The 7 on 7 prep football summer season started last Thursday, with Shelbyville hosting area rival Pana. Shelby made it a quick start.

Shelbyville ran out to a big early lead with Caine Cloe directing the offense and Bo Buhrmester coming up with an early interception. Pana was frustrated early, but then found their rhythm. They scored on successive possessions, finishing strong.

The 7 on 7 is a competition between the skilled players. They play without pads, without helmets, no tackling and without any rush. They stop play after a player with the ball is touched. Each offense has a quarterback, running backs and ends with no line. On defense, each team has linebackers and defensive backs, no line.

They each take turns running their offense from the 40-yard line in with four downs to make a first down and work their way toward the goal line. After a touchdown, the offense also tries a 2-point conversion. An interception or failure to make a first down or TD turns the ball over and the other team starts at the 40.

Coach Ross Forlines of Shelbyville laid out the ground rules for the competition.

“We want this to be competitive,” Coach Forlines told both teams. “Push each other, but play smart. We don’t want anyone hurt in June.”

Cloe went 3-for-3 in the Rams first possession, going underneath the defense short two times, once to Buhrmester and once to Levi Pruemer. Cloe then hit Buhrmester deep behind the Pana defense, and he took it on in for the first score. Cloe then connected with Shawn Bly for the extra point conversion.

“We moved the ball extremely well,” Coach Forlines said. “We scored our first three series and Caine (Cloe) looked good. The best thing was that he (QB Cloe) was recognizing what they (Pana) were doing and would go to his second or third receiver. He put the ball on the receivers and made it easy for them to catch balls.”

Pana, which made the playoffs last year, struggled early. They went 4 and out in their first possession.

The Rams got the ball back and Cloe went 5-for-6 passing. Bly caught three of the balls and Nate Holmes one. Bly got them close to the goal line and then Cloe capped the drive with a TD pass to Kyle Helmuth. The points after attempt, a jump ball, was no good.

Pana’s QB Cody McLaughlin connected with Dominick Rice for a first down on their next possession, but a high throw on the next play ended up in the hands of Ram safety Buhrmester. He took off the other way and no one caught him.

On the Rams next possession, Cloe went 4-for-5 before throwing his third TD pass. He hit Holmes for a first down and then a deep out to Pruemer for another first down. Cloe rolled right, then threw across his body back to the left to Pruemer again for another first down. Dylan Sarver was wide open on a flag pattern and he took it to pay dirt. Shelbyville had three TD’s and a pick six and Pana still had nothing to show for their efforts. But, that ended on the next possession, as Pana finally got in sync and they began to score.

Pana scored quickly. McLaughin threw to Nick Spracklin for a first down. Shelby covered the next attempt, but Mac came right back with a TD pass to his #1 receiver Drew Bland. The conversion failed, but they were on the scoreboard. They would score on three of their next four possessions.

“They found success with some of their crossing routes and found some holes in our defense,” Coach Forlines said. “We had changed our defense and some of those mistakes were due to confusion.”

The Rams faltered on their next possession with Cloe going 4 and out, thanks to two dropped balls and a near-interception on a deep ball.