Summer 7v7: Episcopal (BR), Istrouma, Live Oak, Ponchatoula

Nearly two dozen high school kicked off the annual Metro Baton Rouge 7-on-7 League across five different sites in mid-June. Live Oak hosted Episcopal (Baton Rouge), Istrouma and Ponchatoula in the first week of action. Here are a half dozen of the most notable performances, including at least one from each team. <strong>De’Antwon Brown — 6-5, 180 WR — Istrouma (2022)</strong> The Indians’ key draw, star running back [player_tooltip player_id="127859" first="Le’Veon" last="Moss"], wasn’t on hand on the heels of a visit and commitment to Alabama. But a few of his teammates made the most of their opportunities. Coaches eagerly answered who their tall wideout was after a contested catch downfield for a score. The Istrouma staff feels like Brown could eventually prove a steal for a college down the road. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136523" first="Thomas" last="DArmond"] — 6-0, 185 WR — Episcopal (Baton Rouge) (2022)</strong> An underrated slot receiver with more speed and agility than he’s sometimes credited for, DArmond stepped up on both sides of the ball during the morning session, including a big end-zone break-up against one of Ponchatoula’s big pass-catching targets. He’s garnered some well-warranted Group of Five and FCS attention thus far, and, quite frankly, the underrated athlete should receive more. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128246" first="Kody" last="Finley"] — 6-5, 195 WR — Ponchatoula (2022)</strong> The younger brother of LSU-to-Auburn quarterback transfer T.J. Finley does what he always does: Catches everything in his long arms’ reach. [player_tooltip player_id="128246" first="Kody" last="Finley"] likely led all players in receptions by the end of the day, including one deep downfield as he was physically being pulled down by a defensive back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136490" first="TJ" last="Magee"] — 6-0, 185 ATH — Live Oak (2022)</strong> Seven-on-seven isn’t necessarily the run-heavy Eagles’ game, but two-way standout T.J. Magee is one of the athletes who can excel in the format in coverage as a defensive back or catching ball out of the backfield or split out wide. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128660" first="Damontrell" last="Osby"] — 5-10, 175 ATH — Ponchatoula (2022)</strong> The fast, shifty smaller receiver should have a field day this fall to burn opposing defenses who lose track of him in their focus on the Green Wave’s taller weapons. He had a pretty strong day doing exactly that during the 7-on-7 event and also possesses the speed to test teams vertically. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136481" first="Amorion" last="Walker"] — 6-3, 180 ATH — Ponchatoula (2022)</strong> The Notre Dame commitment looked smooth and confident in his routes and tracking the ball on deep routes toward the sideline and showed the speed after a couple of catches to elude defenders for bigger gains.