Okay, I did a brief search and came up empty so I figured I'd start a new one.

What are your thoughts concerning the league this year? Ironton is gone. Logan and Chillicothe have new coaches. A lot of talent has graduated.

Personally, I think it is anyone's league this year and should be one of the funnest years in recent memories.

My shot in the dark prediction as of 23 June:
1. Jackson
2. Portsmouth
3. Logan
4. Warren
5. Gallia Academy
6. Marietta

Oops, I left somebody out.

5. Chillicothe
6. Gallia Academy
7. Marietta

I think it'll be:

1. Logan
2. Portsmouth
3. Jackson
4. Warren
5. Gallia Academy
6. Chillicothe
7. Marietta

Thats IF Logan can beat Ptown on the river, and Jackson at Alumni stadium. I think it will come down to week 9 between the Chieftains and the Trojans

1. Logan

2. Portsmouth

3. Jackson

4. Warren

5. Gallia A.

6. Chilli

7. Marietta

I'm tryin' to be optimistic about the upcoming season! But there will be a lot of variables to overcome with losing all that talent and a new head coach. I can see anywhere from a 5-5 season to a 9-1 season. I still think they will fare just fine and win the league yet again for the 7th straight time.

1) Logan
2) Portsmouth
3) Jackson
4) Warren
5) Gallia Academy
6) Chillicothe
7) Marietta

Dang it Paladin! You can't have the same picks as me! LOL

There you go............. following me around everywhere............................. and playing copycat !!

No no, you both have MY projected picks!! Kids these days.....anywho, I think you'll be fine. The Lancaster game is an instant measuring stick, and it'll be interesting (in my opinion) to see how week 9 turns out. With who they've got coming back, and the game being at their house, it looks like a close one on paper

Wow, it looks like I'm the only one that doesn't have Logan repeating this year. I hope the rest of you are right. Lancaster will of course give us all a better idea of how the Chiefs will fare in league play.

NYFan54;402092 wrote:No no, you both have MY projected picks!!

False! Paladin & I have MARIETTA finishing in last place. Not Warren!

LoganAlumni99;402164 wrote:Wow, it looks like I'm the only one that doesn't have Logan repeating this year. I hope the rest of you are right. Lancaster will of course give us all a better idea of how the Chiefs will fare in league play.

I'm totally picking with my heart on that. I don't know anything about the up and coming kids. I just hope I'm right too!

1. Logan
2. Portsmouth
3. Jackson
4. Chillicothe
5. Warren Local
6. Gallia Academy
7. Marietta

GoChiefs;402465 wrote:False! Paladin & I have MARIETTA finishing in last place. Not Warren!

Hahahaha I have Warren twice...whoops. Marietta will be last though

It's hard to pick against Logan since they have dominated the league for quite a while now, but I think the favorite is probably Portsmouth. They're returning almost everyone from last year's team and they get both Logan and Jackson at home. I'm sure the Chiefs will be very good again, though, even after losing a great senior class. I have high hopes for this season's Jackson squad, and I think they should be capable of winning the SEOAL, but actually doing it is another thing. It has been way too long since Jackson's last football title, so hopefully this is the year. I would probably be very surprised if someone outside of Logan, Portsmouth, or Jackson took home the title, but we'll have a better idea of what to expect near the end of the summer.

1. Logan
2. Portsmouth
3. Chilli
4. Gallia Academy
5. Jackson
6. Marietta
7. Warren

Logan has a couple of athletes coming back, but virtually no one else with any meaningful varsity experience. I think coach Wolfe was the right pick to replace Amyx, but he has his work cut out for him in this his inaguaral season.

Of what I know & what I hear, Logan will return to a more run dominant O with several good ball carriers. The QB will be way better than most expect and the receivers dependable. However, the real story this year will be a solid D team that will be a bear to crack. And the underclassmen were very successful in the lower grades. Size, speed & ability are all there. Still the Champs until beaten.

Portsmouth has a good QB plus some athletes. Their question mark is can they develope a solid D which has not been a strong suit down on the river. Even home field in game 9 may not be enough, but a close game is probably a safe guess at this point. League runner-up.

Jackson is just a one horse O this year and their D is questionable. A good running back will kill most of the weaklings in the league but will get stuffed against the top dogs. Jackson is also very thin & injuries could do them in quickly.

From there, it drops off quickly. I'd note that the most over-rated team at this point is Chilli. Most think the new coach will help. Actually, the new coach will help WHEN THEY HAVE MATERIAL. Best team for a dark horse is Warren, who if they get their athletes out ,will be competitve who may knock off a Jackson or Portsmouth but won't come near winning the title. Athletes missing will doom them again.

Paladin,

Who's this one horse that you're speaking of for the Ironmen? I'm pretty sure that they are returning several capable skill players this season, especially in the backfield. Maybe you're meaning they're going to be one-dimensional, but I'm not so sure about that either.

Gallia Academy will surprise a few people this year. They are by far nowhere near what Gallia Academy normally puts out, but they are heading in the right direction.

02

you are correct -- an over-reliance on the run game. Arthur seems to be getting attention, but nothing appears "special" about their backfield this year. And, as I said, they must stay healthy.

I don't know who is doing what...sounds like Winchester will be the QB....but Arthur and Ervin in the backfield? Speed and power....and both have a good bit of both.

92,

Yep, sounds like Kip is gonna be the starter. He'll present a dual threat at QB and should make the Jackson offense pretty versatile in my opinion. Klay Arthur and Drew Ervin are going to be a great pair at FB and RB. Klay has been starting at FB since he was a sophomore and has had two very solid seasons, even battling injuries last year. Ervin was the team's leading rusher last season as a sophomore and he has gotten a lot stronger and faster. Making it to the track regionals as a sophomore shows what kind of speed and athleticism he has. We also can't forget about skill players such as Meredith, Britton Johnson, Ty McNelly, Aaron Costilow, and others. Winchester, Arthur, and Ervin will obviously be the featured backs, but those others guys will make an impact as well.