1A Division I Has Some Interesting Teams to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've looked at all the bigger classes for Teams to Watch. Now let's turn our focus on 1A, starting with the Division I group:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Returners:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elyria Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles ran into Wichita Classical in the first round and took an early exit from the state tourney. But they come back loaded for a deeper run with star [player_tooltip player_id='1772994' first='Ty' last='Romero'] in the lead. He will be one of the best players in the small classes this year. He won't have to do it alone. He will have seniors <strong>Johnny Unruh</strong> and <strong>Alex Robertson</strong> to rely on. The team has size, balance and experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LaCrosse</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Leopards lost a few players from last season, but still they are loaded with seniors, and those seniors have good size. [player_tooltip player_id='1953954' first='Caden' last='Morgan'] and <strong>Gage Burk</strong> are big forwards who do a lot of things. <strong>Conner Barriger</strong> will be a big asset. And watch for big man <strong>Logan Skillett</strong> to take it to the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clifton-Clyde</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles probably belong in the “returners” category because of all their fine returners. But the big question will be, how will they adapt to the graduation of one of their best players in <strong>Seth LeClair</strong>. The Eagles were upset in the first round with LeClair. How will they fare without him? In his absence, the Eagles may lack size, though 6-foot-3 <strong>Drayden Reed</strong> will take up some of that slack. They do have slick guards [player_tooltip player_id='1953948' first='Trent' last='Long'] and <strong>Coy Steinbrock</strong> and versatile [player_tooltip player_id='2169850' first='Jack' last='Skocny'] (pictured).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Solomon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Gorillas really missed their star junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1269981' first='Spencer' last='Coup'] for much of the season. He broke his arm in the winter. But he was healed enough to win state golf in the spring, so hopefully he'll be full go this winter. The team went just 10-11 but they gained a ton of experience making up for Coup's absence. <strong>Carlos Duran</strong> was really good as a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unknowns:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olpe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olpe has been really good for so long, it's hard to envision them not being atop the 1A pecking order. But you have to wonder if that can continue this season. They graduated eight players from last year's tournament team. Can they find enough to fill the gaps? Watch for 6-foot-5 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387789' first='Blake' last='Skalsky']</strong> to head the returners.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Gray</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a thrilling run last spring, the Rebels return arguably the best player in the class in [player_tooltip player_id='1953933' first='Joey' last='Dyck']. But aside from senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387779' first='Dominic' last='Martin']</strong>, there will have to be a new cast. They weren't a deep team last year, and several seniors need to be replaced.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->