Returners, Contenders and Unknowns are Teams to Watch in 1A DII

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Time to finish off our look at the most interesting Teams to Watch in each classification. Here are “returners,” “contenders” and “unknowns” in the smallest classification, 1A Div. II:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Returners:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolves placed third in state last year without a single senior! They developed throughout the year and peaked at the right time. Now with that experience back, they will be gunning for a title. They have balance, featuring guard [player_tooltip player_id='1962893' first='Jamie' last='Sarmiento'], forward <strong>Gavin Uhl</strong> and big <strong>Heath Howell</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cheylin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you're looking for the team that returns the best “Big Three,” you have to consider the Cougars' <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2314831' first='Pablo' last='Bermudez']</strong>, <strong>Logan McCarty</strong> and <strong>Brady Ketzner</strong>. Throw in two more seniors in <strong>Victor Hernandez</strong> and <strong>Matthew Hendricks</strong>, and you have a senior class like none other. This group will be anxious to put some basketball hardware in the trophy case after it goes for a 6-Man football title on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Axtell</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Axtell is hitting on all cylinders. They are about to play for an 8-Man football championship (which will set back their preparation for the basketball season) and return a lot of their basketball team that finished fourth last year. They lost their leader,<strong> Isaac Detweiler</strong>. But they were strong in the freshman and sophomore classes last year and will challenge again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northern Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest shocks last playoff season was when the Huskies were knocked out in the substate round by Beloit St. John's/Tipton. They had been among the top ranked teams in the state all season. So now the question is, can the Huskies rise above that disappointment without one of their primary producers a year ago. They do return most of their top performers, including seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1756349' first='Kenton' last='Thalheim']</strong> and <strong>Drew Schemper</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unknowns:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greeley County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How do you replace the senior class that just graduated? At a tiny school like Greeley County, groups like that don't come along often. Most importantly, the state's best 1A player – <strong>Jaxson Brandl</strong> – is gone. There are some good players back, led by playoff veteran <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1588413' first='Lincoln' last='Shafer']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southern Cloud</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a team that has flown under the radar, but will be one to watch. Southern Cloud started clicking late in the year and reached the state tournament with just seven players on their roster. All but one is back. 6-foot-6 junior <strong>Trenton Welch</strong> might be the biggest unknown in the small school classes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->