The Central and Bowdon high school football squads got to put on an air show at Warren P. Sewell Field on Tuesday evening, as Lion quarterback Elijah Adamiak and Red Devil signal-caller Avery Cheeks dueled it out for the better part of the night in 7-on-7 action.

Bowdon, fresh off its showing at the Jacksonville State team camp last week, got to play 20 games prior to Tuesday, while this was the first taste of 7-on-7 for Central this summer.

“We did a lot of good things, but we did a lot of things not so well,” noted Central coach Mike Ledford. “But I have no doubt in my mind that they’ll correct it. We’ll get it right.”

Ledford and Bowdon coach Dwight Hochstetler both enjoyed the opportunity to be out on the field doing some hands-on coaching in this relaxed format rather than just throwing the guys on the field and playing.

“I thought we had a good day,” Hochstetler said. “When we go against Central, it’s more of a coaching type of 7-on-7 than it is line up and see who can win and who beats who. So I thought we got a lot accomplished (Tuesday). We made a lot of mistakes, but we were able to coach and correct.”

Both coaches also had high praise for one another’s teams, with Bowdon being considered a preseason Region 6-A favorite by many and Central looking to build on last year’s playoff momentum.

Hochstetler was impressed with how far Adamiak has come heading into his senior season, saying he expects the talented quarterback to have another strong campaign.

“He handles himself well,” Hochstetler said. “He’s got a good arm and I was impressed with his feetwork. He had a good year last year, so I would imagine he’s going to have a good one this year.”

As for his own senior signal-caller, Hochstetler said Cheeks will have to be the leader of a young squad, in terms of players at the skilled spots offensively.

“I saw a lot of positive things out here. We’re still young,” Hochstetler said. “Of course, we’ve got Avery, our senior, in the backfield. The kids that we’re going to have out there when we’re throwing, they’re going to be young. But they’re improving.”

Getting to finally be out on the field and seeing where his team stands right now, Ledford enjoyed the teaching aspect of what 7-on-7 play can do at this point of the summer.

“This was a great opportunity to coach now,” Ledford said. “We seen some things. The confusion and whatever. So now you’ve got a reference point to coach from. They can say, ‘OK, coach, now I’ll listen to you because I made this mistake or that.’ Mistakes will happen, especially when you’ve got a bunch of young kids out there, but I think that we can grow leaps and bounds from this thing.”

Central will travel to Greenville on Thursday for another 7-on-7 scrimmage and will then play host to Bowdon next Tuesday.

“We just do it like we’re practicing against each other,” Ledford said. “It really does make a difference. Because right now, just like I told the kids beforehand, this game doesn’t go down in the recordbooks. This is about getting better. Our first opportunity to get out here and do this thing. We’ll get better.”

Ledford was thankful to the Bowdon coaching staff, noting how Tuesday night proved to be a great opportunity for both teams.

“They really are a delight to work with,” Ledford said. “I really appreciate coach Hochstetler and his staff. Their kids are great, and our kids seem to get along just fine. That’s what makes it fun when you can enjoy the coaching staff. And you go out there and you know you’re getting better and you’re helping them get better. So it’s good.”