Bureau Valley making strides, places 2nd at Princeton 7 on 7

PRINCETON – Every coach strives to see his team get better than they were the day before, whether if it’s in the heat of the summer season or the middle of the fall grind.

Bureau Valley coach Mat Pistole saw his Storm make improvements in Saturday’s Princeton 7 on 7 from their performance in Wednesday’s Stark County 7 on 7. The Storm won all five games on the day, finishing second behind Du-Pec, who also went 5-0, in a field of 17.

Princeton was third with Dixon and Mercer County rounding out the top five.

“Super happy with the progress we made today and even more proud of our guys for how they competed and how connected they were as a unit,” Pistole said. “Some guys have really stepped up and I’m excited about the progress we showed this week. You can definitely tell the progress that has been made over the last year with these guys and I can’t wait to start ‘real football’ next week at camp.”

The Storm defeated Eureka 2, Mendota, Ottawa, Sandwich and Princeton 2 in their 7 on 7 games.

Princeton went 5-1 in its games, defeating Ottawa, Streator, Eureka 1 and Eureka 2 while losing to Dunlap. Noah LaPorte, a junior end, said it was a good day for the Tigers.

“I thought it went very well, lots of positive things came out of it. Still need some work on things, but that’s expected during the summer, and it’s good to work on it now,” he said. “Loved the competition we went against, and it was very fun overall.”

Mendota placed 11th in the 7 on 7. Trojans coach Keegan Hill said he saw improved timing, rapport and efficiency in his team while seeking to improve on its completion percentage and confidence.

Princeton won the lineman’s challenge on the muscles of Payne Miller, Bennett Williams, Jack May, Cade Odell and Anthony Vujanov.

Sandwich took second followed by Dixon 1, Du Pec 1 and Rockridge to round out the top five. Mendota finished eighth and Bureau Valley did not compete in the lineman’s challenge.