1st PPP 7 on 7 Recap

written by Troy Ewers

During these crazy times in the world and sports in particular, there has been plenty of talk about how the 2020 football season at high school levels in CA have been placed on hold. Players looking to get to the next level in their careers have been put on the shelves until 2021 unless they decided to transfer out of state to play or graduated a year early to attend college. At the collegiate level, Whether it be playing on a junior college (JuCo) team or on Saturday with ESPN's College Gameday, players are now doing whatever they can to put in the work while gaining exposure. Pierre Whitsey of PierrePierreProductions decided to put a program together so players could compete with other athletes from the Bay Area, while gaining exposure and getting their hands on content at the same time. When putting the 7on7s concept together, Pierre’s vision was to add an element to his media company by covering the event exclusively. The main focus of the event was keeping the players at the forefront, giving them access to highlight tapes and photos, while also having the opportunity to get interviewed by me, all at no cost. 

Wanting to hold his 1st event, Pierre’s mission was solely to display NorCal's top talent while also bringing light under recruited prospects in the local area. Inspired by J.Cole’s Dreamville invitations, Pierre wanted to send players personal invites asking them to show up and show out. Over the course of 2-3 weeks he gathered his Avenger-like team of media assassins and created the 1st event in PierrePierreProductions history. In that team was none other than Pierre (host/photographer), Chris Snellings and Mike Kyle (videographers), Tyler Lewis of PierrePierreProductions (photographer) and myself as an MC and journalist. As a team we were prepared and on the day of, a combination of excitement and anxiety came over us. Between the anticipation of those who would show up, excitement of creating content and feelings of anxiousness knowing the field could possibly be occupied, Pierre was feeling tons of emotion prior to the event as I met up with him in the parking lot of Pioneer High. As the rest of the team showed up, his anxious feelings went away and was now feeling the anticipation and excitement for what was to come.

Before starting the 7on7s, we had players do some warm ups with coaches Jesse Carbajal and Jerron “Bear” Williams. Judging by how well it was starting and how pumped these kids were getting for the rest of the day, you could just tell this was going to be a competitive yet exciting experience. Once warmups were done, the moment we’ve all been waiting for finally happened. 7on7s began, kids started showcasing their talents and cameras began to roll. After the first play of 7s competition, you would’ve thought it was going to be an offensive day with Raymond Price (Menlo-Atherton) and Jermaine Okongo (Piedmont Hills) connecting for a 1 play 40 yard touchdown. The defense quickly silenced that quick start of the offense with plenty of energy and confidence provided by an interception(returned for what would’ve been a TD by A’marion McCoy (Menlo-Atherton) to stop a later drive. If we had to pick a winner for the 7 on 7 portion, the defense got our vote. Offensive players on the other hand, didn't let them have all the fun. Wideouts Jalen Moss (MA), Troy Franklin (MA) and Mickey Stokes (Foothill College) were making catches that honestly would be classified in Sportscenter’s Top Plays any day of the week. On top of that, quarterbacks Aajon Johnson (Foothill College), Demari Davis (Contra Costa College) and Price (MA) were giving out dimes like it was a wishing well. 

Next up was the 3on2/2on2s portion of the event and that's when I hopped on PierrePierreProductions Instagram Live. One of my favorite moments of the event was when players would make a big play, they made sure to chirp at each other real fast and then instantly got back on the line so the opposing player was ready for the next run, maximizing players' reps. Guests from Beast Mode were also present and working with players by giving them tips to improve their games and take away something for future reference. Lastly, the 1on1s segment of the event. It was time for players to implement those tips and have a friendly competition. At times it seemed personal, but that was just the competitive energy hitting its peak. Throughout the whole event competitive energy never got out of hand, players were ready to compete and if anything, the competition made all the players give 110% of what they could bring to the field. 

When the last competition was over, players who wanted to partake in interviews met at the 50-yard line and gave their thoughts on their overall experience. As far as the media team, everyone felt a mutual feeling of joy. Holding this event gave 30 players a reason to gather on a Saturday afternoon to get on the field and play football again. In a time where nothing feels the same, giving these athletes the chance to play football in a fun friendly competition, gave them some form of normalcy. Not only were we happy about being able to provide players with footage such as highlight tapes, photos and interviews, but we were happy to give back to them so they can showcase their talents on social media and for their future coaches. 

After the event was over, our very own Chris Snellings mentions, "It was a great day, people showed out and we’re ready to run it back in October” and come October, that's exactly what they'll do. On October 3rd, another 7on7 will be held and hopefully with an even bigger turnout. With the first event in the books, PierrePierreProductions is proud of the outcome of getting 30 talented players together to come out to Pioneer and display their skills. From inception, that was the goal and that goal has exceeded our expectations above and beyond. These people don’t know what’s coming and quite frankly, this is just the beginning.

Player Highlight:

Player of Day: A’marion McCoy(Menlo-Atherton)

ATH of Day : Eric Stuart(Menlo-Atherton)/Enoch Ampofo(San Leandro)

DB of the Day: Jeremiah Earby(Menlo-Atherton)

WR of the Day: Mickey Stokes/Jalen Moss.