Football season is here, sort of.
Saturday afternoon at Austin Tindall Park, high school players caught passes, eluded defenders and scored touchdowns. But they didn't don pads or helmets.
7-on-7 football is gaining popularity both in Florida and around the country and this weekend as 50 teams from around the state took part in the inaugural adidas 7v7 State Championship. In this version of football, lineman are nonexistent and quarterbacks have four seconds to release the ball to one of six receivers.
Central Florida was well represented with programs like Boone, Bishop Moore, Heritage, Winter Springs and St. Cloud.
Bishop Moore reached the state semifinals last season while relying heavily on the run. 7-on-7 is all about passing.
"It's great for us because teams like to think that our weakness is throwing," rising senior Rayshad Lewis said. "This gives a chance to showcase that we can do both."
Slinging the ball around the field is a huge part of Boone's spread offense, meaning the Braves made little adjustments to be ready for this weekend's format.
"We try to stay within our offense and run the plays that we're going to run on Fridays," Boone coach Andy Johnson said.
Among area teams, the Braves performed best. Boone reached the semifinals to earn a spot in the Southeast region championship in July.
For more from Saturday's 7-on-7 event, click the video link on the right side of this page.