Hundreds of junior football players show off skills at local tournament

LIBERTY, Ohio Ohio (WKBN) – The fourth annual Junior High Passing Tournament was held in Leopard Stadium at Liberty High School on Saturday afternoon.

Organizers said 350 kids participated from 16 different area schools.

“I think people forget what feeds the high school programs are these young guys, and sometimes they get left out,” said Liberty Athletic Director Todd Smith. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for these guys to come out and still get a chance to showcase what they can do and compete against schools they don’t see on their schedule.”

Junior football players played multiple games of 7-on-7 football all Saturday afternoon.

“It’s just different skill levels come at you like lightning speed, so you got to be ready for it,” said Liberty eighth-grader Aaron Barcley. “It’s a fun sport, you get to meet new people every year and just having fun.”

Smith said schools participating were from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“It came down to’ what does anybody do for the junior high?’ We know that the junior high is the future of our program and we need to develop those kids,” said Smith. “Nobody in the area is really doing anything for them.”

Players said the day is a learning experience and a chance to show off their skills to schools they may never play during the season.

“I’m here to win. I’m here to win the whole thing,” said Austintown Fitch eighth-grader Najeh Sam. “You can learn a lot of things about who you are and who everybody else is that’s on your team. You’ll get bigger as a person, and as you start playing the game, you’ll get better. It’s just fun.”

Smith said the tournament has been a success every year since its inauguration. He said the plan is to have the fifth installment of the tournament in Summer 2025 with even more schools.

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