Are these your personal rankings or from somewhere else? Just wondering where they came from.1. Franklin
2. Brevard
3. West Henderson
4. Pisgah
5. Tuscola
6. Smoky Mountain
7. North Henderson
8. East Henderson
Good to know Heritage has Pisgah at Pisgah week one both will be replacing a lot of players this year, Heritage replaces nearly their whole defense.My initial predictions would be:
Tier 1
Franklin- can be beat but definitely a strong group of experienced upperclassmen. Terrell (QB), Young (RB) should lead this team well.
Tier 2- alphabetical order
Pisgah- Replacing virtually every RB, WR, LB, and DB from last year. Different type of Talented group of skill players than last year just not a lot of varsity experience. Will get better throughout the year. We won’t be feeding anybody the rock 40+ times a game over and over.
Tuscola- RB Trantham will be solid
West- New coach, talent not like the West surge of a few years ago
Tier 3- alphabetical
Brevard- lost a lot between graduation, transfers, relocation. New coaching hire that didn’t breathe much enthusiasm into program. Maybe they prove them all wrong, including me.
N. Henderson- Assuming Willis is still at RB, he will be difficult for all defenses. Probably the best overall RB in the conference last year just didn’t result in wins
Smoky-Good coaching staff that will get the most out of their team, most likely play a lot of possession-oriented clock management games.
Tier 4-
East- New coach that can hopefully urge this program in the right direction. I hope they show progress.
Tier 2 and 3- should see a few good matchups, where styles will keep games closer than talent might show on paper. Any of these teams could give Franklin a ballgame, it will just require solid execution with minimal mistakes.
In the category of team speed, the next two years we will have a lot faster team than we did last year. That part won’t even be close. I would have considered us a slow overall team last year. There is a lot of talent on this squad and if it comes out of the gate gelling things could be real solid. I think it may take a few games but this team could be something to deal with late season.In my opinion pisgah is my sleeper pick to win conf. They did lose lot from last season, but overall the bears will have more team speed. If they can young guys ready they will be tough.
How did Erwin look? What I’ve heard has been all over the place.Pisgah was at Erwin. We did a lot of things well and executed things good overall. Gave up a few deeper balls to Erwin by trying to KO the receiver right at the point of the catch but Erwin held onto 2 of them where we rocked the kid. We ran the ball solid from multiple looks. Good overall scrimmage. Pisgah’s team is very different than the team last year. Last year’s squad was big without much speed and wanted pound the ball and pound people. This group is much smaller and far more speed. Capable of a lot of different looks.
Erwin’s lefty QB slings it. When he keeps it low, he drills the ball, when he lofts it he isn’t as accurate.
Asheville will be a strong challenge next week if we don’t disrupt the QB
The majority of the game our line, on both sides, was able to do what we wanted. I think will be their biggest area of issue. We threw two interceptions but one was a badly “sailed” throw across the middle and the other was just way off target. QB throws every ball 100mph whether it’s a 5-yard hitch or a Hail Mary. Threw it too hard for his guys to handle on several shorter routes. Pressuring him will create mistakes. They did have two skill players (DBs)that are brothers that came from Enka and they looked to be solid athletes.How did Erwin look? What I’ve heard has been all over the place.
The Bears get Asheville this Friday should be a better test as to how good they are.The majority of the game our line, on both sides, was able to do what we wanted. I think will be their biggest area of issue. We threw two interceptions but one was a badly “sailed” throw across the middle and the other was just way off target. QB throws every ball 100mph whether it’s a 5-yard hitch or a Hail Mary. Threw it too hard for his guys to handle on several shorter routes. Pressuring him will create mistakes. They did have two skill players (DBs)that are brothers that came from Enka and they looked to be solid athletes.
Overall, I think Erwin will compete with Enka for who winds up 4th/5th in their conference.
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