between the Auburn indoor facility and Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“The first half of the day, we played our games in the indoor facility,” Glisson said. “In the bracket play, they moved it to the stadium, so we finished up in the stadium. So that was really good exposure.”

While seven-on-sevens do not directly relate to what will happen during the season, Glisson said Saturday’s performance is a reflection of the strides the program has taken since he took over as head coach in the summer of 2015.

“In the first year that I got here, that July we went up to Georgia for a seven-on-seven, and we couldn’t hardly score a touchdown,” said Glisson, whose team went 8-3 last season and hosted a state-playoff game. “And now, to be able to go compete, and play in the championship game in front of Gus (Malzahn) and his whole staff, that’s good. It’s good publicity for the kids, and good exposure.”

The Tigers are a prolific passing team, which gives them an edge when it comes to seven-on-sevens, which is all about the aerial game.

Sophomore wide receiver Kobe Hudson is one of the area’s most heavily-recruited players, and MaCenta Stafford and Nick Ligon have both returned from injuries to give the Tigers even more depth at the position.

“Now that we’ve got Nick Ligon back, and Stafford, and those kind of guys, we’ve got a lot of depth, so that’s really good for us now,” Glisson said.

Troup will be at Northside-Columbus on Thursday for an 11-on-11 camp, and it will begin official preseason practice next week.

Troup has a preseason game against Harris County on Aug. 10 before playing its regular-season opener on Aug. 17 against Hardaway.