Springwood and Chambers Academy meet again in a 7-on-7 matchup

Published 11:36 am Wednesday, June 28, 2023

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Chambers Academy and Springwood renewed their rivalry in a different fashion on Tuesday as the two faced off in a 7-on-7 matchup. 

Last season, for the first time since 2012, Springwood and Chambers Academy did not face each other on the gridiron. 

Springwood’s numbers last season caused them to move to playing eight man football. Thus, for the time being one of the more storied rivalries in Chambers County was ended. 

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Chambers Academy hosted Springwood and Lee-Scott Academy on Tuesday for 7-0n-7 matchups. 

The scrimmages started at 6 in the afternoon. 

Chambers Academy faced Lee-Scott Academy first. Springwood then faced Lee-Scott Academy. 

Although the end result does not matter towards anything right now, it was still a good opportunity to see Springwood and Chambers Academy play again. 

Springwood’s Head Coach, Joey Burch, was excited for the opportunity to face Chambers Academy again. 

“We really enjoyed it,” Burch said. “Coach [Jason] Allen and I have been talking for a while about how we could compete against each other.” 

Coach Jason Allen downplayed the importance of the rivalry as it pertains to the 7-on-7, but he thought it was a good opportunity for his team to compete and get better. 

“That wasn’t a big deal really to me,” Allen said. “I just thought it was just kinda like a good practice for all of us.

Last season was Burch’s first as the football coach for Springwood. 

So, he did not get to face Chambers Academy. 

Allen had nothing but complimentary things to say about Burch and Springwood’s program. 

“Coach Burch is doing a real good job with their program,” Allen said. “They got some guys that can run and catch. We needed to see somebody differant than ourselves. I though it was good, friendly competition. Everybody got better and nobody got injured. 

The scrimmages were also a good opportunity for both teams to test their conditioning in a game like atmosphere. 

Springwood had less players than both of the other teams so Burch felt like they got gassed towards the end. 

“We got tired because we have fewer players than anybody else,” Burch said. 

Both Springwood and Chambers Academy have their goals set on returning to the state championship this season. 

Allen thought that route running was one of the main improvements his team needed to make. 

Allen felt as though his guys were too quick to be pushed off their routes. 

Burch thought that one of the main improvements he has seen with his team this summer has been their chemistry with each other. 

“We just got chemistry, and we got teamwork and we got leaders,” Burch said. “That’s what it takes to win the championship and that’s what we’ve seen with these guys. Everybody’s showing up.”