This is what I have for class A, figured it might get some discussion going.
Top Ten
- Wapsie Valley
- Lynnville Sully
- East Buchanan
- HMS
- Woodbury Central
- West Hancock
- Grundy Center
- Mount Ayr
- North Linn
- Belle Plaine
Others Considered: Lisbon, South O’Brien, Belle Plaine, Newman, North Union
To me Class A appears to be wide open on paper, I don’t think there are any clear-cut favorites like last year with West Hancock and Grundy Center. I put Wapsie Valley at 1 and I will say I can see arguments for others, but I see them as a team that was young last year, took some lumps early then figured it out and made a nice run to the quarters, the other thing they have is tradition which can help in big games. Lynnville Sully at 2, they were super young last year as well, I would say my biggest concern is that outside of Belle Plaine their district is super weak and while I think Pleasantville will give them a challenge in the non-district they may not be tested enough deep in the playoffs. East Buchanan is a team that made the semis and hung tough with West Hancock for a half, and return some studs, but also have to figure out a few pieces, I would say my concern is that they struggled last year with some mediocre teams. HMS at 4, and I really think they may have been the 3rd best team in the state last year, with their loses coming to West Hancock twice and a really good West Sioux. They return quite a bit, but also lose a great running back. Woodbury Central is a program that has been pretty consistent the last few seasons, they lose their QB I believe but return quite a bit of production. West Hancock at 6 and truthfully, I don’t know what to do with them, they lose a bunch of production but at the same time I think they find a way to reload not rebuild. Same goes for Grundy at 7, they have played in the finals the last three seasons and while I think they take a step back, I know that they have had success in the grades coming up to Varsity. Mount Ayr is another program that has been consistent and they look to have a bunch of pieces back off of a successful season. North Linn surprised last year, and I think their 1st string could be as talented as anyone, but I question their concern. I put Belle Plaine at 10 over the other 4 listed because they do return a bunch, and will win a bunch of games in their district, but not sure I see them going deep in the playoffs. Lisbon should win that SE Iowa District, but I think will have to figure a few things out. South O’Brien seems to be the 2nd best team in NW Iowa. Newman has one of the best QBs in the state, it’ll be interesting to see how they build around that. Finally North Union is a bit of a sleeper pick, they played a bunch of quality teams tight and return some nice players.
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