Iowa 7v7's Back to Ballin Team Performances

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend Iowa 7v7's Back to Ballin tournament. It was there where I got to see some real talent from all over the midwest, especially Minnesota. In attendance were multiple Gameface and Potenza teams as well as Minnesota Fit Elite Seven. Here's a little recap of how these teams did:

15U:

MFES: MFES had some impressive wins in pool play to put them at a comfortable 2-1 record. The momentum would continue and they would find themselves upsetting a previously unbeaten Warriors Select squad leading them to face off against Linn-Mar's high school team in the freshman gold championship. Ultimately, MFES' streak would end there. Finishing with a final record of 3-2 and 2nd place in the tournament. Congrats!

Gameface: Another great performance from a fellow MN team in the freshman tournament here. The freshman Gameface team also went 2-1 in pool play with their only loss coming from Warriors Select. Their semi-finals battle would be with Linn-Mar who would end up as champs. Gameface played a great game, but Linn-Mar was just too much.

Potenza: Potenza would end pool play 1-2 and have an opportunity to compete for the silver championship after beating KC's Mongoose. It was there where they'd play N-elite's freshman team. This was one of my favorite games to watch all tournament. It was low-scoring and back and forth all game. Potenza would end up needing a stop on 3rd down to get their offense back out with under a minute to play. They came up short in doing so, however. They'll take runner-up in the silver bracket.

18U:

Gameface: This team was electric all weekend. Of all the teams that played, this team played the best as a team. All tournament both offense and defense were efficient. Even when they were out-athleted this unit could pull out wins. After finishing day 1 undefeated, the momentum continued into day 2. Gameface played "The Show" Dynasty in the semi-finals. Momentum was back and forth for all 25 mins. Gameface's offense looked great but their defense just couldn't get stops. They would lose a great game and end their tournament there. 

Potenza 1: The first of Potenza's 2 18U teams started the tournament a little slower compared to their counterpart. Nonetheless, they'd qualify for the Gold bracket and have the opportunity to win it all come Sunday. Now they came to play. Because they didn't have the greatest record the previous day they would face off against an outstanding N-Elite crew. It seemed like they were leading all game when in the final minutes N-Elite would get the lead and never look back.   

Potenza 2: A quick 3-0 start for this Potenza 18U team would have them feeling good. It wasn't until the semi-finals on day 2 that this team really started competing. Here is where they'd play N-Elite. I thought that this Nebraska Elite team was the most athletic of every team participating in Back to Ballin. Potenza couldn't rely strictly on their athleticism now. It was their defense that would come up strong and hold off N-Elite when the game was close. That wasn't the only nail-bitter this team would play. In the championship, they would try and get done what Gameface couldn't in taking down "The Show" Dynasty. This game was everything you would hope a championship would be. both offenses were unstoppable all game. It really came down to who would end with the ball. In this case, it was The Show. Potenza would lose a tough one 28-21 and finish 2nd place. 

I'm planning on being at the Midwest regional in Des Moines this weekend to watch these teams and more so stay tuned!!