Gridwatcher

As much as I enjoy the shots at South Bend politics and school board, let's see if we can get this back on the rails. The NIC "East-West Division" (i.e., Big Boy Football)...should have another interesting race. Marian has to replace the QB, but has plenty of experience at the skill positions. Only one starter returns on the offensive line, but injuries caused many of those reserves to get experience during the regular season. I would look for the Knights to be togh again. Elkhart lost a ton to graduation, but they have the league's best receiver in Donovan Johnson and a speedy running back in Jaiven Sharp. They lost one of the DC's and the OC, so we'll see how that changes things. I think they'll still be pretty good. Will Penn be better without Powlus at QB, since the offense seemed to centered around him? Alec Hardrict is legit speedster in the backfield and a lot of experience returns on defense. Will Casey McKim's second year result in the Cougars going back to the option? It's the most experienced offensive line coming back and some young, exciting backs. The Cougars could be ready to make a run at the conference crown. Adams is another team with most of the o-line returning, some good skill people back and about half of the defensive starters back. Older history would tell you St. Joe belongs in this division, more recent would say they should go the North-South. Bryon Whitten has to replace his QB, O-Line and D-Line and play everyone mentioned above. Good Luck. As for the North-South, Bremen has 4/5 of it'[s o-line back, an experienced QB in Ethan Nunemaker and about half the defense back. If the Lions can find a solid running back, they should be a force to be reckoned with. Cory Stoner at Jimntown has the division's most electric player in Johntu Reed, but he has to find an O-line and patch some holes at linebacker. John Glenn returns 19 of 22 starters. A healthy Nathan Creed at QB had the Falcons playing well before he was hurt against Bremen. It could be a banner year in Walkerton if he returns to form. Todd Stammich had a prtty young team at Washington last season and they made strides at the end of the season. The defensive line is the biggest question mark that has to be answered. Justin Kinzie's Riley team had problems scoring points last year, so the offense has been the focus of the off-season. You wonder if things might change a little bit in terms of the system they run on the South Side. And then there's Clay, which at least got a win last year. They haven't had two in a year since 2014. We'll see if that's possible.