Mason Forbes soars, Taeshon Cherry roars (Oakland Soldiers)

KJ Buffen on two defenders (Nike Team Florida)

Cole Swider on the break (BABC)

Jarvis Thomas punishes the rim (Howard Pulley)

Xavier Johnson goes off (Team Takeover)

Antwann Jones gets on the dunk cam (E1T1 United) 

Keldon Johnson showtime (Boo Williams)

Rechon Black rises up (CP3)

Daniel Oturu knock him down and jams it (Howard Pulley)

Antwaan Jones drops the defender (E1T1 United)

The USA Football 7-on-7 National Championships are ongoing in Hoover, Ala., this week.

Amid the great action, there are always some unique events.

Take this one: A wide receiver goes out for a pass near the sideline with his head up looking for the ball, only to run into a fence.

The receiver flips over the fence and thankfully, was not hurt.

Christyn Williams from Central Arkansas Christian (Little Rock, Ark.) is ranked as the No. 1 overall player in espnW’s Class of 2019 rankings. Williams is the lone high schooler to make the USA Basketball Women’s U19 team that will play in the FIBA World Cup beginning July 22 in Udine, Italy. Williams has agreed to keep an exclusive blog for USA TODAY Sports of her journey. The team finished up training camp Friday and will head overseas for a three-game invitational, beginning Tuesday. Williams also is coming off a gold medal with the United States’ U18 3X3 team.

Christyn Williams (Photo by Bart Young/USAB)

My eyes have been swollen the last few days and it’s been irritating so I went to the eye doctor. I have an infection. My eyesight was blurry, which makes sense on why my shot was off. I’ve been doing eye drops every two hours. It’s just unfortunate timing.

Otherwise, camp is going well. We’ve really improved since the first day. Offensively, we’re really executing and defensively, we’re getting a lot of stops. The grown men we scrimmage every day they’re really good for us and really competitive so it’s helpful. I’ve always played against guys. Guys are more physical so it’s better to play against the guys than girls because once you get to girls it’s so much easier.

I think at this point we’re all a little tired, but we get to travel and take a day off from being on the court.

We haven’t talked about it, but they expect me to be a scorer. I think that’s understood and, of course, everybody has to play good defense.

I don’t think it matters what style we play, though. To win gold, you have to be great offensively and defensively. We’re working on both ends because you have to do. Offensively, we’re looking to push the ball up the floor. Our team is very versatile. It depends on the day and the opponent.

They switch up the teams every day, but we’re all good enough to play with each other. We all get along together off the court and it carries on the court. We’ve built some chemistry in the seven days we’ve been together so far.

Coming out of 3X3, it’s different, but it definitely helps me. It’s more one-on-one situations, but when you get to five-on-five there are two other people on the floor with you. Defensively in 3X3, you have to stop your man because there is no help defense. I think going to 3X3 prepared me for this event.

I hope we get to look around Italy, but I don’t know the itinerary yet. In China, we went to a panda reserve and that was pretty cool. They are so cute. The venue we played in was right in front of the largest mall in the world and that was fun to and look around.

LaMelo Ball dropped 51 points Saturday for Big Ballers AAU against Aussie Elite in a 94-89 victory.

Ball, from Chino Hills (Calif.), had eight three-pointers in the win after Big Ballers rallied in the second half. Aussie Elite led 48-43.

Highlights below from BallIsLife.com:

Boiling Springs (S.C.) scored 29 unanswered points to rally from a 17-0 deficit against host Hoover (Ala.) to win the USA Football 7 on 7 National Championship Series event Saturday.

Boiling Springs became the first South Carolina team to win the event, which dates back to 2001 but was renamed under the auspices of USA Football last year.

The Bulldogs were seeded No. 25 after going 3-3 during the first two days of pool play. They won five games Saturday, including beating  Spain Park (Ala.), Baldwin County (Minette, Ala.), Walton (Marietta, Ga.) and McGill-Toolen (Ala.).

“This was by far the best competition we have seen and it helped by giving a lot of our young players some confidence going into the season,” coach Rick Tate told GoUpstate.com.

Dawson Taylor, the team’s quarterback and a South Carolina baseball commit, described the team as “a little iffy” coming into Saturday. But he went out and did not throw an interception in five games. The defense held their opponents to a total of less than 100 points in the five games.

“We trusted each other,” Taylor told AL.com. “The coaches, they trusted us. They put us in the right position, so we made plays.”

Among the highlights of the day at Peach Jam was this poster by Keyontae Johnson from Boo Williams.

That Zion Harmon with the pass and Johnson over three people, including the late attempt at help defense.

The Nike Peach Jam kicked off play Wednesday. Below, courtesy of itsOvertime.com, are the top plays from Day 4.

RELATED: Top plays from Day 3

Jeenathan Williams pops out during body season (Albany City Rocks)

Taeshon Cherry beautiful vision to Mason Forbes (Oakland Soldiers)

Jarvis Thomas with the vicious reverse jam (Howard Pulley)

Keldon Johnson drops his defender, hits the shot (Boo Williams)

Frank Okoro living the poster life (Bradley Beal Elite)

Javonte Smart crazy putback (Houston Hoops)

Darius Garland bombs away to Jericole Hellems (Bradley Beal Elite)

The Oakland Soldiers are the Nike Peach Jam champions after beating Team Takeover, 70-63, in Sunday’s title game.

With the victory, the Oakland Soldiers become the first program to win two EYBL Peach Jam championships.

Kihei Clark had 18 points and Taeshon Cherry had 13 points and nine rebounds. Amadou Sow added 10 points.

Point guard James Akinjo had seven points, nine assists and four rebounds in the title game to win tournament Most Valuable Player honors. He had 32 in the quarterfinals and added 17 points and five assists in the semifinals.

The Soldiers shot 55.3 percent from the field in the victory and jumped to a 41-28 lead at halftime.

Brandon Slater had 19 points and six rebounds for Team Takeover, and Myles Dread had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Soldiers took a unique route to the title. They were 3-7 entering the final regular season weekend in Los Angeles and went 4-0 to qualify for Peach Jam. They then went 3-2 in pool play and then beat E1T1 in the quarterfinals, 91-71, and then held off Boo Williams AAU, 65-59, in the semifinals.

Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fla.) is the champion of the Florida High School 7-on-7 state championship.

Spruce Creek beat South Broward 21-19 in a thrilling title game at St. Augustine. South Broward caught a two-point conversion that could have tied the game in the waning seconds but the ball did not cross the goal line.

“We started off kind of slow and persevered,” Spruce Creek assistant coach Marc Campbell told the St. Augustine Record. “It was a complete team effort. Everyone came up big.”

St. Augustine is coming off a 7-4 record last season.

The field featured seven schools that qualified through regional events.

Kentucky became the first state to require face protection in high school softball for pitchers, first basemen and third basemen, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced Tuesday. The rule, which also requires players to wear the equipment as the manufacturer intended, goes into effect with the 2018 season.

The KHSAA also has recommended to the Middle School Advisory Committee that the rule be implemented immediately; that group will meet during the upcoming school year.

The KHSAA submitted a proposal that would amend the National Federation rules, but the recommendation was not approved for national implementation.

“While I was disappointed with the NFHS Rules Committee action in not approving the proposal, it was not altogether surprising as there will always be disagreement when required equipment issues are debated,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said in a news release. “However, we cannot sit idly by any longer when obvious solutions exist to protect the young ladies in the Commonwealth who want to play this great and continually growing game where the talent and ability levels continues to improve. …

“I am thankful our Board decided to act now rather than wait until the issue reaches critical mass and other entities find themselves in the position of needing to be reactive rather than proactive in this area. Our experience the last few years has left us with multiple anecdotal and documented reports of incidents within our state that leave us no option but to leave our national rules making body behind in terms of waiting for change.”

Georgia quarterbacks Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence, who are ranked as the top two players in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports, are among the players on the watch list for the 31^st annual Bobby Dodd National Back of the Year award.

RELATED: IMG teammates Xavier Thomas, Taron Vincent lead Bobby Dodd Lineman of the Year watch list

The award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta, goes to the top back in high school football, which covers quarterbacks, running backs, linebackers, defensive backs, wide receivers and tight ends. The organization has a separate award for the top lineman.

The honor will be presented at the organization’s annual banquet in late January. Najee Harris from Antioch (Calif.), who is now at Alabama, was last year’s winner.

A player does not have to be on the preseason watch list to win the award.

Fields from Harrison (Kennesaw, Ga.) threw for 2,700 yards and ran for nearly 1,200. Harrison went from 5-5 to 10-3, its first 10-win season since 2002 and won a playoff game for the first time since 2008.

Lawrence from Cartersville (Ga.) is 42-2 as a starter and returns for his senior year after leading the school to consecutive 15-0 seasons. Lawrence threw for 3,900 yards and 51 touchdowns last season.

Also on the watch list:

• Patrick Surtain Jr., CB, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
• Zamir White, RB, Scotland County (Laurinburg, N.C.)
• Palaie Gaoteote, LB, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
• Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, Parkway (Bossier City, La.)
• J.J. Peterson, LB, Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.)

IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) teammates Xavier Thomas and Taron Vincent are among the players on the watch list for the 31^st annual Bobby Dodd National Lineman of the Year award.

RELATED: Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence lead Bobby Dodd Back of the Year Watch List

The award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta, goes to the top offensive or defensive lineman in high school football. The organization has a separate award for the top backs.

The honor will be presented at the organization’s annual banquet in late January. Trey Smith of University School (Jackson, Tenn.), who is now at Tennessee, was last year’s winner.

A player does not have to be on the preseason watch list to win the award.

Thomas, a 6-3 defensive end who is ranked No. 2 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings, is a Clemson commit. Vincent, son of former NFL All-Pro Troy Vincent, is a 6-2 defensive tackle who is ranked No. 11 overall. He is an Ohio State commit.

Here is the remainder of the watch list:

• Jamaree Salyer, G, Pace Academy (Atlanta)
• Jackson Carman, OT, Fairfiled (Ohio)
• Micah Parsons, DE, Harrisburg (Pa.)
• Brenton Cox, DE, Stockbridge (Ga.)

Bol Bol is 7 feet tall and plays for Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Matt Van Komen is 7-5 and plays for Pleasant Grove (Lehi, Utah).

Bol is one of the top players in the Class of 2018. Van Komen is viewed as a late bloomer in the Class of 2019.

The two giants faced off and the West Coast Elite Summer Classic, and BallIsLife was there to capture the highlights:

Parkway quarterback Justin Rogers and coach David Feaster are part of the Battle on the Border showcase event

FloSports Network moved into football with the launch of FloFootball.com earlier this month and has confirmed its first high school games for the opening month of the season.

More games for the first month and beyond are in the works, according to a spokeswoman.

Opening weekend games on Aug. 26 feature Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Virginia Beach, Va.) against American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) and Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) vs. Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.).

The schedule also features all five games at the Battle on the Border VII showcase in Shreveport, La., on Sept. 8-9.

All games will be streamed at FloFootball.com and require a monthly or annual subscription fee. Annual subscribers to FloPRO get access to content across the FloSports network.

FloFootball had a livestream of last weekend’s USA Football 7-on-7 National Championship Series event in Hoover, Ala., and will have similar coverage of this weekend’s event in Canton, Ohio.

Here is the schedule of regular season games that has been confirmed thus far:

Aug. 26

Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Va.) vs American Heritage (Fla.)
Liberty (Nev.) vs Saguaro (Ariz.)

Sept. 1

St. Pius X (Texas) vs Faith Lutheran (Nev.)

Sept. 8

West Monroe (La.) vs Booker T. Washington (Okla.)
Parkway (La.) vs Pearl (Miss.)

Sept. 9

Bishop Dunne (Texas) vs Brentwood Academy (Tenn.)
John Curtis Christian (La.) vs Grayson (Ga.)
Byrd (La.) vs Moss Point (Miss.)

Sept. 15

Central Phenix (Ala.) vs Kathleen (Fla.)
Evangel Christian (La.) vs Trinity Christian (Texas)

Sept. 22

Camas (Wash.) vs Coeur d’Alene (Idaho)

Zach Young, the girls volleyball coach at Lafayette High (Wildwood, Mo.) has been named the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Coach of the Year in a vote of readers of USA TODAY High School Sports.

Zach Young (Photo: Wildwood Middle School)

Young was named the ALL-USA Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year after he led the Lancers to its fifth consecutive state title in his five seasons as coach. Overall, the program set a Missouri state record with its sixth consecutive title, breaking the record that it shared with shared with Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis), which won five titles from 1983 to ’87.

Lafayette (33-6-1) lost only once in its final 24 matches, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Francis Howell (St. Charles, Mo.) on Oct. 13. Just 16 days later, the Lancers got another shot at Howell in the Class 4 state final. Lafayette dropped the first set of the best-of-three match and trailed 23-20 in the second set before rallying for a 20-25, 27-25, 25-21 victory.

Away from the court, Young and wife Jill welcomed triplets – David, Matthew and Hope – on Sept. 5 to join older sister Leah, 3.

Young finished with nearly 40 percent of the vote among all the coaches who were named ALL-USA Coach of the Year in their respective sports during the 2016-17 academic year.

Former NHLer Trent Klatt, who recently resigned as the boys hockey coach at Grand Rapids (Minn.), finished second with nearly 20 percent of the vote. Kevin Kelley, the trailblazing football coach at Pulaski Academy in Arkansas, was third with 10 percent.

You can see the final results of voting by clicking here.

Christyn Williams from Central Arkansas Christian (Little Rock, Ark.) is ranked as the No. 1 overall player in espnW’s Class of 2018 rankings. Williams is the lone high schooler to make the USA Basketball Women’s U19 team that will play in the FIBA World Cup beginning July 22 in Udine, Italy. Williams has agreed to keep an exclusive blog for USA TODAY Sports of her journey. The team finished up training camp Friday and will head overseas for a three-game invitational, beginning Tuesday. Williams also is coming off a gold medal with the United States’ U18 3X3 team.

The exhibitions have been pretty good so for, and I think Thursday night against was a lot better than the exhibition games we played before. It’s going to be a fun tournament. I think everybody is excited to get the tournament going and we all want to see what the competition is going to be like.

I’ve been a little off with my shot and struggling a little bit so that’s been a humbling experience. I was better against France. There’s an adjustment period, figuring out what my role is. But I have no doubt that will be happen. That’s what exhibition games are for.

Christyn Williams (Photo by Bart Young/USAB)

My eyes also are doing a lot better after getting an infection during training camp. I’m so glad I went to the eye doctor before we left Colorado. I would have been miserable.

After practice some days, we’ve gotten a little bit of time to walk around by the hotel. There’s a Foot Locker and an H&M.

Friday, though, we’ve been in Venice. It was fun. We went shopping. We got to ride in the boats in the canal and just hung out as a team. There were a lot of people out there.

My parents got here today for the tournament so that’s going to be fun. I also have unlimited data on phone so I can do pretty much everything I want on social media. I’ve been staying up on stuff back home.

LaVar Ball got a technical foul and pulled his Big Ballers AAU team off the court in a bizarre scene Saturday at the Double Pump Best of Summer Tournament in California.

The playoff game was ruled a forfeit after Big Ballers left in the second half and Clutch Players Navy was awarded the win. Of note, Big Ballers was winning 69-60 at the time of the forfeit.

Ball was upset about a foul call and repeated, “That’s not a foul, that’s not a foul.” He then questioned the official’s manhood and used a profanity to describe the call.

After the call, you can see Ball wave toward his players, head toward the baseline and his players follow with their gear.

In a video from Overtime captured outside the gym, Ball says, “Not gonna have my guys playing hard and they cheating. I don’t play that … ”

Notice that as he heads out, a teen asks LaVar for a photo and he obliges the teen and a friend.

The UCLA coaches were on hand to watch LaMelo Ball, a UCLA commit and LaVar’s youngest son.

Matt Corral, ranked as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2018, committed to the University of Florida on Saturday night via Twitter during an unofficial visit.

Corral, from Long Beach Poly (Calif.), had decommitted from USC on June 17. His Twitter post committed to Florida was labeled, “This is just the beginning.”

Corral has been planning to visit Georgia next week. He had added offers from a number of program after his decommitment, but did not have the massive number of offers that many elite recruits do because he had been committed to USC since February 2016.

Coaches are not allowed to mention unsigned players specifically, but Gators coach Jim McElwain was pretty happy on Twitter.

Corral is ranked No. 7 overall by Rivals currently. According to SEC Country, he would be the highest-ranked Florida quarterback signee ever if he remains in the top 10.

Among the many who congratulated Corral was Jake Allen, a freshman quarterback at Florida who led St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) to a top five ranking in the Super 25 last fall.

Corral completed 151 of 235 passes for 3,025 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions at Oaks Christian before transferring in the spring. He also ran for seven touchdowns. That followed a sophomore year in which he threw for 3,283 yards and 36 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Corral took part in The Opening Final in Oregon at the start of the month. He plans to finish his high school career at the Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January.

DePaul Catholic (Wayne) is returning to New Jersey as winners of the USA Football 7-on-7 National Championship Series event at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

A late interception by Nysere “Poppy” Nunn sealed a 29-22 victory against McKinley (Canton, Ohio) in the championship game. McKinley had beaten top-seeded Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) in the 34-25 semifinals.

DePaul was the No. 2 seed entering Saturday’s bracket after pool play on Friday.

USA Football hosted three National Championship Series events this summer after hosting one last year. The events were in Hoover, Ala.; Frisco, Texas; and Canton, Ohio.