As I start this thread, it is the day before Thanksgiving and three of our teams are still playing football. But I assume the other five will start basketball soon, maybe as early as next week. So what better time to start discussion about who are the teams to beat this year? Before I start, my disclaimer is that I am relying just on memory and don't even have anything to refer to.....just my thoughts as I ramble.
1) I don't see how it could be anyone this year but East Rock. I think I am right that Comer, Butler and McNair (three of their top football players) are all seniors and all play basketball as well. Plus they had a nice JV team last year that should be ready to step up.
2) Page County- I am basing this mainly on tradition, since they are always in the mix. The coaching change, which I just read about in the last few minutes on another thread, may have an impact, but I think I remember a sophomore from last year that could shoot the lights out, so all things considered, the Panthers have to be contenders I would think.
I am going to lump the next three together, which I know is a cop-out, because I just don't remember enough about any of them so as to separate them. So I will put Luray, Stuarts Draft and Wilson in there in one order or another. For Luray, the key could be whether or not Leo Yates graduated (I just don't remember); for SD they will have the football layover to contend with plus I heard through the grapevine that they might go away from the Grinnell offense this year; and with Wilson I am pretty sure I remember some decent sophs who might be ready to hit the big time. But I don't see any of them as being strong enough to challenge for the top.
That leaves a similar three-team grouping of Buffalo Gap, Riverheads and Stonewall in the 6-8 positions. If I remember correctly, they were in those same spots last year, which impacts my thinking considerably. I really don't know enough about BG or SJ to say anything more, but for Riverheads,they will probably be vertically-challenged again this year, but the real key for them will be whether any of last year's great group of eighth-graders are ready to step up and play varsity as freshmen this year, and if so, how much impact can they make? They were amazing last year for a group so young, so I know we cannot expect too much growth too soon, but if they stick together and if I am still on this board 2-3 years from now, they will be good enough to be in the 1 vs 2 discussion. They beat every team on their schedule at least once last year.
1) I don't see how it could be anyone this year but East Rock. I think I am right that Comer, Butler and McNair (three of their top football players) are all seniors and all play basketball as well. Plus they had a nice JV team last year that should be ready to step up.
2) Page County- I am basing this mainly on tradition, since they are always in the mix. The coaching change, which I just read about in the last few minutes on another thread, may have an impact, but I think I remember a sophomore from last year that could shoot the lights out, so all things considered, the Panthers have to be contenders I would think.
I am going to lump the next three together, which I know is a cop-out, because I just don't remember enough about any of them so as to separate them. So I will put Luray, Stuarts Draft and Wilson in there in one order or another. For Luray, the key could be whether or not Leo Yates graduated (I just don't remember); for SD they will have the football layover to contend with plus I heard through the grapevine that they might go away from the Grinnell offense this year; and with Wilson I am pretty sure I remember some decent sophs who might be ready to hit the big time. But I don't see any of them as being strong enough to challenge for the top.
That leaves a similar three-team grouping of Buffalo Gap, Riverheads and Stonewall in the 6-8 positions. If I remember correctly, they were in those same spots last year, which impacts my thinking considerably. I really don't know enough about BG or SJ to say anything more, but for Riverheads,they will probably be vertically-challenged again this year, but the real key for them will be whether any of last year's great group of eighth-graders are ready to step up and play varsity as freshmen this year, and if so, how much impact can they make? They were amazing last year for a group so young, so I know we cannot expect too much growth too soon, but if they stick together and if I am still on this board 2-3 years from now, they will be good enough to be in the 1 vs 2 discussion. They beat every team on their schedule at least once last year.
