WALHALLA — For weeks now, area high school football teams have been sending their skill players to seven-on-seven camps across the region, while the linemen have bided their time by pumping iron in the weight room.

And while the big guys up front may not get all the glory or field time they deserve in the summer, Walhalla High School alleviated that problem on Wednesday by hosting a Hawg-Tuff Lineman Challenge, a program founded by Razorbacks assistant coach Mike Pope 19 years ago.

During the multi-event challenge, local schools Daniel, Seneca, as well as Walhalla, were among the 11 teams on hand for the event, which was ultimately won by Banks Co. (Ga.).

Daniel finished second in the event, while Walhalla, who had enough players on hand to fill out a pair of 12-man rosters, saw one of its groups capture third place, while also taking home a first-place finish in the one-man sled competition.

And with contests like the tire flip, bench press, the farmer’s walk and a tug of war competition dotting the day’s itinerary, Walhalla head coach John Boggs, who oversaw the event, said it was a good way to get some work in prior to the start of fall camp in August.

“It’s good for all these kids to come out and compete and get in a competitive atmosphere and be able to get some hard work in at the same time,” he said.

And while players at the one-day camp weren’t exactly going over the finer points of the game by chucking tires, Boggs said the events should help the players when camp rolls around.

“That’s lineman stuff,” he said. “That’s making them better, and you’re hoping some of that translates over to the field.”

Walhalla’s linemen have stayed busy this summer, having attended a camp in Georgia just last week, but many teams like Daniel hadn’t even had their guys on the field prior to the Walhalla camp.

“We’ve been going to seven-on-sevens, and these guys haven’t been doing anything but lifting weights,” said Daniel offensive line coach Jamie Wilson. “We finally had a chance to come out and do something today.”

The Lions have been plenty busy sending players to seven-on-seven camps, with a few more left on the docket, but the linemen have stayed in Central, and Wilson hopes Wednesday’s camp appearance will help bring the players together as a unit.

“It’s building team camaraderie and getting us where we want to be,” he said.

On the afternoon, the Lions won team events in the 20-yard dash, the pro shuttle and the farmer’s walk. Individually, Zack Hellard won the pro shuttle, while Michael Stone and Deshawn Williams won the bench press competition and tire flip event, respectively.

The Lions, who are coming off an 11-2 season, have 60 players in the weight room on a daily basis in Central, which has Daniel on track to dress the most varsity players in a single season in school history.

And with so much interest in the Daniel program, and the proper equipment on hand, Wilson hopes to bring a similar camp to Central next year, offering his big guys something different than just the weight room.

“I’m going to try to do something like this next year at Daniel,” he said. “This was pretty fun.”