By Aaron Valdez
With summer just clearing its halfway point, 24 high school football teams honed their skills and chemistry at the San Gabriel Valley Shootout 7on7 Passing League Tournament hosted by Arroyo High School on Saturday.
Players, coaches and fans alike gathered to catch a glimpse of what their teams and rivals have to offer come season time in the fall. The 24 teams were split into six pools of four, competing in a round robin within their respective pool. Depending on the results in pool play, the top 16 teams qualified for bracket play and were seeded accordingly.
Because of the scorching conditions, Arroyo Head Coach and event coordinator Jim Singiser bumped the start time to 8 a.m. rather than the usual 9 a.m.
Both Pasadena and Muir High School made their way down to El Monte looking to make their mark and prepare for another tough season in the Pacific League.
The Mustangs fared a tad better than their cross-town rivals, defeating Workman 15-6 and Baldwin Park 12-6 while tying Los Altos 15-15. On the other hand, the Bulldogs of Pasadena jumped out to a good start by winning their first game against Rosemead 18-12 but drew Montebello 15-15 and fell to Northview 21-6.
Muir moved on to bracket play as the No. 5 seed while Pasadena qualified as the No. 10 seed.
Muir throttled No. 12 Bonita in the opening round but came up short against Pacific League rival and eventual winner Arcadia. Pasadena wasn’t as fortunate as the Bulldogs fell to No. 7 Los Altos, who ended up taking third place.
