When Hunter Adams and the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs showed up to the Battle for the County 7-on-7 tournament on Thursday night in Wetumpka, they didn’t know what to expect. Nine starters were missing from their usual roster, so the Mustangs were playing with one arm tied behind their back compared to some of the teams.
With nine starters missing and their third-team emergency quarterback taking snaps, coach Adams and the Mustangs weren’t exactly hopeful. The outcome, however, was far better than they imagined.
“I’m pumped out of my mind for the fact that we played our way into the finals,” Adams said. “Especially being nine starters down. If you would have told me that before the tournament coming in, I would have laughed at you.”
Stanhope Elmore played hard throughout the seeding portion of the tournament, beating Holtville and Wetumpka. The wear and tear began to settle in as the night progressed into bracket play.
Samuel Higgs / TPI Stanhope Elmore running back dodges tackles at the Battle for the County 7-on-7 tournament on Thursday.
“In the final game, our mental and physical execution on both sides (of the ball) dipped,” said Adams. “I don’t know, I think it was a product of so many young guys having to play so many snaps and not having the depth, the physical part took a toll on our concentration.”
The Mustangs played especially well in bracket play against Tallassee. With some defensive adjustments tailored to stifling the Tigers’ explosive offensive scheme, Stanhope Elmore was able to pull out a win and make it to the final against county rival Wetumpka.
“(It was a) tremendous turnaround,” Adams said. “The effort was there, the juice was there, the execution was there, that carried us into the finals.”
Going into the finals, the Mustangs were hyped. Chants were volleyed between sidelines, smack-talk was going back and forth on both sides of the ball while coaches tried to quell the emotions before they boiled over. As the game progressed, Stanhope Elmore began to run out of gas.
“The Wetumpka coaches did a great job adjusting,” Adams said. “They gave us something entirely different on defense. We won the first game in pool play, they beat us in the championship game with a really good adjustment. I tip my cap to them on that.”
Despite the loss, the Mustangs came out knowing that they can exceed expectations, even with an arm tied behind their backs.
