This will be a first and something I’ve always wanted to do. I figure I’d do a poll just in my opinion every week or so for all the schools in the MVAC,NW, and WPAC. This one’s just how I will rate the teams at the start of the year (there’s a few I cannot rate due to them being mysteries to me,) and starting with the 2nd poll after week 1 it will change every week.
This isn’t done to be against any school in particular at all; I’m just ranking them where I see fit. It’s gonna be more to the point once I have stats to rank with. This is just a combo of my pre-season picks in one big poll. I will ramble less in future installments. People will fuss and argue but hey it’s part of it! If I get a good enough response I may do another one with you guys voting on it ala the media poll.
But anyways here we go:
1.Mount Airy (It’s a no brainer to put MA here considering they made it deepest out of anyone and return some fast kids. However they do have ? marks to address and need to replace some holes especially on the line and at QB.)
2.Wilkes Central (Defending MVAC champs; the Eagles will be athletic as always this year. However they gotta keep improving especially on defense to really be able to make deep in November. Their non conference slate will help to make them more battle tested.)
3.East Wilkes (The Cards from Ronda had a topsy turvy season in 2016 to say the least but as a whole it was a successful year for East as they have rarely had back to back winning years. This year they will be tested more out of the gate and will have some younger kids up; but the returning talent will be very solid. Lineplay and ball control will be their biggest ? mark for me on both sides.)
4.East Surry (The Cards from Pilot also had a bi-polar season last year. It was hard to tell which ES team would show up every week but when push came to shove they ended their season much better than most squads would have. They return a stud of a RB but got ? marks on defense and the passing game. Their D’s got to improve and they gotta take pressure of the RB in rough situations.)
5 is a two way tie:
5A. North Surry (The Greyhounds will be heading into 2017 with a ton of optimism. Depth is up as is the size of it’s senior class (20+ kids,) which will give Hound faithful reasons to breathe. Defense looks like it hasn’t lost much from last year and the offense is improving every day with new faces in the QB and RB spots. North faces a solid test out of the gate which will help make North battle tested. In that way it won’t be easy for outsiders to peg North really until week 2 when they play Elkin. Looks like a fun 10th anniversary season for your’s truly on Fridays.. )
5B. West Stokes (West had a year unusual for them last season as they went .500. Injuries and line struggles made for a tough go for the Wildcats but they managed to stay competitive where most teams wouldn’t have. They came within a few seconds of stopping Surry Central’s luck spree. This year I expect the Wildcats to be on the up. They bring two solid backs from the JV to put in the offensive backfield. They have a new offense for them as well. Main key right now is lineplay and injuries. The line’s gotta jell and they need to stay healthy.)
6. Forbush (The Falcons were all over the place in 2016. Besides a program statement win over Starmount it was hard to tell which Falcon team would show up every week. This year they have a ton of questions to answer for. A very talented senior class is gone and they will have mostly new faces in the skill spots. They do return Zane Johnson in the backfield which is a huge boost for them because he’s a great power back but the Falcons have got to find an offensive ID to take the heat of him properly. This opener will show that in spades. Lineplay also has to stay consistent on both sides because Forbush just doesn’t have blazing speed they gotta win in the trenches to make it hard for their opponent. With Johnson as the HC though they will always be a threat to upset.)
7. North Wilkes (This team is the one squad I can say that I have seen in person so far. The Vikings have big expectations this season and it’s hard to not agree with that they had the MVAC’s leading rusher and some size on the line; they should be expected to finish high. However they weren’t perfect; in fact they do have their flaws they got to address before they can do some things. Firstly their depth isn’t great at all. They had around 25/26 kids; say an injury bug pops up it’ll hurt em. Secondly their D is very easy to run against but then again the 2013’s squads D was too. Their D has got to become tougher to stop the top squads. If NW avoids the injuries they will do fine in MVAC play. Their first real test won’t be until Forbush though; like their Western rivals.)
8. Surry Central (The defending WPAC champions will be a totally different squad in 2017; but then again when you lose a ton of players who wouldn’t be different the next year? The Golden Eagles rode their large senior class to glory last season in a year for the ages; however many expect them to have a lot of growing pains this season. A valid prediction? I agree. There’s gonna be a lot of new names on the field for the Dobson Eagles but can they matchup to their predecessors? TIme will tell. They have 2 solid returning backs in Palacios and Martin so that’s a start. The opener vs. Elkin will show a lot for the Eagles in more ways than one.)
9.West Wilkes (The Blackhawks had their best season of the decade last year after a long and pained dry spell since the arrival of Hunt in 2013.After abandoning their fancy offenses for the old school option; it worked wonders. However it may be back to the patience streak again as the senior class that hit paydirt’s gone. That will leave a ton of questions especially in the trenches but the Blackhawks won’t be so adrift in regards to talent. They will return some kids including their stud RB and some size. It won’t be so hard to tell how the Blackhawks will be; they open with a great test in Forbush to open the season in Miller’s Creek. But after that will be a competitive non conference slate to boost their confidence before conference hits. I expect the Blackhawks to maybe be the X factor for the MVAC if they stay competitive.)
10. Ashe County (The Huskies had a rather sad season last year. It started with some promise but it got down and down as the year went along. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them; but they went out on a winning note so maybe they found some solace in it. 2017’s looking to be a transition year for them. Almost all of the 2014 Varsity kids are now gone and it’s a lot of new faces on the field for the Huskies; however there is talent aplenty on the offense. Their new QB has an arm but he will need time to get his grip on the offense. On defense they got to improve. Their non conference schedule is one of the hardest in the area and the hardest in that conference with Watauga, West Caldwell, and Hibriten headlining it. They definitely will be battle tested by mid September. It’s also fair to say it’s gonna be hard to properly spot them until then. That being said I liked what I seen when we 7 on 7’ed them; they could maybe surprise for 4th place if all the cards turn out. The MVAC’s middle pack could be very surprisingly strong.)
This isn’t done to be against any school in particular at all; I’m just ranking them where I see fit. It’s gonna be more to the point once I have stats to rank with. This is just a combo of my pre-season picks in one big poll. I will ramble less in future installments. People will fuss and argue but hey it’s part of it! If I get a good enough response I may do another one with you guys voting on it ala the media poll.
But anyways here we go:
1.Mount Airy (It’s a no brainer to put MA here considering they made it deepest out of anyone and return some fast kids. However they do have ? marks to address and need to replace some holes especially on the line and at QB.)
2.Wilkes Central (Defending MVAC champs; the Eagles will be athletic as always this year. However they gotta keep improving especially on defense to really be able to make deep in November. Their non conference slate will help to make them more battle tested.)
3.East Wilkes (The Cards from Ronda had a topsy turvy season in 2016 to say the least but as a whole it was a successful year for East as they have rarely had back to back winning years. This year they will be tested more out of the gate and will have some younger kids up; but the returning talent will be very solid. Lineplay and ball control will be their biggest ? mark for me on both sides.)
4.East Surry (The Cards from Pilot also had a bi-polar season last year. It was hard to tell which ES team would show up every week but when push came to shove they ended their season much better than most squads would have. They return a stud of a RB but got ? marks on defense and the passing game. Their D’s got to improve and they gotta take pressure of the RB in rough situations.)
5 is a two way tie:
5A. North Surry (The Greyhounds will be heading into 2017 with a ton of optimism. Depth is up as is the size of it’s senior class (20+ kids,) which will give Hound faithful reasons to breathe. Defense looks like it hasn’t lost much from last year and the offense is improving every day with new faces in the QB and RB spots. North faces a solid test out of the gate which will help make North battle tested. In that way it won’t be easy for outsiders to peg North really until week 2 when they play Elkin. Looks like a fun 10th anniversary season for your’s truly on Fridays.. )
5B. West Stokes (West had a year unusual for them last season as they went .500. Injuries and line struggles made for a tough go for the Wildcats but they managed to stay competitive where most teams wouldn’t have. They came within a few seconds of stopping Surry Central’s luck spree. This year I expect the Wildcats to be on the up. They bring two solid backs from the JV to put in the offensive backfield. They have a new offense for them as well. Main key right now is lineplay and injuries. The line’s gotta jell and they need to stay healthy.)
6. Forbush (The Falcons were all over the place in 2016. Besides a program statement win over Starmount it was hard to tell which Falcon team would show up every week. This year they have a ton of questions to answer for. A very talented senior class is gone and they will have mostly new faces in the skill spots. They do return Zane Johnson in the backfield which is a huge boost for them because he’s a great power back but the Falcons have got to find an offensive ID to take the heat of him properly. This opener will show that in spades. Lineplay also has to stay consistent on both sides because Forbush just doesn’t have blazing speed they gotta win in the trenches to make it hard for their opponent. With Johnson as the HC though they will always be a threat to upset.)
7. North Wilkes (This team is the one squad I can say that I have seen in person so far. The Vikings have big expectations this season and it’s hard to not agree with that they had the MVAC’s leading rusher and some size on the line; they should be expected to finish high. However they weren’t perfect; in fact they do have their flaws they got to address before they can do some things. Firstly their depth isn’t great at all. They had around 25/26 kids; say an injury bug pops up it’ll hurt em. Secondly their D is very easy to run against but then again the 2013’s squads D was too. Their D has got to become tougher to stop the top squads. If NW avoids the injuries they will do fine in MVAC play. Their first real test won’t be until Forbush though; like their Western rivals.)
8. Surry Central (The defending WPAC champions will be a totally different squad in 2017; but then again when you lose a ton of players who wouldn’t be different the next year? The Golden Eagles rode their large senior class to glory last season in a year for the ages; however many expect them to have a lot of growing pains this season. A valid prediction? I agree. There’s gonna be a lot of new names on the field for the Dobson Eagles but can they matchup to their predecessors? TIme will tell. They have 2 solid returning backs in Palacios and Martin so that’s a start. The opener vs. Elkin will show a lot for the Eagles in more ways than one.)
9.West Wilkes (The Blackhawks had their best season of the decade last year after a long and pained dry spell since the arrival of Hunt in 2013.After abandoning their fancy offenses for the old school option; it worked wonders. However it may be back to the patience streak again as the senior class that hit paydirt’s gone. That will leave a ton of questions especially in the trenches but the Blackhawks won’t be so adrift in regards to talent. They will return some kids including their stud RB and some size. It won’t be so hard to tell how the Blackhawks will be; they open with a great test in Forbush to open the season in Miller’s Creek. But after that will be a competitive non conference slate to boost their confidence before conference hits. I expect the Blackhawks to maybe be the X factor for the MVAC if they stay competitive.)
10. Ashe County (The Huskies had a rather sad season last year. It started with some promise but it got down and down as the year went along. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them; but they went out on a winning note so maybe they found some solace in it. 2017’s looking to be a transition year for them. Almost all of the 2014 Varsity kids are now gone and it’s a lot of new faces on the field for the Huskies; however there is talent aplenty on the offense. Their new QB has an arm but he will need time to get his grip on the offense. On defense they got to improve. Their non conference schedule is one of the hardest in the area and the hardest in that conference with Watauga, West Caldwell, and Hibriten headlining it. They definitely will be battle tested by mid September. It’s also fair to say it’s gonna be hard to properly spot them until then. That being said I liked what I seen when we 7 on 7’ed them; they could maybe surprise for 4th place if all the cards turn out. The MVAC’s middle pack could be very surprisingly strong.)