Jul 18, 2011

Two Moore teams took home the big trophies Friday night at the 2011 Metro Passing League tournament.

 

In the nine and ten-year-old division, the Moore Panthers beat the Moore Raiders. Last fall the Panthers were Moore’s regular season eight and under Super Bowl champions. The seven-on-seven style of play this summer was new to the team.

 

“We only won one game during league play,” Panthers’ head coach Charles Bellows said. “But tonight they got the hang of it and won,”

 

The Panthers said they would be back next year for another great experience at the passing league.

 

“It was well organized,” Bellows said. “It gave us an opportunity to get reps in before regular season practice.”

 

Jae’dyn Scott was given the MVP trophy for the nine and ten-year-old division. Jae’dyn is the Panther’s running back and defensive end.

 

“It was really fun and exciting,” Jae’dyn said of the tournament. “I got better at catching. Winning the MVP trophy means a lot to me.”

 

Jay’dyn won the award after only playing organized football for two years.

 

“He’s an exceptional athlete,” Coach Bellows said. “Jae’dyn is a rock. I can’t wait to see what he does this season.”

 

Another staple of the Panthers’ team is wide receiver Andre Bellows. His coach described him as a leader and the voice of the team.

 

“The best part was when we won,” Andre said. “We just got together and knew what to do. We ran the plays and listened to our coaches and won.”

 

In the junior high division the Moore West Tigers won against the Bishop McGuiness Celtics.

 

Moore West football head coach Jacob Pennington said the tournament was great, and his team would be back next year too.

 

“This was a learning process,” Pennington said. “We got so much better and that’s the whole purpose of this league.”

 

Kane Greco was named MVP for the junior high division. Greco said he’s glad his coach brought the team to the tournament. As the Tiger’s quarterback, Greco knows the importance of teamwork.

           

“You can’t just play as yourself. You got to play as a team,” he said. “My wide receiver Dunya Rice played an amazing game. He caught three passes this game. He’s my main target.”

 

Tim Wofford organized the tournament for two reasons. It gave the teams an opportunity to play in a great environment and get more repetitions. Also, the tournament served as a fundraiser to help the renovation of Davis Ballpark in south Oklahoma City. The tournament raised $3,733 to go directly to Davis.

 

Wofford said the tournament went smooth. Westmoore wants to make the league and tournament an annual event.

 

“I would like to thank all the players, coaches and parents, and Westmoore of course,” Wofford said. “Without them me and this tournament are nothing.”

 

To make tournament day stand out from league play, Wofford brought in Westmoore alumni and St. Louis Rams tight end Billy Bajema, who signed autographs all evening for the young players.

 

“I wish they had these tournaments when I was a kid,” Bajema said. “I’m envious of them because it looks like so much fun.”

 

Wofford also asked Moore High School alumni DJ Matt Lindsey to DJ in between games. Lindsey DJs at the Palms in Las Vegas and started Internet radio 91 FM.

 

“It’s a nice, refreshing change to be able to come out here and do something like this for the kids,” Lindsey said. “I was joking with Tim that the only reason I was doing this was to steal back the Moore War Trophy and take it back to Moore.”

 

Joe Davis, Governor of the District of Oklahoma Optimist International, was present at the tournament. Davis Ballpark is in the Southwest Region of Optimist International.

 

“Davis is in good hands with Tim and his friends,” Davis said. “This tournament turned out excellent. They did a fantastic job.”