Hillside is Beast of the Hill

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- Led by tournament MVP Jamal Marcus, Durham (N.C.) Hillside went undefeated and won North Carolina’s fourth annual “Beast of the Hill” Seven-on-Seven Passing Tournament.

The tournament was supposed to include 24 high schools. However, the potential for high temperatures forced Alexandria (Va.) Williams and Charlotte (N.C.) West Mecklenburg to pull out of the event, and Four Oaks (N.C.) South Johnston also no-showed likely for the same reason.

Williams informed UNC of its withdrawal Thursday evening, allowing the event planners to compensate by entering two Durham (N.C.) Jordan teams – ‘A’ and ‘B.’ But West Mecklenburg’s and South Johnston’s absence wasn’t discovered until Friday morning, which meant both teams were on the tournament's schedule.

The participating schools were broken into four pods (Orange, Red, Blue, and Green) of six schools. Each school played the five other teams in their pod – with the exception of the pods that included West Mecklenburg and South Johnston, where their opponents were given forfeited victories. At the end of the “round robin,” the team with the best record in each pod advanced to the “Flight 1” single-elimination bracket, while the teams with the second best record in each pod advanced to the “Flight 2” single-elimination bracket.

One team went undefeated in each pod – Raleigh (N.C.) Wakefield, Durham (N.C.) Hillside, Chapel Hill (N.C.) East, and Richmond (N.C.) Hermitage – setting up a very competitive “Flight 1” bracket. Aided by two interceptions, top seeded Hillside edged Hermitage in one of the semifinals, 20-14. The other “Flight 1” semifinal was a battle of arguably the top two quarterbacks in the tournament, Connor Mitch and Drew Davis, with Mitch leading Wakefield to a 26-20 victory.

The “Flight 2” bracket was equally competitive. Both higher seeds won their semifinal contest – Chesapeake (Va.) Western Branch beat Spring Lake, 27-21 and Raleigh (N.C.) Leesville Road defeated Carrboro (N.C.), 25-19.

The competitive theme continued into the finals of both flights. With a couple minutes left in each contest, both were tied. Hillside eventually scored and then shut down Wakefield’s offense to win 27-21. Meanwhile, Leesville – which was led on both sides of the ball by the Berrios brothers, Braxton Berrios and Austin Berrios – and Western Branch exchanged final-minute touchdowns, but Western Branch failed to convert its “extra point” on the final play and lost 21-20.

Individual Awards

MVP: Jamal Marcus (LB, Hillside, '12)
Top Gun (Flight 1): Connor Mitch (QB, Wakefield, '13)
Top Gun (Flight 2): Austin Berrios (QB, Leesville, '12)
Playmaker (Flight 1): Jordan Fieulleteau (WR/CB, Wakefield, '13)
Playmaker (Flight 2): Braxton Berrious (WR/S, Leesville, '14)
Hitmaker (Flight 1): Deshawn Lumpford (Hillside)
Hitmaker (Flight 2): Justin Wellons (DB, Western Branch, '12)
Best Effort: Alex Moore (WR, East Chapel Hill, '12) and D.J. Hunt (RB/LB, Leesville, '12)
Most Inspirational: Quinn Billerman (QB, Ravenscroft, '12) and Derrick Green (RB, Hermitage, '13)
Sportsmanship: Josh Marriner (CB, Western Branch, '12) and Brian Brown (WR/FS, Hermitage, '13)

Orange
	High School	W	L	Pct	PF	PA
1	Raleigh (N.C.) Wakefield	5	0	1.000	107	56
2	Chesapeake (Va.) Western Branch	4	1	.800	92	74
	Burlington (N.C.) Cummings	3	2	.600	54	59
	Henderson (N.C.) Northern Vance	2	3	.400	37	66
	Durham (N.C.) Northern	1	4	.200	37	72
	Four Oaks (N.C.) South Johnston
Red
	High School	W	L	Pct	PF	PA
1	Durham (N.C.) Hillside	5	0	1.000	105	46
2	Carrboro (N.C.)	3	2	.600	67	78
	McLeansville (N.C.) NE Guilford	2	3	.400	81	95
	Woodbridge (Va.) Freedom	2	3	.400	78	54
	Charlotte (N.C.) West	2	3	.400	56	85
	Roxboro (N.C.) Person	1	4	.200	51	80
Blue
	High School	W	L	Pct	PF	PA
1	Chapel Hill (N.C.) East	5	0	1.000	101	60
2	Spring Lake (N.C.) Overhills	3	2	.600	106	72
	Raleigh (N.C.) Ravenscroft	3	2	.600	92	44
	Ramseur (N.C.) Eastern Randolph	2	3	.400	77	84
	Raleigh (N.C.) Wake Christian	2	3	.400	58	69
	Durham (N.C.) Jordan 'B'	0	5	.000	36	141
Green
	High School	W	L	Pct	PF	PA
1	Richmond (Va.) Hermitage	5	0	1.000	80	34
2	Raleigh (N.C.) Leesville Road	4	1	.800	74	53
	Durham (N.C.) Jordan 'A'	3	2	.600	44	50
	Chesapeake (Va.) Great Bridge	2	3	.400	68	56
	Rocky Mount (N.C.) Northern Nash	1	4	.200	19	92
	Charlotte (N.C.) West Mecklenburg

Flight 1 Bracket
Semi-Finals
(1) Hillside 20, (4) Hermitage 14
(3) Wakefield 26, (2) East Chapel Hill 20
Finals
(1) Hillside 27, (3) Wakefield 21

Flight 2 Bracket
Semi-Finals
(1) Western Branch 27, (4) Overhills 21
(2) Leesville Road 25, (3) Carrboro 19
Finals
(2) Leesville Road 21, (1) Western Branch 20