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Guilford Playing in 7-on-7 Football League, Wins First Two Games

It isn’t what any player or coach expected to happen at the beginning of the year, but after the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) canceled the traditional football season, the Guilford High School football team is playing some 7-on-7 non-tackle football games this fall. Head Coach Anthony Salvati’s squad has claimed victory in both games that it’s played thus far, having earned a 49-7 win versus Lyman Hall and a 35-32 triumph against Xavier.

Southern Connecticut Conference Commissioner (SCC) Al Carbone wanted the players in the conference to have an opportunity to play some form of football, even if that meant a non-tackle league. Each team in the SCC discussed the possibility of a season and decided to put together a five-game, 7-on-7 league that features several squads in the conference.

“It’s been different for sure,” said Salvati. “Al Carbone grabbed the bull by the horns with this one, and he asked all the SCC coaches if we wanted to try a 7-on-7 season. All of us looked at it as being better than not having anything at all, so we went through with it, and we’re having fun.”

Guilford played its first game at Lyman Hall on Oct. 9 and routed the Trojans by a 49-7 score. Then on Oct. 14, Guilford hosted Xavier and edged out the Falcons by a 35-32 final at Kavanaugh Field. Guilford has three games remaining on its schedule with contests against Branford, Daniel Hand, and Sheehan during the next two weeks.

Coach Salvati is still hoping that the CIAC’s plan of potentially playing 11-on-11 tackle football sometime during the spring comes to pass. In the meantime, Salvati has been pleased to see quarterback Aedan McDermott connecting with wide receivers fellow senior captain Ian Derda and senior Drew St. Denis to put plenty of points on the scoreboard thus far in this new league.

“Aedan McDermott has been throwing the ball great. He was 23-for-30 against Lyman Hall, and he’s been very sharp for us so far,” Salvati said. “Guys like Ian Derda and Drew St. Denis already have multiple touchdowns, as well, so it’s been good for them to get their reps in. Ultimately, we are looking at this as a preseason to what we hope will be a tackle season in the spring.”

There are quite a few differences in the rules of the game in the 7-on-7 format. It’s still a four-quarter contest, but in addition to the fact that there is no tackling (two-hand touch is used instead), there are also no running plays on offense, no rushing the passer on defense, and no kickoffs or kicks at all on special teams. The players do not wear pads or helmets. Each offense starts its drive at the opposition’s 40-yard line and has four downs to get 20 yards for a first down.

As all of this is going on, there are also lineman challenges that take place during the course of the game that yield points for a team. The challenges include a tug-of-war, a one-man sled push, a five-man sled push, and an obstacle course. The team that wins each challenge earns six points that count toward the overall score.

While everyone on Guilford’s roster would love to play the traditional form of football, Coach Salvati feels that the 7-on-7 league is a good way for his players to stay on the same page as they look toward the possibility of hitting the gridiron again in a few months.

“Any time you can keep the kids motivated and active, whether it’s 11-on-11 or 7-on-7, it’s great,” said Salvati. “It’s certainly better than not doing anything, but we’re all cautiously optimistic that the best is yet to come.”

McDermott is enjoying the experience of competing in the 7-on-7 league, especially since Guilford is off to a 2-0 start. Still, McDermott wants to finish high school career by playing 11-on-11 football come springtime.

“The 7-on-7 league is going well...and we’re confident the success from the first two games will carry over to the rest of the season,” said McDermott, who leads the team with fellow senior captains Derda and Niko Tartagni. “We would much rather be playing 11-on-11 football right now, but this is all they’ve given us for the time being, so we are working with what we have.”

McDermott is staying optimistic that a spring football season will wind up taking place, even if it’s a shortened season that’s squeezed in between the winter and spring campaigns.

“They produced a plan that best suits the players’ and coaches’ safety,” McDermott said. “It’s not a full 10-game season, but a season is a season.”

While the CIAC has plans to play, the final decision about spring football still won’t come for several months. Connecticut is one of many states in the nation that has seen its COVID-19 numbers rise again in recent weeks.

“They’re still going to explore it, but we probably won’t find out until February,” said Salvati. “I would love for it to happen, but there’s still a lot of hurdles to overcome. Numbers are starting to trend up again, but hopefully, we can figure it out.”

Coach Salvati is hoping that his upperclassmen, especially the ones who are considering playing football in college, are able to compete in a tackle league before the school year is finished.

“Any film is better than no film in terms of scouting, but a college coach is going to look at what they’ve done in the regular season during an actual tackle football game,” Salvati said. “It’s tough, because we’ve been playing well, but there’s nothing like playing a real game.”