I think that D7 will be brutally good again this year, but some different teams at the top. I can say that Madrid has been "down" the past couple of years not just because of weight room attendance (symptom) but an overall culture or attitude problem. I am very optimistic that this issue has been resolved and I can share that Madrid's off-season weight room attendance this year has been phenomenal. From my perspective Ogden is losing a bunch from a very talented senior class although Lentz is a great returning RB. The key for Ogden is if they have someone to replace Good at QB. He had an excellent command of their passing game and it made it very difficult to concentrate on stopping the run.
I am sure that I am somewhat biased, but I see the D7 champion coming down to Madrid and South Central Calhoun this year. SCC had a very young team last year and their QB is an outstanding athlete. D7 is loaded with talent (at least one standout on almost every team) and it should be another fun year. Hopefully the injury bug stays from away, unlike last year.
For what it's worth, BCMoore had D7 as the toughest 1A district last year, or highest ranked from 1A among all districts. It was a very competitive league, with only Woodward Academy out of the picture and even they had some good athletes. Their situation is just a bit different compared to other teams.
Injuries caught a few teams down the stretch, unfortunately. Both MNW and South Hamilton had starting QBs injured and miss time. Madrid had some linemen get hurt as well and that played a part in how they finished. Just about every team had to deal with injuries, but for some they either weren't as severe or depth could make up for it. It was one of the few districts where other districts' top two seeds had to be worried about the 3 and 4 seeds from D7 because they had the talent, especially at full strength to knock them off.
This year should be about the same with 6 teams fighting for 4 spots, although several teams will look a bit different. MNW and SE will have to make up for the senior groups they lost. South Hamilton should be a tough out once again, although I have no idea if Hill is gonna stay out after injuring his leg last year and having to miss basketball. Woodward Academy is the only team I really have no idea who they'll have out there. I'm not sure how their school system works. There were a lot of those kids from last year's team that were non-seniors, so if they're back they should be much-improved.
Ogden will have Lentz and Spencer Nelson in the backfield, but will have to replace a slew of WRs including the departing West brothers. Tews was the only other player to attempt a pass, and the only returning player to catch a pass besides Lentz. My guess is he is next in line at QB unless they had someone else waiting in the wings. Defensively, though, they do return 8 of their top 12 tacklers, so they should be solid on that front.
Madrid looks to have a lot of size returning. 7 of their top 12 on defense are back. Santi, of course, will be the focus of the offense, however, he'll need another back or two to fill the gap left by Collen Gibbons, who rushed for over 1,300 yds and 17 TDs last year himself. Aaron Sperling will be back at QB, although Madrid attempted even fewer passes than St. Edmond last year, as it's not really a big part of their offense. If they can stay healthy, the Tigers will definitely be a favorite in the district this year.
South Central Calhoun is the favorite because they return the most players vital to their success from a year ago. Henkenius is a solid dual-threat QB who threw for almost 2,000 yds and ran for 494 yds and 12 TDs, which also led the team. In fact, SCC only loses one of their top 6 rushers from 2014, and they are a team that would
like to run the ball if they could. Last year, due to some injuries and turnover in the lineup from graduations, they had to make the adjustment from their traditional T-form and run heavy offense to the spread, which worked pretty well given their personnel. It definitely allowed them to "spread" the ball around, as 9 different receivers caught a pass last year, and all but 2 will be back, led by Cyle King who had 604 yds and 6 TDs receiving. They will certainly have some size returning, including top returning tackler Rylan Richardson who led Class 1A in total tackles last year. The Titans also return 6 of their top 12 on defense.
Overall, it should be another fun district race to watch as the season unfolds.
