A new 7-on-7 event in South Florida gave players a chance to strut their stuff and coaches the chance to test their passing game, while allowing high school officials the opportunity to better themselves at the same time. The Battle 4 Broward was held April 21-22, with Cardinal Gibbons and St. Thomas Aquinas serving as host sites. It was the first event of its kind where the players weren’t the only ones hoping to shine.
The 7-on-7 event was coordinated and hosted by the Broward Football Officials Association, which is responsible for assigning game officials to all school-related football games.
Jeff Pratt is in his first year as the association’s coordinator and is himself a high school football official, as well as a college football official. According to Pratt, the primary goal of the event is to provide a competitive environment where game officials can continue to hone their skills.
“Our game officials are just like any other field where they need to get reps in to get better,” Pratt said.
Specifically, the Battle 4 Broward 7-on-7 catered to game officials with 0-5 years of experience, Pratt said.
The idea had been kicked around for the last couple of years, as the officials association’s head of training, Zach Moncilovich, was looking for a way to train game officials in a competitive setting other than an actual regular season game.
“Zach has had this idea for a while,” said Pratt. “After all, that’s his job, to train these officials and make them better.”
Following the state championship games last fall, Moncilovich brought up the idea again with his fellow association directors.
“His idea finally got some traction,” said Pratt.
Pratt and Moncilovich are joined by officials Chris Doval and Brett Brecheisen as Broward Football Officials Association directors. Together they oversaw and coordinated the event. The event was sponsored by the Broward County Athletic Association.
The event included 24 teams, and one big criteria was that all players participating in the Battle 4 Broward 7-on-7 must be enrolled students at the school for which they were playing.
Pratt said it was important to make sure no teams could gain an unfair advantage by bringing in outside players.
The format consisted of six pools of four teams each. Each team played every other in their own pool once, guaranteeing each team three games to start.
The top two teams in each pool then advanced to play for the main championship, which was held on Saturday afternoon. The bottom two teams in each pool played in a single-elimination game on Saturday morning for that championship. Thus, the tournament produced two separate championships.
The two championships were designated as the “754 Championship” and the “954 Championship.” Dillard High, which defeated both Cardinal Gibbons and St. Thomas Aquinas, was the 954 Champion, while Santaluces High School was the 754 Champion. St. Thomas Aquinas was the 954 second-place team, while Wellington finished as the 754 runner-up.
Pratt said the timing of the event was important.
“The spring calendar for Broward County teams will begin on Monday, April 24, so we wanted to host the event on the weekend prior to that week as a way to kick off the spring for the teams,” he said.
Pratt called the event a tremendous success.
“The inaugural Battle 4 Broward was a huge success,” Pratt said. “Everyone got something out of it. The players were able to compete, the coaches got to see how their teams responded to a stressful situation, and the referees got to learn and hone their skills. St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Gibbons were outstanding hosts, and the passion from the participating schools made for a great atmosphere that helped the players and officials in this county get better. We can’t wait for the upcoming football season, and hope to put on another 7-on-7 event in 2024.”
