I think they do. The league as a whole might be down this season.
niles returns their qb.
Struthers returns theirs.
Hubbard has a nice back
lakeview returns the coaches son who will attempt to throw some
Girard?
Range??
Jefferson nothing to say.
Poland, South Range, Hubbard, Struthers... then Niles, Girard, Lakeview, Jefferson.
Interesting note... everyone has their quarterbacks back this year.
Quick thoughts on each team...
Poland is the favorite. They'll need running backs to step up, but their offense should be very similar to last year. Mostly power runs with the occasional bomb to Centofanti on the outside. Lots of holes to fill on defense, but they should reload like they always do. PI think 9-1 is likely.
South Range still has Patrone and Dominguez. Need receivers to step up... losing their top 3 receivers. I don't know what kind of speed they have coming up. Also have to rebuild their lines, but so does everyone else besides Poland. Should be around 6-4 or 7-3.
Hubbard has their stud RB back. I'd think Krisuk is the projected starter at QB. Goodrick is a stud on the lines. With them moving up to D3, Alliance and Howland are must wins out of the gate if they want to make the playoffs. Like last year, their defense and running game will carry them. They won't be on the same level as Poland. Should be around 7-3.
Struthers probably has the best skill players returning... but their lines have a lot of question marks. Especially the defensive line. If the OL is decent and the front 7 can play solid run defense, they can make a good run. The defense will be very young. 7-3 should be expected. 6-4 should be worst case scenario.
Niles has their QB back... and their RB that missed most of last year. That's about it. I don't know if they have any impact players coming up that will contribute this year. I think they're probably looking at 4-6 or maybe 5-5.
I think Girard is way better than Lakeview and Jefferson... but a step below Niles. They have some talent, but can the coach over there get the X's and O's right to get the most out of the boys? We'll see... I don't think it'll work if they try to run the same offense that they did last year. Maybe 3-7 or 4-6.
Lakeview doesn't have it anymore... 2-8.
Jefferson is probably gonna go 0-10.