By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Callaway Cavaliers spent a day in the land of the Bulldogs.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is hosting a handful of seven-on-seven passing tournaments during this summer, and one of them was held on Wednesday on the University of Georgia campus.

Callaway had a handful of games against teams from Georgia and South Carolina, and head coach Pete Wiggins felt it was a valuable experience for his players.

“I was really proud of our kids,” Wiggins said. “We played against some really good opponents. We got to throw against Colquitt County, Norcross, Alpharetta, North Forsyth. Those were some of the schools that we got to throw against. It was really good competition, and I was really proud of our kids. I thought that we played hard throughout the day, and we got a lot better. The competition was high, and it was a great atmosphere at the University of Georgia.”

Wiggins added that “coach Kirby Smart spoke to the kids for about 15 minutes at the beginning, and he was on the field with us throughout the day. So we thought it was a great day. We went up to Athens and got better.”

Junior Demetrius Coleman, who was the starting quarterback during last year’s run to the Class AA semifinals, took all the snaps during Wednesday’s tournament.

Coleman spread the ball around to Callaway’s talented play-makers, including Jacob Freeman, Antinez Blount, Jymere Jones and running back Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby.

“Our kids can get in there and play with anybody, and we don’t shy away from any competition,” said Matt Napier, Callaway’s offensive coordinator. “Our kids, they stepped up and performed really well. The big deal when you go to this stuff is you’re trying to improve your team to get ready for Friday nights, and there’s no doubt in my mind that that was accomplished.”

Beyond the competitive aspects of Wednesday’s tournament, Wiggins said “it’s always a big deal to get to go to a school like Georgia, and perform in front of their coaches. A lot of their players were around the field. It was a big atmosphere. So I think that’s good exposure for our kids.”

Wiggins does, though, believe the tournament will benefit the Cavaliers as they prepare for a new season that begins in August.

“I think the level of competition that was there was really high,” Wiggins said. “So a lot of good stuff took place for us yesterday. It’s all about getting better, and I felt like that we did that.

“I felt like the opponents were really tough, and the reps we got were high quality. So I think we had a great day.”

Callaway will compete in a seven-on-seven tournament at Auburn next week, and one at Georgia Tech the following week.

OF NOTE: For a look at what the Callaway, LaGrange and Troup football teams have going on this summer, check out Saturday’s sports section.