NORTHWEST 1A 2018 Preview:
What was once a great conference has evolved into one of the more predictable in the state year in and out. It’s truly a shame what happened here.. when I was a kid to when I played JV ball this was one of the best if not the best conference in the area top to bottom in terms of quality. Now it’s 2 powerhouses.. a midranger.. and 3 programs scraping to stay alive. Definitely not a competitive conference. Hope very much to see in 2020 MA and East get a team or two more to play as they will be better off in the long run with some more productive contests instead of routs.
But I gotta do what I gotta do here.
I’m not gonna bother with in depth stuff on MA and East Surry; no offense to them at all but you can hear all the stuff you want about them in some of the earlier threads by ESOD and the Bear crew. No need to rehash it here. My focus here instead will be a productive look at the other squads instead; they all each will get an individual focus. And I’ll go from there:
A. Bishop McGuiness Villains
By all standards 2017 was a massive success for the Villains. Many expected them to fall off the Earth as Jones left the scene for good and the JV team folded. However their turnaround midway thru the season is one of the more impressive ones I’ve seen. They went from barely hanging in there at first to beating a much better Atkins team and took off to a few more wins and a playoff spot. Atkins won more games yet missed the playoffs; gotta love the ironies in the NCHSAA system..
This year Bishop is again in a hard to tell spot. #’s still aren’t very good and no JV team was fielded again. However not all is lost; depth is up a little and most of the staff is still in place minus the DC as he was replaced. The new HC has a solid chance to make it if he keeps up the momentum; it’s gonna be a slow process as it was for Jones but will he bring stability back if he is allowed to continue.
I don’t know much about this group but from Hudl it looks to have some impressive new faces. Very much impressed with the size of Bishop’s freshman OL; he’s 6-4 and 275 lbs and he can move quite decently as he is a puller on the line. He will be a beast by 2021 if he stays on he work path. Bishop also has a kid from NW Guilford over to play; maybe Bishop’s rep will be on the rise. However they still have a ways to go. Defensively they got to keep getting better in every way. Offense needs more consistency. Bishop’s O has put it good #’s the best few years but hasn’t been consistent in big games.
B. North Stokes Vikings
Up next is our area’s.favorite rootable squad. Sessoms is in his 2nd season of his return to Danbury and he has quite a shadow to follow. In his 2nd season of his first stint in 2000 the Vikings had one of their best years in the programs history. They won 6 games which was their most since 1995 and first pure even record, beat West Stokes for the first time, and Sessoms won Coach of the Year for his efforts. Needless to say he has an impossible shadow to follow this time.
In this case getting a W is enough to declare the season a success. The Danbury Vikings are in a multi season losing streak which is one of the longest in the state. Most importantly the Danbury boys are fighting for respect. Last year they managed to do that as they made it thru the season despite low numbers. This year they should strive to be more competitive and I see it happening. This group of Varsity kids are hard fighters and have had some success. 2 wins on JV in 2016 and 3 close loses.
All these kids need are a break and someone to believe in them. They have the latter now they need the former. Patrick County got very lucky last year.. It may be time for payback..
C.South Stokes Sauras
The Sauras have benefited very much after their class drop. Once the cannon fodder for the WPAC conference now the Sauras can truly compete and be respected again. Along with a new HC who cares for the program’s well being the Sauras have truly rose from the ashes. Their goal for 2018: true competition. They should strive to play with the big 2 schools. Can they do so though? Maybe, maybe not.
The 2018 season took a new direction for the Sauras with the loss of their starting QB Wood as he got hurt in the first scrimmage and requires surgery. This puts a wrench in the way of their offense which was molder for him in the pre-season. They even went to the Newton 7 on 7 tourny to allow him to get reps; now he’s gone. However despite the loss in him this will allow them to try the backup out a year early than they would have. He has a lot of pressure on him however to carry the offense. In that way I see less spread stuff and more wing plays until he figures it out.
Defensively I see them being solid on that end vs. the run. Pass defense needs work and prep before they play the athletic teams on their schedule. However they proved they can beat more athletic squads before: they beat Prep last year and dominated Carver's JV team 2 years back in their WPAC finale so it can be done in Sauratown. If South can manage to make it’s offense run well even without the starting QB then South will have one of it’s better years this season. 2017 lacked the offense to make it to round 2 but if South goes small again they can very much do it this time perhaps..
D.WS Prep Phoenix
Last but not least is the true wildcard of this conference in WS Prep. This team is the definition a true powder keg just waiting and looking for a reason to go off. They have the most athletes and the most potential if they can ever break thru.
Leading the offense is the QB Gwyn who is the most under looked QB in the conference. Haven’t read much praise for him and I find that disappointing as he had a solid year last year. 1700 yards of Offense on his own while playing defense; not bad. Throwing for 400 yards on South Stokes is no easy feat. With an offense designed around him I see him easily having a strong year this year.
However they have several issues they gotta fix to truly compete with the big boys. For one their depth still isn’t very good. 30 kids is a step up however there is no JV’s and that will really hurt them next year as they lose a ton of seniors including Gwyn. They really need to have a good year this year to help their rep. Defensively they need to keep improving as well in terms of lineplay. That is the way they will have to compete with ES, MA, and South. Prep’s gotta use their speed and be physical at all times to do that but I’m not sure if they are there yet. They cannot get up to 3rd place unless they stop South from ball controlling them but South losing their starter at QB will help Prep because that slows South’s offense down.
If Prep can get the pieces together and manage to stay consistent they can easily get 3rd place but that’s easier said than done.
1.Mount Airy
2.East Surry
3. South Stokes
4. WS Prep
5. Bishop McGuiness
6. North Stokes
I have MA in #1 due to their speed in the skill spots for now. They do have some things to address though. The new QB has big shoes to fill and their D is going to be younger. Also if they can’t find cohesion on the line that might be an edge for the Cards. The Cards meanwhile is in a new offense and have to deal without Ray but the QB spot looks solid and it will be get moving thru the year into conference time. D wise they will have to find their oats but by the end of the year they should be fine. 2019/20 may be more closer though as Greene will be gone and MA will have to readjust while Gosnell is a senior.
I was very close to giving Prep 3rd place due to South’s QB injury however after seeing some film I think South looks in the trenches better than last year. That might be enough to help them with an edge before heading to play WSP. Prep’s best bet is to out athlete SS and keep them from ball controlling them to death like last year. Prep needs to be ready to thud to win; speed isn’t enough to stop ball hogging.. Bishop needs to get more aggressive on D while producing points and North Stokes needs to find it’s way with low depth and a mountain on it’s backs.
This may be a year with some actual drama in this conference.. Maybe. Big MAYBE.
