Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference (MVAC) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MVAC had plenty of success last year sending 3 teams to the District Finals and containing one of the best small school teams in NE Ohio. This year might not have 3 District qualifying teams, but will certainly have success from the top half teams. Graduation affects the league heavily and will open the door for new names and teams to step forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Contenders</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Newton Falls</em></strong> (Grey Division)- The Tigers weren't the most impressive team last year in the conference, but they hung tough with plenty of teams within the conference. Only finishing with a .500 year, the Tigers will come back with their top 2 from that team in <strong>Mac Haidet</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Alex Pennington</strong> (Sr) and should have more experience entering the new year. This should allow Newton Falls to take the division in a year where many other teams are losing their top production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Lowellville</em></strong> (Scarlet Division)- The Rockets were in the District Finals last year and are poised for another run in 2023 with their top guys returning from a 20-5 team. <strong>Anthony Lucente</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='973876' first='Vinny' last='Ballone']</strong> (Sr) were crucial to Lowellville's success last year and now come back for another run. This is a team with a lot of upside and potential and is poised for a division and District title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Outlooks</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Grey Division)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After Newton Falls, there isn't a lot of returning talent that can give them much of a challenge. Campbell Memorial was last year's champions and were District champs, but I don't know how much is returning to give them a repeat title. Brookfield will be returning their top 2 guys in <strong>Donovan Pawlowski</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Isaiah Jones</strong> (Sr) and could be the closest team to challenging Newton Falls. Garfield and LaBrae both were solid a year ago but both lose plenty of guys from those respective teams. Liberty will miss their top guy (James Davis) from last year and their 16 win team. Champion and Crestview combined for 8 wins last year and neither really returning the talent to contest this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Scarlet Division)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lowellville has the best odds to take the title outright this year. New Middletown Springfield was undefeated in the conference last year but graduate everyone from a District Runner Up team. Jackson-Milton and Western Reserve were just under .500 but neither really are returning much either to make a case to battle with Lowellville. Waterloo loses their best player in Luke Simons, but will be one of the few teams returning some talent in <strong>Navarre Alhassen</strong> (Sr). Between McDonald, Mineral Ridge, and Sebring McKinley, it remains to be seen who will step up for those teams and fill the gaps lost.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->