Garden State Gridiron Game: Nxt Era Panthers v. Boardwalk Beasts

Despite my strong distain for 7on7, its impact on the sport of football, the culture it is cultivating, and all that surrounds or comes with it, I covered my first 7on7 this weekend on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Prep Redzone produced the Garden State Gridiron tournament, a two-day championship event, hosted at Elizabeth Public School's William's Field and the city's downtown Todd Bowles Stadium. Day 1 of this event was a 10-hour nonstop, gauntlet of a marathon, with games every half-hour, on the half-hour. Nearly 35 U18 teams from as far as Western New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Long Island, as well as local teams alike, fiercely competed against everyone - their competition, the referees, event staff, coaches, spectators, security, and even internally amongst themselves - as nobody was safe.   With a lunch break, I did my best to cover each U18 team that was participating. With as much action as there was, I have decided to release my observations as game performance reports. Unfortunately, not all rosters were made available -neither by teams' managers nor Prep Redzone. As such, I have tried to report with as much fidelity as possible.   Final score: Nxt Era Panthers 30 - Boardwalk Beasts 10   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Nxt Era Panthers</h2>   Although he was listed as a quarterback on the roster, [player_tooltip player_id='1530463' first='Marcus' last='Waitekus'], according to my notes, took a rep at wide receiver. As such, Waitekus appeared to be a body catcher, preferring to pin the ball rather than use his hands.   [player_tooltip player_id='1558859' first='Jathian' last='Dejesus'], who wore jersey #12, misplays balls at times. On on reception he jumped and used his hands - two positive things - but Dejesus did not high point the ball. He sort of jumped and caught it mid-torso, rather than apexing it.   Defensively, the safety in jersey #18 ([player_tooltip player_id='1529978' first='Jadiel' last='Ortega']) has some serious range. Ortega appears to be a true ball hawk. Reading the quarterback's eyes, Ortega covered a tremendous amount of ground, crossing the entirety of the field, picking off a pass and taking it back. Had I not watched him the entire time of this rep, I do not know if anyone would have known where he came from.   One prospect I might have been the most thoroughly impressed with, and who coincidingly had a tremendous presence, was [player_tooltip player_id='2156654' first='Keylin' last='Taylor'] (jersey #5). I absolutely loved Taylor's pad level. This afforded him a great deal of balance. Built like a complete brick house, he directed receivers extremely well and did an outstanding job of getting his body in to position well to defend where he was leveraging and clog passing windows.   Jersey #10 was not listed on the roster; however, this prospect was very consistent in his fundamentals. As many times as I looked his way, he looked the ball into his hands.   Jersey #25 was not listed on the roster made a really nice catch. Not listed on the roster, this prospect made a one-handed, over-the-shoulder reception in the back of the endzone on a flag route. Aside from the pure beauty of it, what made this catch all the more impressive was the little amount of space he did it with due to route he ran.   Jersey #4 not listed on the roster did an excellent job creating for himself. I noticed him dance, high point the ball, and create avenues that only he could wedge open and slide through. Moreover, he extended his arms well to maximize his catch radius.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Boardwalk Beasts</h2>   Unfortunately the roster provided by the Boardwalk Beasts only listed player names and did not have jersey numbers; however, I recorded jersey numbers and corresponding notes for individual player performances.   Jersey #13 showcased some serious extension. Running a post, it was nearly a dangerous play with how much he sprawled out for this one catch. This prospect was also a mismatch for many due to his height. Towering over most, he high pointed the ball with ease.   Clutch players make clutch plays. I watched jersey #1 make a diving catch that was right near the pylon. I do not recall if this was a score, but it was certianly a nice looking play, a play of note.   Jersey #11 has some progress that he needs to make. I thought that this prospect played with poor bad level. As such, he had a hard time changing directions. Additinally, his hips were not all that fluid.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Garden State Gridiron U18 Coverage</h2>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-u18-teams-that-were-the-most">Garden State Gridiron: U18 Teams That Were The Most...</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-nj-dream-chasers-vs-ny-hustle">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: NJ Dream Chasers vs. NY Hustle</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-new-york-hustle-vs-hype-fam">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: New York Hustle vs. Hype Fam</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-hail-mary-vs-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Hail Mary vs. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-report-ny-hustle-v-rock-hoppers-hustle">Garden State Gridiron Report: NY Hustle v. Rock Hoppers (Hustle)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-new-jersey-rated-v-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: New Jersey Rated v. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-litm-superstars-v-black-ops">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: LITM Superstars v. Black Ops</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-32-sports-vs-nj-rated-red/%E2%86%97">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: 32 Sports vs. NJ Rated (Red)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-litm-blue-vs-nj-rated-red">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: LITM (Blue) vs. NJ Rated (Red)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-asg-metro-vs-team-mars">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: ASG Metro vs. Team Mars</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-asg-metro-v-diamond-athletics">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: ASG Metro v. Diamond Athletics</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-next-level-air">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. Next Level Air</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-4th-quarter-elite">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. 4th Quarter Elite</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-ghosts-vs-boardwalk-beasts">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Ghosts vs. Boardwalk Beasts</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-report-camboyz-vs-kingdom-way">Garden State Gridiron Game Report: Camboyz vs. Kingdom Way</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/garden-state-gridiron-game-nxt-era-panthers-v-boardwalk-beasts">Garden State Gridiron Game: Nxt Era Panthers v. Boardwalk Beasts</a>

Despite my strong distain for 7on7, its impact on the sport of football, the culture it is cultivating, and all that surrounds or comes with it, I covered my first 7on7 this weekend on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Prep Redzone produced the Garden State Gridiron tournament, a two-day championship event, hosted at Elizabeth Public School's William's Field and the city's downtown Todd Bowles Stadium. Day 1 of this event was a 10-hour nonstop, gauntlet of a marathon, with games every half-hour, on the half-hour. Nearly 35 U18 teams from as far as Western New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Long Island, as well as local teams alike, fiercely competed against everyone - their competition, the referees, event staff, coaches, spectators, security, and even internally amongst themselves - as nobody was safe.