Conference Preview: War Eagle

The Teams Akron-Westfield (1-20): The 2019-2020 season was a tough one for the Westerners. There are a few bright spots for this young squad with Sawyer Drent (12.5 PPG 2.7 RPG) and Carter Drent (10.0 PPG 6.6 RPG). They led Akron-Westfield in points per game with over 50% of the teams scoring totals. For A-W to improve in the War Eagle they will need players to step up after graduating six seniors and limit their turnovers per game (24.1). Gehlen Catholic (7-15): If you look just purely at the record in the conference that does not tell the whole story of Gehlen Catholic. The Jays worked through the season with a number of underclassmen that gained a wealth of experience from 2019-2020. Look for last year’s youth-led by Keaton Bonderson (18.4 PPG 4.4 RPG), and [player_tooltip player_id="962690" first="Carter" last="DeRocher"] (15.7 PPG 4.3 RPG), meaning they return 60% of the 56.9 points per game. Gehlen Catholics youth will need to bring last year’s experience and build upon it to improve their standing in the conference. Harris-Lake Park (11-11): The Wolves hit their stride at the end of last season in the tournament coming up one game short of the State Tournament. The graduation of four seniors, including 1000 pt career scorer Issac Ihnen, will hit the wolves hard losing 50% of their scoring from the 2019-2020 campaign. [player_tooltip player_id="796136" first="Bubba" last="Sohn"] (15.8 PPG 3.8 RPG) and Brody Boles (9.1 PPG 2.1 RPG) are returning to help the wolves try to punch their ticket to State this year. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (9-14): The Hawks finished in the middle tier of the War Eagle last season. Two freshmen were big contributors to the success of the 2019-2020 campaign Kooper Ebel (7.2 PPG 3.3 RPG) and Lance Berends (13.8 PPG 8.2 RPG). The Hawks will have to value the possession of the basketball this season and limit their turnovers per game (16.5 topg), which will keep them in more games this upcoming season. Hinton (14-8): Hinton finished middle of the pack last year in the War Eagle. The Blackhawks will be returning a youthful squad with 63% of last year’s scoring including leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="962600" first="Caleb" last="Holmes"] (21.7 PPG 4.0 RPG) and Desmond Riley (6.2 PPG 3.6 RPG). If Hinton's returning players can take what they learned from their previous season, look for Hinton to make some noise this winter in the War Eagle. MMCRU (3-19): MMCRU was another youthful team with no seniors on last year’s squad that will bring that experience into this upcoming season. That experience will help close the gap to hopefully transcend to keeping the Royals in more games and hopefully more wins. [player_tooltip player_id="964943" first="Cade" last="Pepper"] (15.2 PPG 4.0 RPG) and Kamden Steffen (14.6 PPG 6.5 RPG) will be helping lead the Royals this season. Remsen St. Mary’s (22-4): The Hawks finished runner up last season in the War Eagle splitting games with the 2019-2020 champion West Sioux. Look forward to another strong season for Remsen St. Mary’s with a few question marks due to the graduation of six seniors and 77% of their total scoring. [player_tooltip player_id="962656" first="Austin" last="Jensen"] (5.2 PPG 4.4 RPG) and Jaxon Bunkers (5.4 PPG 2.7 RPG) are coming back from last year to continue the success of last season. South O’Brien (21-4): South O’Brien finished the year one game short of punching their ticket to Des Moines. The upcoming season will be a toss-up due to the graduation of seven players including Dordt commit [player_tooltip player_id="801882" first="Jackson" last="Louscher"] and 83% of last year’s season total. Look for the wolverines to try to reload and fill some big holes in their roster this season. Trinity Christian (6-16): The Tigers are gearing up for another season in the War Eagle. Last season Trinity Christian finished in the bottom tier of the conference and graduated four players that made up 69% of total scoring (46.7 PPG). Returning player Anthony Kooiker (10.0 PPG 6.8 RPG) will help lead the Tigers this season. Do not overlook Trinity Christian, four of their losses came down to two possessions or less during the season and can help push them into the middle tier of the conference. Unity Christian (12-10): Unity Christian graduated six players that consisted of 44% of the team scoring per game. Look for Logan Franken (10.4 PPG 3.1 RPG) and Tyrell Hulshof (7.4 PPG 3.2 RPG) will try to improve upon their first-round exit from the tournament last season. Key wins last season: Bishop Heelan, MOC-FV, and Hinton. West Sioux (22-3): Conference Champion and State Tournament qualifier West Sioux will continue to be a tough team to play but the graduation of their two leading scorers [player_tooltip player_id="801843" first="Bryce" last="Coppock"] (24.6 PPG 3.9 RPG) and [player_tooltip player_id="801849" first="Hunter" last="Dekkers"] (21.3 PPG 8.3 RPG) will leave big shoes to fill for the Falcons. Underclassmen [player_tooltip player_id="956885" first="Mason" last="Coppock"] (8.6 PPG 2.3 RPG) and Blake Van Ballegooyen (2.4 PPG 2.1 RPG) bring last year’s varsity experience to help lead the Falcons this upcoming season.   Projected Order of Finish 1. Gehlen Catholic 2. Hinton 3. Remsen St. Mary's 4. Unity Christian 5. Harris-Lake Park 6. West Sioux 7. South O'Brien 8. Hartley Melvin Sanborn 9. MMCRU 10. Trinity Christian 11. Akron-Westfield Analysis: With a number of teams either bringing back a number of players or losing a majority of their scoring, we may see a shakeup in the War Eagle this winter. Five of the top teams from last season's conference graduated sixty percent of their scoring, which may lead to the shakeup and leaving some room for a new champion. Preseason Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id="962600" first="Caleb" last="Holmes"], 6’2 Hinton (2022) - The athletic ability and length of Holmes is hard to contain for teams in northwest Iowa. Caleb is a smooth player that stretches the defense with the set three should help Hinton be in the running for the War Eagle Conference Championship. 21.7 PPG--4.0 RPG--FG% 47.9%--3PT% 37.8% Players to watch [player_tooltip player_id="956885" first="Mason" last="Coppock"], 6’0 West Sioux (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="962656" first="Austin" last="Jensen"], 6’2 Remsen St. Mary’s (2022) Logan Franken, 6’2 Unity Christian (2021) Tyrell Hulshof, 6’3 Unity Christian (2021) Kooper Ebel, 5’11 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (2023) Lance Berends, 6’4 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="796136" first="Bubba" last="Sohn"], 5’10 Harris-Lake Park (2021) Brody Boles, 6’0 Harris-Lake Park (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="956881" first="Keaten" last="Bonderson"], 6’0 Gehlen Catholic (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="962690" first="Carter" last="DeRocher"], 6’2 Gehlen Catholic (2022) Anthony Kooiker, 6’3 Trinity Christian (2021) [player_tooltip player_id="964943" first="Cade" last="Pepper"], 5’10 MMCRU (2021) Kamden Steffen, 6’0 MMCRU (2023) Sawyer Drent, 5’10 Akron-Westfield (2023) Carter Drent, 6’2 Akron-Westfield (2022)