Regional Preview: 1A Regional #14
The season is coming up quickly and we are starting to pour into our previews for the upcoming season. Today, we are looking at those Regional setups across the state starting with 1 and ending with 16. Today, we preview Regional 14 with Sectionals 53-56.
Last Year – 17-18
*Based on Sagarin from 2017-18
- Southwood
- Lafayette Central Catholic
- Blue River
- Southern Wells
- North Vermillion
- Liberty Christian
- Seton Catholic
- Daleville
- Northfield
- Wes-Del
Conference Commentary
Top Ten
Teams that are in the Top 10 of the State in 1A
Lafayette Central Catholic – LCC will come in this year as the sole top-10 team to begin the year. They will end up staying there for the entire year too, unless they collapse. They are very well coached and Carson Barrett is one of the best 1A players in the state. They are the favorite to make it to the semi-state by far this year and it would be a disaster if they didn’t end up a game away from the state championship.
Top Ten Potential
Teams that could be in the Top 10 of the State in 1A
North Vermillion – After losing just one senior last year, North Vermillion looks poised for a run this year. They return Trevor Eppert, a senior who averaged 15.4 points a game last year. They are very senior heavy as they have nine seniors all who will play a role. They also received a transfer from 4A Westfield, Garrett Pollard, who is really going to help them this year.
Blue River Valley – This was a team that went 13-11 last year but was better than their record showed. Their leading scorer from a year ago, Andrew Froedge, returns and is just a junior. He scored 18.5 points a game last year and pretty much put the team on his back. Out of the four double-digit scorers Blue River Valley have two of them returning. They have a talented group returning and they will have a shot to get pretty far this year.
Compete With Most
Teams that could be well above .500 this Season
Clinton Central – A year after going 0-23, I think that Clinton Central has a good chance of going .500 or better this year. They return their top three scorers and have five seniors this year. They lost three seniors but those players only scored nine total points a game last year. This is my pick for the team in Indiana with the most wins versus last years record.
Seton Catholic – A year removed from a 9-19 record doesn’t make it seem like Seton Catholic could be very good this year, but they did make it all the way to the regional championship. They lose their leading scorer from a year ago but that is the only player that they lose. Sophomore Jacob Moynihan is going to have to take a big step up this year. I think that they will be competitive but I don’t think they are a surefire top ten team until they prove they can win some games this year.
Parke Heritage – Parke Heritage is a first year program after Turkey Run and Rockville consolidated this year. Both of those teams bring back talent which could provide Parke Heritage a burst. Landon Newnum might be the best scorer in the regional and he is going to have a big year. They have the pieces to be good this year but it will be tough to see how they’ll mesh playing with new teammates.
Rebuilding
Teams that were good last year but could struggle this Season
Southwood – Southwood made it all the way to the state finals last year but his year is a different story. After being beat by 29 in the final game of the year, they lose four of their top five scorers. Dallas Holmes, a senior, returns along with his 16.9 points but the next highest returning scorer scored just 1.8 points a game last year. This is going to be a rebuilding year and I don’t see anything for them to look forward to in the future.
Preseason Power Ranking
- Lafayette Central Catholic
- North Vermillion
- Blue River Valley
- Seton Catholic
- Parke Heritage
- Clinton Central
- Faith Christian
- Cowan
- Wes-Del
- Liberty Christian
Preseason All-Conference
First Team:
Trevor Eppert (Sr., North Vermillion)
Landon Newnum (Sr., Parke Heritage)
Carson Barrett (Jr., Lafayette Central Catholic)
Dallas Holmes (Sr., Southwood)
Andrew Froedge (Jr., Blue River Valley)
Second Team:
Nathan VanDokkenburg (Sr., Faith Christian)
Michael Carr (Jr., Tri-Central)
Jake Moynihan (So., Seton Catholic)
Declan Gill (Sr., Cowan)
Connor Fleming (Jr., Daleville)
Honorable Mention Team:
Jonathon Kilgore (Sr., North Vermillion)
Jonathon Virostko (Sr., Riverton Parke)
Jake White (Sr., Faith Christian)
Logan White (Jr., Parke Heritage)
Nathaniel Martin (Sr., Clinton Central)
Ross Cripe (Jr., Clinton Central)
Jared Peas (Sr., Northfield)
Keegan Newsome (Jr., Wes-Del)
Alex Wigginton (Sr., Randolph Southern)
Caleb Wissel (Sr., Randolph Southern)
Ryan Duncan (So., Cowan)
Jackson Thornburgh (Sr., Blue River Valley)
Spencer Smith (Sr., Clinton Central)