The Missouri "Man It Is Way Too Early For This" HS Football Predictions Thread

[PhotoGuy]

Basketball wars are raging across the Tri-States. Wrestlers are throwing each other around. Girls are starting to shop for their prom dresses, and their boyfriends are thinking about.... well, you KNOW what their boyfriends are thinking about, don't ya? Campus bowl teams are frying their noodles, and glee clubs are getting ready for whatever it is they do. What does all this mean?

All of these activities are just something to waste time until football season starts.

Ah, the glare of the Friday Night Lights. Can't get here soon enough, can it?

Well, fellow TriStaters... lets talk about some football.

Specifically, I want you to talk about your own high school teams and the ones you know about. What do they have returning, what do you know about their opponents, and what news have you heard about next year's football schedule that is of interest to the rest of us?

I am starting one of these threads for both Missouri and Illinois, so we can talk about it on each side of the river.

Spill the beans!

[cardsfan]

Ahhhh.....football, there you go.

Really looking forward to CCC football this year in the area. The 'big school' division in the CCC should offer some great matchups--will be really interesting to see CC and Centralia go at it year after year. I know that Centralia graduated a big senior class but they tend to reload not rebuild. South loses Hughart from their lines and both Hall and Andress at the skill positions. South should be solid on the line and solid in backfield but the returning backs are considerably less explosive than what they've had in the past few years.

I would assume that the fans from the remaining Tri Rivers schools will have a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the football season. Anybody have a guess when was the last time someone other than Clark County or Brookfield won a league football title in the TRC? A few years ago, I'd wager. Should be a wide open race next year there and sense of hope for those schools.

A couple of interesting things to watch in the long, dark void until next football season arrives: Scheduling and District assignments.

With the reduction in number of teams in the TRC, those schools may have to become rather creative to fill 2 more open spots on their schedules. I've seen both NS and KC take some rather long road trips already in recent years to fill their schedule. If a TRC school finds itself in a district with 3 other TRC schools, they will have 5 open dates for non-conference games. That can be a real challenge. You think any of the remaining TRC schools will take a game with Clark County or Brookfield just to fill an opening?

I really haven't heard exactly how the CCC plans to schedule. I know there are 10 teams in conference with 2 divisions. Each school will have 4 games against their division opponents for sure. I assume there will be some effort among the CCC schools to play other CCC schools across division if possible? Is the conference planning to dictate that each school will play a certain number of the other CCC schools from the other division every year. With Louisiana and possibly SS being class 1 next year, that complicates this also.

Speculation is that SS will drop to Class 1 next year so I'd assume they are likely to be a heavy favorite to advance out of whatever district they are placed in most likely.

Does anyone know for sure when MSHSAA formally releases their district assignments for next football season? I think it's generally late January/early February.

There was a post on MoSports last week that claimed to have the enrollment numbers that showed South Shelby as the 59th smallest football school in MO for the next district cycle--which means there would be 5 schools larger than SS in class 1, if that is true. Same post showed Mark Twain's enrollment had dropped significantly and they were somewhere in the 10 smallest Class 2 schools. Again, those were unofficial still at this point.

[peterson]

I know that south will most likely be class 1 next year, and with talk from the other coaches that i know mark twain and monroe city's enrollments are steadily dropping...(might not be class 1 next year but maybe in the future). I think that centralia will be good, macon had a young team this past year, mark twain returns their qb and have a good senior class, south will be the team to beat in the small school side, monroe returns their qb and louisiana has their linemen back but loses their qb and a good back, highland??, palmyra??, cc and brook...do not know anything about them but will most likely be good. this year the state is saying that school can have 25 contact days (camp) but must have 2 weeks of dead time this summer. not sure when districts will be made

[sportcat]

Area high school football districts are scheduled to be released by MSHSAA on January 29, 2010 at 7:30AM. Coaches and athletic directors are currently slated to meet at 8AM to set their schedules. There will probably be more Class 1 football schools in NEMO due to overall population decreases. Football uses equal enrollment, that is MSHSAA divides all schools that play 11 man football into sections. Class 1-4 have an equal or close number. A fifth class is split in half, creating Class 5 and 6. Dropping enrollment does not guarantee Class 1 status. If you list 179 kids like Knox County, it gives you a pretty good shot.

South Shelby may well win the Class 1 state title if they are placed in Class 1 as expected. They have a great line returning. Marceline may have something to say about that. Remember the Tiger fans thinking they would roll into the 2009 state title game? Wellington-Napolean had other ideas. Cardinal fans still have a well financed Hamilton-Penney program to deal with. I believe Schuyler County was the last Tri-Rivers school other than Clark County or Brookfield to win a TRC football title.

Don't cry too loudly for remaining Tri-Rivers Conference schools. Administrators have had discussions with Lewis and Clark Conference schools about football pairings. Marceline may take the place of Brookfield on some TRC slates. Knox County has played non conference football game with Fayette, Slater, Paris, and Salisbury for years. Milan, Knox, Putnam, Scotland and Schuyler County are going to travel greater distances due to geographic location. North Shelby is just a little better off but not much. The CCC/TRC realignment is good for everyone involved. Don't forget Clark County is locked in the far NE corner of the state.

I would rather see schools of about the same size compete. Apparently so would the administrators involved. Communities like Milan, Brookfield, South Shelby and Marceline win most years because they work at it. That is the American Way. Brookfield and Clark County now have a stage that matches their commitment to the sport. Knox County is one of several TRC schools that are steadily upgrading their overall athletic program, not just football. Trading Brookfield and Clark County for Marceline, Salisbury et al will create a fairer but not always an easier match up.

[PhotoGuy]

I am a Knox resident and Tri-Rivers guy, so I will stick with the teams I see a lot.

Knox: How they will do depends largely upon how hard the young men on the offensive and defensive lines work in the weight room. Knox graduates virtually its entire line, with only one impact player (Damon Hemmerling) returning up front... and he could also play running back or tail back on offense. We will see. While Knox graduates all-everything Keenan Gillaspy and a fine corps of skill players, it also retains some people at the skill positions. Brady Morton ran the Eagles well on offense this year on several occasions, and Knox has a couple of fast, strong young running backs waiting in the wings. Davin York would have been Knox County's feature back this year, but he did a knee in the first game of the season and was lost for the year. He had surgery, and is recovering well, so expect him to be a factor as well. Knox had good numbers out, and I expect the Eagles to be somewhere near the 500 mark, depending on who they pick up in the schedule next year. They have a shot of getting out of district, but if that district includes South Shelby they would leave as the number 2 team.

South Shelby: They get most of the massive line back. Their skill positions will need to develop, their younger backs are more power kids than speed ones. In the CCC they will compete for the championship. If they drop to Class 1, which is what I and most everybody else expects, they could run all the way to the dome. Another good South Shelby team coming next year.

Scotland: Honestly, I don't know. I thought, this year, that Scotland was Cody Taft "and ten random other guys" but after talking with one of their coaches last week, I came away with the impression that they feel they are making great strides in the offseason development of their team. Taft is going to be a "one year wonder" for them, and the question becomes who steps up to fill his shoes? I don't know if anybody will.

North Shelby: North Shelby's year to win was this year... and they were destroyed by injuries. They are losing a lot of talent to graduation, and in a school with 110 kids playing 11 man football, that is a bad thing. Honestly, North Shelby is too small of a school to be playing 11 man football. They just are. They disagree with me, and that's fine.

Schuyler: Schuyler is a program on the upswing, and they are in an unusual position now... they have just become the biggest school in their conference. I expect Schuyler to compete well next year, since they had a decent underclass this year.

Putnam: Who knows? There is some talent there, but they have no coach and there is a LOT of discord in the program.

Milan: Coach Dabney's kids took their lumps this year. He was pretty well playing freshmen and sophomores against juniors and seniors. Next year, he will be playing sophomores and juniors... and the year after that, juniors and seniors... Can you see where this is going? Look for them to be improved next year... the year after that? Look out.

Clark: Clark is losing "a lot" this year, but compare that to what they lost LAST year and how well they still did. Clark will compete with Centraila and South Shelby for the CCC title, but moving forward the days of the gaudy records every year are over for the Indians. They will have a lot more 6-4 and 7-3 seasons than they are used to... it will be interesting to see how the Clark fans deal with that...

Brookfield: They will be Brookfield, always sold though rarely spectacular.

Highland: Another year, another coach, another "we're just waiting for basketball to start" football team. Who knows, perhaps this year they can find a way to forfeit more than one game so as not to bother their coaching staff and players of going through the trouble of losing on their own.

[peterson]

who is the new coach for highland?

[originalambie10]

Really can't wait to see how Bowling Green Bobcats will do in 2011 season w/ the fact that they are losing approximately 15 seniors I do believe. I think they have what it takes to become as good as they were in the 2010 season, with or without the seniors. They are returning the Cobb and Pease twins however.

[TigerDad5]

I'm not going to brag or make wild predictions but I am very excited about my Macon Tigers for next year. With basketball ending, the last of a certain style of athlete and parenting has left Macon for awhile and a new era of kids who will work hard, listen to their coaches, and do the little things it takes to win at all sports including football has arrived. Macon may not win conference or district next year in football (one never knows what will happen when it comes to injury, weather, or luck) but they have a legitimate shot at each. All I will let out of the bag for sure, is next years Macon team will have more team speed then Macon has had in years and of all the returners and experienced players who are young no more, there is one under the radar dark horse that everybody will know well two or three weeks into the season playing QB in Mac-town. Macon does not have an easy schedule, they scheduled Kirksville and Moberly in the non-con and also drew South Shelby as one of the small school opponents. Their district rivals in Brookfield and Centralia do not have to play South. The community should be proud of the boys that will take the gridiron next year, they have been thrown into the fire when young, they have stuck with it, they are hard workers, good kids, and they are fighters. They have grit. Macon High School next year will have one of the strongest 9-12 groups collectively they have had since I don't know when. Look for four years of nasty, starting next year from the Tigers.

[theone1]

tigerdad im one of those seniors thats going to graduated from that 2010 class at macon and i have to say i dont appreciate at all what you just said.

EDITED BY PHOTOGUY TO REMOVE A PERSONAL ATTACK.

i know im crossing the line but i think you crossed the line. EDITED BY PHOTOGUY TO ADD: Here's a hint... if you know you are crossing the line, then DON'T. We have a system here to report offensive posts to a moderator... all of those messages come to me. If you have a problem with something somebody said, let me know about it and don't attack personally.

no not all of us seniors worked our tales off in the weight room. not all of us lived the right lifestyle. not all of our parents cared about what we did. but there were a few of us that loved the game. that played the game with everything we had. there are a few of us that are being rewarded for what we did our senior years. there are a few of us that are going to play ball at the next level. so when you talk about that class thats going to graduate in a couple of days you better specify who you are talking or about or dont say it all.

[TigerDad5]

Congratulations and good luck in you future endeavors! This thread is about next year. The point I am trying to make is I feel some parents push basketball and baseball and others are more football orientated or push three sports. In my case I push four sports, depending on the child's skills and talents or lack there of. Don't need to read anything more into it than I feel we are going to have more athletes and parents who will place as much emphasis on football as has been placed on basketball and baseball in recent years. I'm hoping anyway.

[PhotoGuy]

Time for updates, guys, spill the beans!

[German/Irish_67_9]

PhotoGuy..... i was wondering if you could shoot the Hannibal/QND game this year.. but only if it has no conflicts with your schedule of course..

As for Hannibal... Who knows anything about them?

And does anyone have a Centralia - Clark Co. - or South Shelby schedule they could post? I'd like to hit a couple or at least one of their games this season.

[tiger]

What is the new Tri-Rivers conference going to look like? Should be wide open with clark and brookfield leaving! Who are some possible kids to look out for?

[SS fan]

I think the Tri-Rivers will not have a clear cut number one team. I believe it will be scotland or Schuyler winning the conference and knox has a shot.

[SS fan]

In the CCC I think South Shelby will win the small school division and the big school will be clark or centrella. The team to be the most improved will be Macon. Big names in the conference are Justion Alderton, Shane Smith, Ethan Decker, Taquan Kelly, Holden Meyers, Skyler Jameson, Colin Sizemore, Austin Clapp.

[PhotoGuy]

SS fan, welcome to the baord.

It think you are right about SS, they should power over the rest of the small schools this year. This is a VERY good year for SS to return to Class 1 where it belongs, it will be interesting to see how the playoffs play out. Barring injury (heaven forbid) SS should advance out of their district with no problems, and won't have any problems with first couple of playoff games (against the winner of the Scotland/Knox/NS/Schuyler district). After that, we will see what we see.

SS lost some good players to graduation so it will be interesting to see how they reload in some of those positions.

Clark is HUGE again this year, and Centralia just reloads. Palmyra will be improved (that's not saying much after last year) and I think Monroe City is going to be a lot tougher than many people are giving them credit for. I know some of their coaching staff, and they are very high on what they are seeing in their kids this summer.

I will be interesting to see if Louisiana can build on what they got going a little bit last year. I hope they can, it would be great to see the solid gains the school has made in several sports continue. The've got some really good staff there at Louisiana now.

Brookfield is Brookfield. They will be what they always are, a tough, smashmouth team with lots of big players. They bring it every single year, and are probably the most consistant team I know of other than Clark County for having a "good" team every year.

The CCC will be a war, especially with Clark and Brookfield joining the conference.

I will be interested to see how Clark holds up over the season though... they are used to having only a couple physical games on their schedule, Brookfield and Palmyra... they didn't get physically beat up against the little schools like North Shelby, Knox, Schuyler and Scotland like they will against Monroe City, Centralia, Mark Twain (a program that is really stepping up) & Macon, all schools much closer to Clark's size. Clark has been able to take their starters out early in most ball games over the last 15 years, and that's something that will change... those kids are going to get a lot more hits on their bodies, and that will be kind of fun to see how that works out.

Clark will be interesting to watch, they have a ton of talent returning but this is a team where a 7-3 season could well get a coach fired, and they aren't in the Tri-Rivers any more...

Highland? We all know Highland, and that's about all I am going to say about them until somebody in that program steps up and makes me take notice of them for something other than forfeiting games.

Macon is a team I don't know much about... any of you Macon folks care to share about your kids this year?

[TigerDad5]

On Macon football for 2010, no comment, except I am looking forward to the season.

[cardsfan]

South Shelby schedule, I believe week 1 is Aug 27 in Mo this year:
Trenton
@ Mark Twain
Macon
Clark County
@ Monroe City
Palmyra
@ Highland
@ Louisiana
Van Far
@ Paris

[originalambie10]

Let's go Bowling Green Bobcats.

Does anyone know where I can find the schedule for the football season at?

[originalambie10]

Bowling Green's Schedule 2010

8/27/2010 Montgomery County Home Varsity
9/3/2010 Miller Career Academy Home Varsity
9/10/2010 Duchesne Away Varsity
9/17/2010 Clopton with Elsberry Away Varsity
9/24/2010 St. Francis Borgia Home Varsity
10/1/2010 St. Dominic Away Varsity
10/8/2010 Van-Far Away Varsity
10/15/2010 Winfield Away Varsity
10/22/2010 Wright City Home Varsity
10/29/2010 Orchard Farm Home Varsity

[Lost Soul]

Hope its ok to say this on here. I just picked up the Duerr football 2010 edition while on my lunch hour.. NowIi am ready for football!