Time to kick up 2017

[Washington_sports]

Well, summer is already gone and it's time for the Boys of Fall to show up. Can't believe the season starts this week. I haven't even had a chance to watch the preseason newspaper for speculations. I suppose we will have to make our own.

Call out to the people who know the teams best......That's you. Tell us what you are thinking this season. I am looking for a Cinderella team for the season?????

 

[OldGrenadier]

Can't wait! A lot of teams graduated a lot of key seniors. That should create more opportunities for more teams. It's hard to pick out a Cinderella until we've had at least a couple of dances. Deer Park was a bit of a Cinderella last year to make it to the semis. Would they still qualify again? They should be good again. Columbia-Burbank has a new coach and a great QB returning. Will that be enough for drastic improvement? What about the west side? Isn't Butch at a 1A private school now?

I suspect that at the end of the day we will again be discussing the powerhouses and how they will settle out.

 

[Washington_sports]

Here is my take at the season (mind you I am not a sports writer by any means)

I’ll start with the power house teams (top 8 from last year) and ones I think will be in the playoffs again.

Two time defending champs Royal lost a lot of seniors last year, but their younger backups got a lot of playing time. Little Jenks will strive to fill his brother’s shoes at QB and he has most of receivers returning from last year. Christensen no doubt will be his go to receiver. Royal is going to be looking for kids to step up on defense to replace the fast line and faster backfield.

Connell as well lost a lot of key seniors, and will be looking the young Smith kid to make plays at QB. They still have a sizable line lead by seasoned tackle Dines and they are returning most of the backfield with seniors Garland and Chavez. Looks like a change from air attack to ground attack this year.

Deer park had a powerhouse defense last year allowing few points last year, but they also will be looking to fill the senior loaded line and backers from last year. I would expect to see Lim return to the lineup. He was quick last year and hard to take down.

La Center has a lot of returning talent this year and will be loaded with seniors. I see them going deep into the playoffs.

Mt Baker is like the rest of the teams. They lost a lot of size up front in their senior loaded line but they seem to grow big kids year after year. With Bass and Barbo returning they will be fun to watch. I can see this run heavy team going to the air a lot this year.

Meridian had a great team last year, and if I remember correctly they were full of juniors and sophomores. If that is the case, they should show well this year.

Coleville pulled the short straw getting Royal in the first round of the playoffs but played a strong game. They lost a few key players but returning a large portion on both sides of the ball. This could be my Cinderella pick for 2017

 

[1AA]

Very good read WaSports thanks. A sleeper out of NEA could be Newport. They made a playoff game for first time in forever and return all skill spots. Will probably come down to line play. The qb Kao Poncho throws a nice ball and runs real well.

 

[Front Row Joe]

Awesome!! It seems like it's taken forever to get here to me. I'll give my 2 cents but that's all it's worth. Not sure who could be a cinderella story and I can't say I'm very educated but I have a few feelings on the matter.

Royal, not surprisingly, it top rated and will be the team to beat. They just seem to keep producing year after year. Don't know what they feed those kids there but they sure come to play. I imagine this year will be a little different since their 3 (or 4?) year starting QB is gone. I don't know much about little brother Jenks but my guess is we will find out Friday night. I know they lost a few key players but as I recall they had some talent in their juniors and a couple of sophomores.

I guess Connell will be good also but they lost a lot of key positions in my opinion. They play first 2 games against same opponents as Royal so that could be quite telling. Coach Riner will have them gritty as ever so my guess is they will get it done somehow. Tristan Garland is fast and shifty so I expect a lot from him. I think he was hurt some of last year so hopefully this year he can stay healthy.

I'm anxious to see how Meridian does actually. That Burkett kid, who I think committed to Eastern, should be show stopper at QB so I expect they will make a good run also.

I read somewhere that La Center, who lost in the semis last year, has 26 seniors on their team. Wow!! I think some schools don't get that many kids out for the entire team, let alone Seniors. I don't know what players they lost from last year but that sounds like they could be good.

I hope Deer Park can make a run again. That Lim kid was impressive and I don't think their loss to Royal was indicative of the type of team they are. And I'm also curious to see how Newport does after 1AA comments. Colville is always scary and I know they have a couple of key players back. They are well coached, tough as nails and that offense is hard to stop.

How about Caribou Trail or SCAC West (sorry, I don't know much about West side)?

After reading that I think that's only 1 cent worth. Can't wait for Friday night.

 

[1AA]

All but one NEA team won their openers.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...y-ranked-no-1-in-associated-press-state-poll/