Last year was a down year for the conference on the boys side, but I was optimistic because I thought the level of play was down because a lot of the teams were young. I have been a little disappointed this year, to be honest--league is still down, but without the excuse of youth (other than Andrews and Hayesville, which are two of the youngest teams I've seen in the SMC). Cherokee seems to have struggled some--like almost losing to a bad Rabun County team--but still should be the favorite, especially once Day returns. Murphy boys pass the eye test but haven't been able to throw it in the ocean when I've seen them.
On the girls side, Murphy looks like a state title contender, though.