8 Player thoughts

[gonorse92]

We are getting closer by the hour to fall camp and kickoff, you have to love the feeling as the excitement builds Some good discussions on other classes are going. Anyone have thoughts on 8 player?

 

[Class A Fan 06]

Gotta think Exira/Elk Horn is the favorite, right? Don't they return a bunch. Don Bosco down simply because Hogan was everything for them. Springville loses a lot I think. N-K has a couple stud linemen and a couple stud backs returning. I think they will we very dangerous this year but I see they weren't in IAPreps Top 10. West Bend I think lost a lot and I don't know about Newell and MMC

 

[tm3308]

Exira really doesn't bring back all that much. Drew Peppers is back, and he's definitely a great player, but that defense was the best I've ever seen in 8-man (and the backbone of last year's team), and most of those guys are gone. Exira will still have a very good chance to reach the Dome, but I don't know if I'd call them the favorites.

Don Bosco will still be very tough, even without Hogan. Keep a close eye on HLV in that district, though. They bring back quite a bit and could be a team that emerges as a contender. Janesville is another one to watch in the east; they bring back 7 starters on defense and every skill guy besides Meyer on offense.

For my money, I'm taking Fremont-Mills. They bring back literally everyone (not one senior on last year's team), and Spencer Phillips might be the best back in the state.

 

[gonorse92]

I have heard some very good things in regards to Central Elkader looks like they bring some very talented athletes as well the northeast part of the state could have some very good teams

 

[tm3308]

Originally posted by gonorse92:
I have heard some very good things in regards to Central Elkader looks like they bring some very talented athletes as well the northeast part of the state could have some very good teams

I'm picking CE to win District 4. They bring back a lot on offense, and it'll be interesting to see how Ehrhardt looks under center now that he's got a year under his belt.

 

[Bud Boyz]

I would have to say MM-C has to be one of the early favorites. N-F will be down some this year but will still contend in their district. GT-RA is another darkhorse that could make a lot of noise come playoff time

 

[gonorse92]

Don Bosco will reload as always and be very good. Turkey Valley is a bit of a wild card, lost a fairly big senior group but they have some good kids coming back. How they handle the transition to 8 player remains to be seen.

 

[tm3308]

My district picks

1: Exira. Lost a lot on defense, but Peppers should be able to carry them more often than not. Boyer Valley could be a sleeper, though (IMO).

2: Harris-Lake Park. This district could be fun to watch; other than maybe District 7, no other district can match this one for depth. Even then, I think this one is better when looking at teams 1-6/7, even if the top 4 might be better in D7. Both teams in Remsen should also be tough, but I expect HLP and MMC to be the top two.

3: Janesville. This district will be alright, but Janesville is the clear favorite even without Meyer, IMO. That defense is stacked, and every other skill guy is back.

4: Central Elkader. That offense could be very entertaining to watch. Springville could take this one, but I wasn't sure what they bring back on the offensive line. I think Cody Blake could have a huge year now that he'll be getting the bulk of the carries.

5: HLV. This district is weak, but the battle for the top spot between DB and HLV should be great. Winner of this district goes to the Dome, IMO.

6: Melcher-Dallas. I'm a Wayne grad and they bring back Clayton Kiefer at tailback, but Melcher brings back more across the board. The rest of the district is planted firmly behind those two teams, IMO.

7: Coon Rapids-Bayard. This district will be tough. Adair-Casey and Murray don't return a lot, but they bring back enough that they could challenge CR-B and G-R on any given night. Guthrie Center is worth keeping an eye on, too.

8: Fremont-Mills. Not up for debate, IMO. This team is loaded.

 

[PNation]

Don Bosco has never reloaded, they have had one good group in their football.

 

[gonorse92]

Don't know much about other parts of the state but Central Elkader has great talent. Springville will surprise some people. I keep hearing HLV will be tough as well. Janesville has good talent back as well. The countdown clock is ticking!!! Before we know it, we will be talking about who gets to the dome!!!

 

[tm3308]

Originally posted by PNation:
Don Bosco has never reloaded, they have had one good group in their football.

This. They've got talent back and should still be pretty good, but they've got no track record for reloading yet. And even if they did, no team in the state loses a player like Hogan and gets better the following year.

 

[gonorse92]

Hogan will be difficult to replace no doubt he is a special talent, Springville has to replace a special talent as well with Elias Nissan gone as well.

 

[tm3308]

I think Blake and McDowell can do a pretty good job filling those shoes, although they can't totally fill them. Blake averaged like 9 ypc last year, so if he's got anything in front of him on the line, I think we're looking at a back who will rack up at least 1600 yards and 20 touchdowns.

 

[Voicefromthestands]

Originally posted by tm3308:


8: Fremont-Mills. Not up for debate, IMO. This team is loaded.

There is always debate. Wild card will be East Mills. They have a strong program coming back and returning to 8 man from Class A. This won't be a walk in the park for FM. I know of several people expecting East Mills to walk away with this district.

 

[high90school]

1.) Exira-EHK did lose a lot but they were also very deep last year which should help them reload this year. Obviously not as good as past years team which was just short of winning the title. Sleeper in this district IMO has to be Boyer Valley. Lot of eyes will point to NF being good as they are well coached and seem to rebuild fast but Boyer Valley was a tough team last year in one of the deepests districts in the state and the return a lot. Expect them to compete for one of the top 2 or 3 spots in this distsrict.

2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) I dont know enough about these teams as I am from the Southwestern part of the state and dont keep up with enough on whats going on those places in the offseason.

7.) CR-B in my eyes should be the favorite to win the district here. Had a couple close games with Exira-EHK last year and they do return quite a chunk of that team this year. Losing Cartsens will hurt but don't let that hinder everything else they have back. GR always has a track record of reloading and doing well, expect them to be competing with the top spots again. Team to keep an eye on has to be Guthrie Center. Pretty decent team in 11 man last year and I believe the return a lot. If they can pick up quickly on the differences between 8 and 11 man, expect them to be very tough. Murrary will be down. AC....well....I dont see much positive with them going into this year. Very few returning from last years team (small team at that) and new coach to go along with it. They could get beat by a lot of points this year like they have done to other teams the past few years. Hate to see that happen as AC is one of the traditional powers in the class and are always have had consistently good teams.

8.) FM will be the favorite, BUT EM will be very tough. FM has a lot of talent from top to bottom and rightfully should be the favorite. EM on the other hand is finally dropping back down to 8 player and has a loaded team in their own right from a very successful run in Class A. This game should be on everyones radar when they play as it will most likely decide who takes the district. The rest of the district is a complete crap shoot on who will land where. Big drop off from those two teams. CAM will most likely be in the mix for the 3 or 4 spot as they return enough to be able to be tough against everyone else. Whoever else makes the final spot...complete draw from the hat.



I am excited once again for this years season. Does anyone know how playoffs will be done? I have been told by numerous people that the sister district thing is gone this year and playoff pairings wont be known until that Friday night after week 9 on who is playing where and that they state is now deciding those rather than matching up with a sister district. Is this true?

 

[PNation]

I'm not a huge 8 man expert but I'll give it a try

1. EHK/Exira I see them returning more than NF, and those two seem like the class of the district
2. My guess is that it comes down to West Bend Mallard, and MMC I'll give WBM the slight edge
3. Northwood and Janesville should be good, Janesville seems to be the trendy pick but I'll go with NWK
4. Central Elkader returns a lot, I'll take them as the favorite, interesting to see what TV does
5. I think Don Bosco has a drop off, I'll take HLV to win the district with the Dons second, then just about everyone fighting for the playoffs
6. I'll take Melcher Dallas, then Wayne, I think Twin Cedars could be good too
7. I'll take a good young Guthrie Center team dropping down
8. I'll take Fremont Mills, but not as easy as some on here think

 

[tm3308]

Big news out of District 7 (or at least news to me). Seth Nerness is transferring from Murray to a private school in North Carolina. Any real chance Murray had to be competitive in that district just went down the drain.

 

[Jayhawkin]

If true about Nerness, that is a huge blow to Murray.

 

[tm3308]

Just appeared in the Ames Tribune last week. This link mainly pertains to a different recruit who committed to ISU, but there's a note about Nerness, too.

http://amestrib.com/sports/football-good-jones-commits-isu-enjoys-perk-comes-it

 

[high90school]

Massive blow to that team. Would have been a .500 ball club at worst...now I see them being .500 at best in that tough district.

 

[tm3308]

Definitely a big blow, and takes all the fun out of the Murray-Wayne game I was planning on going to. Neither team was going to be as good as last year, but watching Nerness and Clayton Kiefer go head-to-head would have been fun.