3A PRESEASON PREVIEW THREAD

[jarajujo]

I thought it might be interesting to start a thread where people who consider themselves knowledgable about a program could share their thoughts on the upcoming season. I will start it off and I hope others will share their insights about other programs. My preview is of the Carlisle Wildcats. Last year Carlisle went 5-4 before losing in the playoffs to Williamsburg. Both the freshman and JV teams had very strong years

The Good: Return starters at most skilled positions.....QB, RB, WR, LT started as sophs.
The Bad: Lose almost the entire Offensive and Defensive lines.
The Ugly: Lose Daniel Hupke(1418 yds. rushing, 15 TD's, 52 tackles.
Offense Returning: 100% of passing yards, 35% of rushing yards, 70% of receiving yards.
Defense Returning: 38% of tackles, 70% of interceptions, 0% of fumble recoveries.
Special teams: Both the punter and kicker return and are very good.

Summary/Thoughts/Vibes: Interestingly enough, the concern is more about the line than the loss of Hupke. That is because the RB starters are viewed as strong although depth may be a concern. Starters this year will almost be all juniors. Optimism is there, mainly because of the juniors-to-be. They were dominant coming up and got valuable experience last year. Tough opener against Boone and their returning defense.

 

[The_Law57]

Carlisle should be a very solid team. I would think they would get second or third in District 8. They may start slow but will be a tough out by the end of the year. Pella will be the class of the district with a shot at a run to the Dome. Then Norwalk, Oskaloosa, and Winterset fighting it out for the other 2 spots. I look for Norwalk and Osky (despite coaching change) to be the other representatives from this district.

 

[FarmFam]

Agree Carlisle would be most concerned about line play. Hupke was a big strong back, but the line created some nice holes for him. After that there weren't to many d-backs who wanted to tackle him. I thought he struggled to gain yards when the holes weren't there because with his size he lacked the quickness to adjust.

Hard to argue against Pella winning the district again with their tradition, however I don't think they will totally dominate. Several teams will have a chance to play with them and compete.

Oskaloosa, Norwalk, and Carlisle will be the other 3 contenders. I think Winterset loses to much and I don't expect them to be nearly as fortunate as they were last year. Norwalk also loses a lot, but has more potential to fill those spots capably with their current growth and pool of athletes to choose from. Carlisle will be competitive as they return a lot of young talent which will have a year of tested competition under their belt. Oskaloosa has great potential. They return 9 of 11 starters on offense. There will be a big and talented offensive line consisting mostly of juniors, so next year could be even better. The running backs and fullback all return with a great mix of speed and power. Need to fill a QB spot, but the run game will take the pressure off that. The defense also returns over half the starters with several talented kids ready to step in and fill open spots. Special teams were not that great last year more so due to execution than talent so should go forward there if anything. Hiring a new coach again is an X-factor, but I think it will generate enough excitement to motivate kids to work hard again to prove themselves and earn positions.