D3 Preview

[GoEagles23]

Gonna be a fun year in 1A D3.

Team Breakdowns:

Bellevue - return a bunch from a playoff qualifier. Daugherty brothers and Kilburg along with one of the better OL in Mason Lyons will have the Comets firing and competing for a playoff spot again.

Clayton Ridge - My Eagles will be throwing the ball all over the field this year with the return of 1900 passer Jace Moore. He returns his top 2 targers in Sweers and Schmelzer. Another team that will be in contention for a top 2 spot.

Durant - with the loss of athletic QB Will Bentley and running duo of Dykes and Blake, the Wildcats may continue to struggle. Hopefully their young squad makes strides for the future.

Jesup - perhaps the best team on paper. Drew Schmit is as good a throwing QB as there is in 1A. Their OL is going to be solid as well. Will be a shock if they don't make postseason.

Maq Valley - the loss of Fischer will sting, but Alec McDowell is a good back. MV always has a solid OL so they, too, will be in contention come late October.

North Cedar - it seems like the cyclical nature of HS football is hitting NC hard. From being a perennial contender to falling off a bit. Losing Ian Malaby would hurt any team. OL Nick Dewell will be an anchor for their growth.

Tipton - Maybe the most statistically hurt team from '15 to '16. Hermson and TD maker Kody Johnston are gone. Who will be the Next Man In?

West Branch - They return one of the best backs in the state in Luke Lenoch. They also return OL and DL linemen of the year in Jacob Barnhart and Colton Dietz. OL John Krall and Cole Tisinger also return.

Projected Finish

1 Jesup - Air Schmit all day
2 WB - too much strength and beef to be denied
3 Bellevue - they see the light but cannot quite reach it
4 MV - too bad they play in arguably the toughest district in 1A
5 CR - not this year for my boys
6 Tipton - rebuilding season. 2017, maybe?
7 NC - no idea who will step up. We'll know by week 9.
8 Durant - the purr is gone in eastern Cedar Co. When will it return?

 

[WBBearsFollower]

Projected Finish

1 Jesup - Air Schmit all day
2 WB - too much strength and beef to be denied
3 Bellevue - they see the light but cannot quite reach it
4 MV - too bad they play in arguably the toughest district in 1A
5 CR - not this year for my boys
6 Tipton - rebuilding season. 2017, maybe?
7 NC - no idea who will step up. We'll know by week 9.
8 Durant - the purr is gone in eastern Cedar Co. When will it return?

Looks about right.

Bears lost A LOT of firepower on offense.
Koenig is school's all time single season passing yardage and total yardage record holder. Barnes is the best return man they have had with regard to yardage. Kindon was an all-everything kid for 3 seasons. Shawver and Wargo were good defenders and speedy receivers.

Developing a QB and a defensive identity is what I look for from WB this season. They will be very young and green at WR, DB, and LB on the whole. Having a seasoned OL is a good thing.

Not many OL better than Jacob Barnhart and he's just a junior (6'6, 290). Krall (6'5, 260) and Tisinger (6'3, 240) are solid as well.

Jesup is the presumptive favorite. I agree.
WB should compete for the 2nd qualifying spot.

 

[GoEagles23]

Wow. The Bears really did lose a bunch of key players. Plus, I think the Finnegan kid who had the bad luck injury graduated also (?). That kid is a beast! Do you think they have enough to compete with Jesup or anybody on the east side to get to the Dome? Will the seedings help their chances?

 

[cidhawkeye]

Wow. The Bears really did lose a bunch of key players. Plus, I think the Finnegan kid who had the bad luck injury graduated also (?). That kid is a beast! Do you think they have enough to compete with Jesup or anybody on the east side to get to the Dome? Will the seedings help their chances?

I don't think they have enough to get to the dome but they should be really good, that line sounds huge and athletic. Lenoch piles up the yards.

 

[PNation]

These look good to me but even though West Branch lost a ton there kids have been there before and know what it takes, that might get them past Jesup especially if they met a second time.

 

[WBBearsFollower]

I don't think they have enough to get to the dome but they should be really good, that line sounds huge and athletic. Lenoch piles up the yards.

This is right on. ^^^^
You can't lose guys like Koenig, Barnes, Shawver, Wargo, Kindon and be as successful. Those kids were a special group. One error away from a title. But that's what good teams like Regina do: they capitalize on mistakes.

Finnegan graduated. Tough break, literally. If he is 100% all season the Bears do not lose. Period. Funny part is he was about 70% vs PC and Regina and guys couldn't block him. He is a hammer.

 

[cidhawkeye]

This is right on. ^^^^
You can't lose guys like Koenig, Barnes, Shawver, Wargo, Kindon and be as successful. Those kids were a special group. One error away from a title. But that's what good teams like Regina do: they capitalize on mistakes.

Finnegan graduated. Tough break, literally. If he is 100% all season the Bears do not lose. Period. Funny part is he was about 70% vs PC and Regina and guys couldn't block him. He is a hammer.

I enjoyed watching Drew play football and wrestle through his career. That being said 'Bears don't lose' is a pretty bold statement. Injuries occur and are unfortunate, both teams at 100% and the pick would be Regina for that game.

 

[jhawkpower]

I wouldn't be too sold on my Jhawks. Schmit and Wyant will be a tough combo to stop in the passing game but the defense still has lots of question marks.

 

[GoEagles23]

I wouldn't be too sold on my Jhawks. Schmit and Wyant will be a tough combo to stop in the passing game but the defense still has lots of question marks.

Poor boy sandwiches for sale!!!! haha

Every team will have a weakness. Even Regina. Their weakness just isn't as weak as everyone else's is. Durant, Tipton, NC, and WB probably will struggle throwing the ball, but Jesup, Bellevue, and ClayRidge won't. On the flipside, those 3 teams are unsure of a running game while Maq Valley and West Branch will feature it.

It's gonna be a blast this fall.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Should be an interesting fall, Regina looks to have only 40 kids out 7-12. It seems odd that with all of their 'recruits' that their numbers would be so low is it too early to start that? . Depth will be a concern and if I had to guess there will be a steady dose of running the ball this fall. Thought their line would be pretty big but it sounds like WB will be bigger. Any other thoughts from the area?

 

[Cyclone1968]

Should be an interesting fall, Regina looks to have only 40 kids out 7-12. It seems odd that with all of their 'recruits' that their numbers would be so low is it too early to start that? . Depth will be a concern and if I had to guess there will be a steady dose of running the ball this fall. Thought their line would be pretty big but it sounds like WB will be bigger. Any other thoughts from the area?

Interesting. The current quickstats roster has 38 kids 10 thru 12. You only have 2 kids play 7 thru 9? Hard times.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Interesting. The current quickstats roster has 38 kids 10 thru 12. You only have 2 kids play 7 thru 9? Hard times.

My fault,9-12.

 

[PNation]

Those quikstat rosters are from last year just moved ahead to this year, so if a kid didn't go out but were out last year they would be listed.

 

[GoEagles23]

Those quikstat rosters are from last year just moved ahead to this year, so if a kid didn't go out but were out last year they would be listed.

and the recruits have yet to be added to the roster, also.

Never too soon CIDHawkeye!

 

[Cyclone1968]

Those quikstat rosters are from last year just moved ahead to this year, so if a kid didn't go out but were out last year they would be listed.

I looked at my sons teams roster. It is correct for this year. It has kids that were not on the roster last year and non senior players that have left the program are not listed as well.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Back to D3, does MV have enough horses to challenge WB?

 

[GoEagles23]

Back to D3, does MV have enough horses to challenge WB?

if you read a recent article in the Gazette it looks like Regina is the only team in 1A with enough horse to hang with or beat the Bears. But who believes anything that a journalist writes anyway? hahahaha

 

[Pinehawk]

if you read a recent article in the Gazette it looks like Regina is the only team in 1A with enough horse to hang with or beat the Bears. But who believes anything that a journalist writes anyway? hahahaha

I thought that same article said to watch out for Clayton Ridge?

Both the Bears and the Regals will be replacing QB's this season. And, those QB's played a massive role in the success of both teams last year.

 

[Iabeastmode]

Would be shocked if West Branch doesn't easily win this district.

 

[fbfan05]

West Branch and Regina should be the best teams in their districts, but Pella Christian has to be the favorite in 1A, they return a great qb and almost their entire team from last year.

 

[EIHCGuy]

Preseason top 5 it would look something like:

1 - Regina: until they lose to a 1A team
2 - Pella Christian: pretty much 1a in rankings
3 - West Branch: Lenoch, Lenoch, and more Lenoch
4 - Hinton: return a bunch of good players
5 - Western Christian: 2 big time performers return from 2nd place team

How does this whole seeding thing work? Does it go east/west? If it truly is a seeding thing then Regina and West Branch wouldn't meet until Cedar Falls.
Interesting, eh?