THOMASVILLE — The Tigers were the last team off the field Monday night after dropping all three of their 7-on-7 contests against Linden, Leroy and host team Thomasville Monday.

“We didn’t have good effort today. There was no concentration,” Demopolis head coach Tom Causey said following the competition. “It was like pulling teeth to get our guys to play today. I don’t know where we were mentally.”

Demopolis was playing without starting cornerback Darryl Moore, who missed the trip due to a knee injury. However, Causey believes the absence provided little excuse for his defense’s lack of intensity.

“We ought to have somebody step up and fill his shoes,” Causey said.

Conversely, Linden left the field at a quickened pace after picking up victories in over Leroy and Demopolis. Despite the wins, Patriot head coach Andro Williams lacked excitement following the competition.

“We don’t put a whole lot of stock in this stuff. This ain’t nothing but basketball on grass,” Williams said of the non-physical nature of the 7-on-7 competitions.

Williams said he made the trip to Thomasville in hopes of guaging his team’s conditioning and awareness.

“I think they played hard,” he said of his team. “We realized we need to work on our conditioning more. We’ve got a few skill players having to go both ways.”

As for his team’s awareness, Williams reported a handful of defensive miscues he and his staff will look to rectify over the next few weeks as the season approaches.

“We had a couple of busted assignments defensively,” Williams said. “But I was satisfied with the effort.”

Williams also reported finding consistency in his offense’s passing attack.

“(Quarterback) Ajalon (Bruno) threw the ball with a little better foucs,” Williams said.

Both squads boast run-based offenses while relying heavily on the on the front seven to anchor their defensive efforts. The nature of the pass-heavy 7-on-7 competitions do little to play to those strengths. Still, Causey was concerned with what he considered a lack of focus by his team as it heads into its own 7-on-7 competition today.

“We’ve got to come back and have a better attitude,” Causey said. “We’re playing good folks.”

The Demopolis head man said he believes his team’s fight for focus begins with the coaching staff.

“It all starts with us as coaches. We’ve got to do a better job of getting them into the flow quicker,” Causey said. “We average three possessions per game. If we’re scoring one touchdown and they’re scoring three, it’s over.”

The Tigers will host their 7-on-7 competition today, welcoming Sweet Water, American Christian Academy, Pickens County, Choctaw County, and Livingston to Memorial Stadium. Games will start every 30 minutes from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.