Busy week for Cavaliers

Published 11:50 pm Friday, June 11, 2021

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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

It’s been a whirl-wind few days for the Callaway Cavaliers.

After playing in a seven-on-seven tournament at the University of Georgia on Tuesday, Callaway returned to competition two days later.

The Cavaliers were a part of the Southeast Shootout seven-on-seven tournament on Thursday, and they enjoyed a successful day, posting a 4-1 record while coming up one win short of playing for the championship.

Callaway won its four pool-play games before losing a close one to Trinity Christian in the semifinals.

Trinity Christian lost to East Coweta in the championship game.

The tournament was hosted by LaGrange College head coach Earl Chambers, and games were played at the LaGrange College soccer field, and Callaway Stadium.

“We go to a seven-on-seven to get better, and ultimately for Friday nights,” said Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins. “We did some good things today. We did some bad things. There’s some things you have to look in the mirror and you have to take ownership in, and go back to work tomorrow to be a better player, and a better team.”

During the pool-play portion of the tournament, Callaway beat Harris County, Central-Carroll, Trinity Christian and Banneker.

In a rematch with Trinity Christian on the  turf of Callaway Stadium, Callaway came up just short.

“Our effort was good throughout the day,” Wiggins said. “That’s important. You take the bads, and you get better for them, and you keep moving.”

DeShun Coleman and Hunt McAteer split the snaps at quarterback, and Carlos Billinglsea, Treyonn Tucker and Andrew Locke were among Callaway’s wide receivers who made plays.

On defense, a new-look defensive secondary was put to the test throughout the day.

“We lost a lot of guys from last year (in the secondary),” Wiggins said. “We’ve got two back on defense, Cameron Smith and Jarvis Parks, so there’s a lot of young guys out there. It was a great day for us. The kids were excited, and it was good competition.”

Wiggins was grateful to have a chance to compete in a seven-on-seven tournament in Troup County.

“It was a really good opportunity, and we appreciate coach Chambers for hosting the event,” Wiggins said. “Being close to home was special, and obviously you have the ease of getting to the seven-on-seven. Thanks to coach Chambers. We appreciate the effort today.”

Callaway had a longer road trip on Tuesday when it went to Athens to compete at the University of Georgia.

“I was really proud of our effort against great competition,” Wiggins said. “We wanted our record to be a little bit better, but the effort of our kids throughout the day was high. I feel like we got better. I saw some kids competing for different positions.”