1. LW
2. Princeton
3. Colerain
4. Hamilton
5. LE
6. Mason
7. Fairfield
8. Sycamore
9. Middletown
10. OakHills
This seems to be a pretty solid prediction.
West seems to be the team coming back with the most complete, proven roster, off the heels of their best season in school history. Their investment in the coaching staff seems to be paying off. The departure of Carlton Gray may cause some growing pains on defense but they have plenty of talent to cover it.
Toughest game will be week one and will be a good measuring stick.
Princeton has a lot of players coming back. New head coach may need a few weeks to get things rolling. Nonconference schedule should give them time to iron out before conference play begins.
Colerain I'm sure will want to show that last year was an aberration but they may not have the horses to reclaim their perch. Tough sledding right out of the gate with Lasalle and St. X. Have had to play a lot of guys both ways lately and that probably won't change any time soon.
Can't say much about the other teams as I don't know much.
Anyone know when the complete schedules should be posted on the GMC website?
Top 4 comes down to:
Lakota West:
Can they fill the losses on front 7 from the grinders that graduated? They still have the superstars but the strength of their defense last year was depth across the board and having no real weakness to attack.
Can Mitch Bolden lead a component offense, or at least score enough for the defense to cover? LW has never really found a good QB despite all the talent that has gone through there the past few decades and Bolden usually follows the old Coombs model of putting your best on defense first.
Princeton:
Can the offense score enough points to overcome a usually weak defense? No doubt they have the QB and weapons but will having an actual competent in-game coach lead to a more consistent and dangerous offense.
Does having a better coach overcome the discipline and turnover issues that have doomed them in the past?
Colerain:
Where's the beef? Without Corleone, the lines have been tiny and pushed around the past few seasons. Can they find someone, anyone to at least be competent in these spots. The depth upfront is what has led to the decline, just too many kids have moved outside the district.
Can a Sophomore QB really lead the offense against LW and GCL defenses? He'll get thrown to the fire early against X and Lasalle but have Weeks 3-8 to grow before the real GMC tests.
Can Jarmon be this year's Jaylen Thomas? A few years ago the Cards offensive woes were made up for by a great 2-way player who became their biggest offensive weapon. Led them to the semis and maybe would have made the State final if not for a tragic car accident. I think Jarmon will be asked to do the same this year.
Hamilton:
Is always a dark horse but is this finally the year they break through against the top of the league? They have some studs but is usually QB play and lack of mid-level talent that hurts them.
It should come down to the last 2 weeks with Colerain getting both LW and Princeton to end the season.
LW defense I think will be better `than Princeton's offense and take the conference, especially since they meet earlier in the year before Princeton has gotten more games in with their new coach's system.
