1A Frontrunners: Southwood
The season is getting closer and closer and we are starting to dive into the rosters and Sectionals that will help to determine who are the top competition for each class. Today, we take a look into 1A and the frontrunners. Today, we breakdown Southwood.
Last Year’s Record: 21-5 (Sectional Champion)
Head Coach: John Burrus
Top Returning Players: Carson Blair (Sr.), Peyton Trexler (Sr.), Matt Nose (Sr.), Dallas Holmes (Jr.)
Top Departures: Blake Martz (Graduate), Jeff Finicle (Graduate)
New Additions: N/A
Why A Frontrunner: When thinking of possible frontrunners, you have to look at Southwood who gets a big advantage as they move from 2A to 1A. They leave a Sectional with Oak Hill to one with Central Catholic. Now, LCC is usually pretty good but they lost a lot last year and well, Southwood is stacked. They bring back all of their offense including Carson Blair who averaged 20.7 points per game last year. But then, they have three other players that all averaged over 10.0 points per game. They were a massively offensive team and with all of that back, it will be really hard for anyone to really slow them down unless they do it themselves. They are a sneaky pick to win state this season and should have a tougher time with LCC than with any of their Regional opponents. Could also see a Southwood vs. Blackhawk Christian/Gary 21st Century matchup in Semistate that could be a lot of fun to watch.
Outlook: Realistically, Southwood should be the most likely Semistate winner out of the north because of their depth, experience, and complete offense. Blackhawk might be deeper but they have a lot of new pieces and we won’t know until midway through the season. Gary 21st just doesn’t have the depth but they have the top-end talent. This team should be in Semistate no matter what with any reasonable expectations and a very high chance to win 1A altogether.