Spring football can draw a crowd as was proven by the Spring Football Jamboree hosted by the Opp Bobcats this past Friday night.

The jamboree drew an estimated crowd of 1,000 spectators to Channell-Lee Stadium in Opp to witness the latest gridiron versions of the Opp Bobcats, Straughn Tigers, Luverne Tigers and Hillcrest (Evergreen) Jaguars.

All of the games were close, which provided exciting games for the spectators, Opp Head Coach Jeff Rhodes said.

He said the coaches enjoyed the games because they were competitive and none of the players suffered major injuries.

Opp and Straughn tied in their gridiron battle by a final score of 0-0. Straughn, however, won the junior varsity game against Opp by a final score of 22-8.

Opp also tied the Hillcrest Jaguars by a final score of 8-8. The Opp junior varsity topped the Hillcrest JV.

Straughn fell to Luverne by one point in its other game at the jamboree. Luverne edged the Straughn Tigers by a final score of 7-6.

Luverne fell to the Hillcrest Jaguars by a final score of 14-7.

Rhodes said he was pleased with the performance of his players at the jamboree.

"I thought we looked pretty good," Rhodes said. "I'm excited.

"I thought everybody played well," he continued. "The defense played exceptionally well. There was a lot of hitting."

Rhodes said the Bobcats looked good in every aspect of the spring game.

"It was just a pretty good performance across the board," he said.

The chance to play against another team and quit beating each other up in practice played a part in the Bobcats' performance. It also has the Opp players hungry for more gridiron action.

"We're ready to play ball," Rhodes said about his team. "We're a lot faster and a lot stronger than last year."

Straughn Head Coach Trent Taylor said some new wrinkles in the Tigers' offense might have kept them from performing perfectly.

Taylor, however, said the Tigers looked pretty good at the jamboree.

"Offensively, I thought we did some real good things with us running and new offense and all," Taylor said.

"We put in a whole new offense and we ran the ball well and threw the ball well," he added.

On defense, Taylor said he was "a little disappointed."

The Tigers need to get better on both sides of the ball.

"It went well," Taylor said about the jamboree. "We've still got a lot of room for improvement.

"We've never looked good in a

spring game, but we looked better in this one," he added.

He said one reason for the performance by the defense can be attributed to a lack of experience.

"Defensively, we have a lot of new starters or players playing new positions," Taylor said.

Overall, the Tigers performed well.

"I think it was the best spring game we've ever participated in," Taylor said.