Panthers clawing into competition to gain valuable confidence

The development of the Greenbrier football team has kicked into high gear this summer.

One season into Randy Tribble's new system, the Panthers are gaining strides and confidence as they continue to prepare for the upcoming season. One way is through 7-on-7 tournaments.

Greenbrier's Neal Burcham looks for a pass during last season's game against Conway white. LOG CABIN FILE PHOTO

The Panthers finished second at the Sonic Air Raid a couple of weekends ago and recorded several wins in the Shootout of the South, held this past weekend in Little Rock. That success has helped shape what Tribble hopes will pay dividends in the fall.

"We know 7-on-7 isn't the whole thing, but it's a good measure of where you are, especially in the passing game and pass defense," said Tribble, who is entering his second season as the head man in Greenbrier. "Our kids are getting to compete and play against some good teams. That kind of experience is helping us get better and give us some confidence."

There's also been at least a small amount of surprise along the way, especially with how well the Panthers performed at the Sonic Air Raid.

.story-ad {

width: 310px;

float: left;

margin: 0 10px 10px 0;

padding: 4px;

}

- Advertisement -

OAS_AD('x22');

"Going into the Sonic Air Raid, I couldn't say I thought we'd do that well, but I thought we could compete," Tribble said. "Our quarterback (Neal Burcham) really stepped up. I was proud of how well all the guys battled."

Burcham will most likely add a spark to the offense, which is mainly run out of the spread formation, even though he is only a sophomore. His impact, though, reaches farther than just his position.

"We knew he'd be good, but he exceeded my expectations," Tribble said. "When you've got a quarterback like him, those receivers will just keep working and running their routes like their supposed to. It's got to be encouraging to those receivers, especially since Neal does a good job of getting them the ball."

Still, the work done in the summer may have positive results. But Tribble knows carrying that over into Friday night games is another story.

"I've heard of teams who do well in 7-on-7 but don't have a good season," Tribble said. "I think our kids are going to continue to improve, but we know it doesn't necessarily translates into the fall. It helps, though."

That's particularly true when the opposition is of good caliber especially when that list includes the likes of Fayetteville, Pulaski Academy and others.

"There's nothing like doing it against good competition to improve," Tribble said. "Otherwise, we'd just be doing it against ourselves.

"We're getting better. We're closing the gap. We're getting better because we're playing against these guys."

Obviously, not every game can be won. But there are some victories that are not measured by what the scoreboard says.

"Whenever we lost, we were always in the game," Tribble said. "We've been competitive against everybody we've played. I've been proud of that."

That doesn't mean the goal ever changes.

"We want to win," Tribble said. "Our kids are working hard and continuing to improve and buying into our system. They're starting to see that we can compete against the good teams."

That's the kind of confidence Tribble hopes continues to be instilled in his players. Then when two-a-days roll around and the physical side is added to the equation, things can start to fall into place.

"This is extremely important," Tribble said of the summer work. It's a huge building block."

That's how Tribble wants to build a winning program block by block.