After several days of routes on air and one-on-one drills, The Opening Finals continued in Beaverton, Oregon, on Sunday with the 7-versus-7 tournament and lineman challenge.
This marked our first opportunity to see the four Ohio State defensive commits — safeties Josh Proctor and Jaiden Woodbey, linebacker Teradja Michell and cornerback Sevyn Banks — in action together for Team Vapor Speed, and the future Silver Bullets did not disappoint. Though the squad dropped its first game, they came back strong to go 2-1 in pool play to earn the three seed in the tournament.
- Game 1: Untouchable 19, Vapor Speed 0
- Game 2: Vapor Speed 20, Savage Pro 7
- Game 3: Vapor Speed 20, Alpha Menace 12
In the first game, Vapor Speed's offense was unable to muster together sustained drives. Any pass attempts down the field were either picked off — and returned for a touchdown — or batted incomplete. N.C. State quarterback commit Devin Leary's best option was the check down through his progressions to Jaelen Gill out of the backfield, but that just led to minimal gains down the middle of the field.
Leary's play on the afternoon was, shall I say, inconsistent. Most of his throws were high or behind his receivers, and it left me wondering why Emory Jones didn't get the nod instead at the Elite 11 Finals last month.
TCU commit Justin Rogers received additional reps in the second game, and Vapor Speed's offense finally started to click. Gill cemented the win with a rare carry in a 7-versus-7 game for a touchdown.
The third game started just minutes later, and Banks got things rolling with a near pick-six on the first play of the game. Vapor Speed scored one play later and Banks once again picked off five-star quarterback Matt Corral.
#OhioState commit Sevyn Banks with his second interception this game pic.twitter.com/10mJPNfDMH
— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 3, 2017
Tight end Jeremy Ruckert kept Alpha Menace in the game, though, catching everything thrown his way over the middle. Well, actually, all but one pass, which was picked off by Mitchell on a potential game-tying conversion attempt. An 80-yard touchdown pass from Rogers on the very next play gave Vapor Speed an insurmountable lead and a date with Lunarbeast in the first round of the tournament.
The lineman challenge, meanwhile, was just beginning to ramp up when Tennessee defensive tackle target Greg Emerson suffered a rather gruesome injury. Rushing around the left side of the line, Emerson was forced off balance by Florida offensive guard Delone Scaife and and his foot got caught underneath him. You could hear something snap as he fell to the ground screaming, his foot turned to the side.
Defensive and offensive linemen gather around Greg Emerson as he is loaded up on the stretcher by medical personnel. Greg's mom is here. pic.twitter.com/TeynIi9gYJ
— Danny Parker (@TheDannyParker) July 2, 2017
Thankfully, Emerson reportedly only suffered a dislocated ankle and a fractured fibula, and he could possibly return to action in four to six weeks. It seemed much, much worse as he was carted off the field by paramedics.
With most of the players in shock from what they just saw, event organizers decided to end the lineman about two hours early.
Focus shifted back to the 7-versus-7 tournament as a result, and most of the attention went to Vapor Speed's opening round matchup. Their opponent, Lunarbeast, was led by a talented defensive backfield that included five-star cornerback Patrick Surtain II and four-stars Tyson Campbell and Asante Samuel Jr.
With things finally clicking on both sides of the ball, though, Vapor Speed breezed to a 28-6 win. Cornerback D'shawn Jamison got the scoring started with a pick-six, while fellow Houstonian Jalen Green followed suit just two plays later. A 50-yard touchdown pass from Rogers put Vapor Speed ahead 20-0, and a wheel route from Gill capped the scoring.
#OhioState commit Jaelen Gill with 21 yard TD catch from Devin Leary. pic.twitter.com/19YzbtktQ3
— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 3, 2017
The Opening Finals wrap up on Monday, as champions will be crowned in the lineman challenge and the 7-versus-7 tournament. Vapor Speed gets things started in the double-elimination tournament at 9:30 a.m. PT.
