Mid Ohio Valley League (MOVL) Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MOVL preview continues coverage of Eastern Ohio conferences/leagues ahead of the upcoming season. As you will see in this preview, this league features arguably one of the top teams in Division IV from Eastern Ohio. See who I expect to impress below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Scarlet Division)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><li>1. <strong><em>River</em></strong>- The Pilots put together one of the better seasons in 2022, finishing with a phenomenal 22-2 record and taking the MOVL title outright. The Pilots return all of their top guys from that team including <strong>Brody Lollathin</strong> (Sr) and <strong>Kabel Isaly</strong> (Jr) who were All-District finishers as well as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='976074' first='Ty' last='Long']</strong> (Sr) who should be healthy after facing injuries a year ago. River has the upperclassmen factor and I think could make a case for being the top team in Eastern Ohio, especially in Division IV.</li><li>2. <strong><em>Monroe Central</em></strong>- The Seminoles were the 2nd best team in the league a year ago and I think they again are on par for another #2 finish. While they lose their top player from last season's squad, the Seminoles do return their best underclassman in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2729724' first='Tucker' last='Howell']</strong> (So) who was still an All-District finisher. Monroe Central wants to play games close and did last year. Their ability to finish top 2 will come down to how well they can handle close games when they face River and the remaining teams in the league.</li><li>3. <strong><em>Shadyside</em></strong>- Tigers lose 2 of their top 3 from a solid team. <strong>Elijah Brock</strong> (Sr) is back and is going to be leaned on the most for another solid showing.</li><li>4. <strong><em>Barnesville</em></strong>- Lose their top 2 from a year ago although they were solid during the season.</li><li>5. <strong><em>Shenandoah</em></strong>- Should have their best player back (<strong>Grant Stottsberry</strong>) but only won 1 game a year ago.</li></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(Gray Division)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Gray division is too tough to predict out as 3 of the 4 teams are Ohio based, but they will be losing quite a bit. Frontier had the best record between the 3 teams, but lose arguably the most important player in Tanner Bills. Beallsville and Bridgeport combined for 6 wins total a season ago and neither are returning enough production I believe to compete at the top of the division. Paden City is out of West Virginia and will not be previewed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->