Scioto Valley Conference Preview

<p>The Scioto Valley Conference had success in the form of Unioto and Adena, who advanced to District Finals in 2022. Repeating the feat this season will be a challenge with those two teams losing much of their talent as is many teams in the conference. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Adena- </em>Repeating last year’s District Runner-Up finish will be a challenge for the Warriors as they graduated their top 4 from that team and then saw <strong>Dillon McDonald</strong> transfer to in-conference rival Paint Valley. Adena will struggle as they look for the next wave of guys to lead this team.</p> <p><em>Huntington</em>- Huntington struggled last year finishing with only 3 wins and really struggling within the SVC. <strong>Caleb Smith</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Seth McCloskey</strong> (Sr) both return and will be senior leaders in 2021. I don’t see the Huntsmen competing for a conference title in 2022, but they should see improvements.</p> <p><em>Paint Valley-</em> The Bearkats have a nice group returning from a year ago as they bring back juniors <strong>Dax Estep</strong> and <strong>Cole Miller</strong>. Add Adena transfer <strong>Dillon McDonald</strong> (Sr) and they could see themselves challenging Unioto or Piketon near the top of the conference.</p> <p><em>Piketon-</em> This Piketon group loses 3 of their top 5 from last year and a 16-6 team. Seniors <strong>Levi Guillon</strong> and <strong>Tra Swayne</strong> are back but can they replace the lost scoring from Chris Chandler and company?</p> <p><em>Southeastern- </em>The Panthers return their top 3 from last season, but must find a way to improve off of a 4 win season last year. Who between <strong>Cameron Hall</strong> (Sr), <strong>Aiden Estep</strong> (Sr), or <strong>Ashton Allman</strong> (So) will be the primary leader? And can they improve off that single digit win season?</p> <p><em>Unioto-</em> The Shermans were poised for another deep run after making the Regional Semifinals in 2022. Unfortunately though 3 of their top 4, including standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1222356" first="Tayvion" last="Galloway"]</strong> (So), are gone and leave doubt if this team has enough to try and make something happen. <strong>DeSean Branson</strong> (Sr) will now have the pressure on him.</p> <p><em>Westfall</em>- Westfall has a lot of optimism going into 2022 as they have a good core returning from last season’s 7-14 team. Underclassmen <strong>Casey Cline </strong>(Jr) and <strong>Brody Clark</strong> (So) combined with senior leadership in <strong>Ashton Nunemaker</strong> and <strong>Tyler Shipley</strong> could surprise some people in the SVC and in Southeast Ohio.</p> <p><em>Zane Trace-</em> Zane Trace was returning 3 of their top 4 from last season and then added a transfer that could be a game changer for Pioneers. <strong>Nalin Robinson</strong> (Jr) highlights a solid core returning and then adds <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1198930" first="Donavin" last="Baker"]</strong> over from Chillicothe. The size the Pioneers will have may allow them to make a move this year.</p>