It's still early but I thought that I might just give my mid-June predictions of the new Big South football conference. Of course I will update during fall before start of season after let all the changes and surprises(transfers, ineligibility, etc) that hit teams during the quiet summer months settle down some. My assessment is that the Big South is going to be really competitive overall. Almost everyone has question marks around there o-line.There are a couple of teams that are difficult to make predictions for but here I go anyway.
1. Hunter Huss- The Huskies are still loaded with talented athletes on both sides of the ball. Two years ago the Huskies played a lot of freshmen and sophomores and last year it paid off for them in a big way.Those guys are now rising juniors and seniors with 2 plus years of varsity starts under their belts. The current coaching staff has been able to get their players committed to off season workouts which is an area previous Huskie coaching staffs struggled with.The Huskies will be a hand full for anyone to deal with by mid season. Marcus Mauney on defense and Dallas Danner on offense will be a load to deal with for 3A opponents.The Huskies must clean up the penalties however.
2. Kings Mountain- This was a toss up in my mind between KM, Crest, and possibly Ashbrook. Talent wise KM is ahead of Crest at this time and will benefit from an influx of kids who expect to win when they step on the field. KM is better than Crest on paper but that doesn't win football games.The reason why its a toss up in my mind is because the Mountaineers can look like the best team in the state one week and lose to someone they have absolutely no business losing to seven days later. Pressley will lead the KM defense and Mack will lead the KM offense. If KM plays their best 11 on each side of the ball they will be on a collision course with HH for best in the Big South.
3. Crest- 3rd is a toss up between Crest and Ashbrook. Crest defense will have to keep them in games until the offense comes around. The Crest defense should be pretty strong but the Crest schedule does them no favors. Crest always has decent running backs but finding the right kind of qb to run the new offense will be a challenge. I do expect to see improved improved o-line play but in this conference if you can't pass the ball enough to keep defenses honest than you probably will not be able to score enough to win. If Crest finds a qb who is a threat to run or pass. Watch out.
4. Ashbrook- The "Brook" is one team that it is difficult to predict for. ashbrook could finish in 2nd place on talent alone. Also I believe they are the only team in the conference that can match up with the Huskies "physically" man for man across the board. Ashbrook has size, speed, and British Brooks at running back but they are also Ashbrook. This means that they can beat the first place team in the conference and lose to the last place team in the conference in the same year. It will be interesting to see what the new coaching staff does with the team and also with Brooks who is a traditional running back. If the coaching staff brings consistency and discipline to Ashbrook than they will be a tough out.
5. Burns- Easily one of the best coached teams that I seen last year. That's why I have them here instead of Forestview but you can easily flip flop these two teams. Forestview has a little more talent and Burns a little better coaching. Burns lost a lot of last year's team. Burn's still has some decent pieces coming back but not enough to jump into the top four of this conference. It will be interesting to see how the Dawgs perform with a number of new starters on the field this year.
6. Forestview- FV lost a lot from last year also. FV does has some young talent however. There is a clear gap between the top four and everyone else in this conference. FV has its' work cut out for it this year.
7. Stuart Cramer- The positive is SC has a number of younger guys on the roster who have varsity practice experience under their belt and who experienced a high school playoff football game. SC also has really good facilities(especially the concession stands
). The SC fans believe that they will do well in football in the Big South. Believe me I do not know why they think that either. The reality is that this conference will be brutal for them and their fans have absolutely no clue what is headed their way. SC has South Point, KM, and Crest on three straight Fridays in September. Hopefully they have enough players left before October rolls around.
8. North Gaston- Keep hope alive. It's going to be a tough year for the Cats.
1. Hunter Huss- The Huskies are still loaded with talented athletes on both sides of the ball. Two years ago the Huskies played a lot of freshmen and sophomores and last year it paid off for them in a big way.Those guys are now rising juniors and seniors with 2 plus years of varsity starts under their belts. The current coaching staff has been able to get their players committed to off season workouts which is an area previous Huskie coaching staffs struggled with.The Huskies will be a hand full for anyone to deal with by mid season. Marcus Mauney on defense and Dallas Danner on offense will be a load to deal with for 3A opponents.The Huskies must clean up the penalties however.
2. Kings Mountain- This was a toss up in my mind between KM, Crest, and possibly Ashbrook. Talent wise KM is ahead of Crest at this time and will benefit from an influx of kids who expect to win when they step on the field. KM is better than Crest on paper but that doesn't win football games.The reason why its a toss up in my mind is because the Mountaineers can look like the best team in the state one week and lose to someone they have absolutely no business losing to seven days later. Pressley will lead the KM defense and Mack will lead the KM offense. If KM plays their best 11 on each side of the ball they will be on a collision course with HH for best in the Big South.
3. Crest- 3rd is a toss up between Crest and Ashbrook. Crest defense will have to keep them in games until the offense comes around. The Crest defense should be pretty strong but the Crest schedule does them no favors. Crest always has decent running backs but finding the right kind of qb to run the new offense will be a challenge. I do expect to see improved improved o-line play but in this conference if you can't pass the ball enough to keep defenses honest than you probably will not be able to score enough to win. If Crest finds a qb who is a threat to run or pass. Watch out.
4. Ashbrook- The "Brook" is one team that it is difficult to predict for. ashbrook could finish in 2nd place on talent alone. Also I believe they are the only team in the conference that can match up with the Huskies "physically" man for man across the board. Ashbrook has size, speed, and British Brooks at running back but they are also Ashbrook. This means that they can beat the first place team in the conference and lose to the last place team in the conference in the same year. It will be interesting to see what the new coaching staff does with the team and also with Brooks who is a traditional running back. If the coaching staff brings consistency and discipline to Ashbrook than they will be a tough out.
5. Burns- Easily one of the best coached teams that I seen last year. That's why I have them here instead of Forestview but you can easily flip flop these two teams. Forestview has a little more talent and Burns a little better coaching. Burns lost a lot of last year's team. Burn's still has some decent pieces coming back but not enough to jump into the top four of this conference. It will be interesting to see how the Dawgs perform with a number of new starters on the field this year.
6. Forestview- FV lost a lot from last year also. FV does has some young talent however. There is a clear gap between the top four and everyone else in this conference. FV has its' work cut out for it this year.
7. Stuart Cramer- The positive is SC has a number of younger guys on the roster who have varsity practice experience under their belt and who experienced a high school playoff football game. SC also has really good facilities(especially the concession stands
). The SC fans believe that they will do well in football in the Big South. Believe me I do not know why they think that either. The reality is that this conference will be brutal for them and their fans have absolutely no clue what is headed their way. SC has South Point, KM, and Crest on three straight Fridays in September. Hopefully they have enough players left before October rolls around. 8. North Gaston- Keep hope alive. It's going to be a tough year for the Cats.
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