CIC 2023

[NeonDeion]

Boredom has set in with baseball. Shifting my focus to the gridiron with hope of the fall being here sooner. 

2022 was a crazy year in the conference. Alex & MG kind of coming out of nowhere with MG tying for second and Alex tying for third. OH dominated across the board. Ole Miss started rough then hammered the gas to win 7 in a row. Weird year for Eastbrook but they avenged their loss to Alex in a dominate sectional rematch. Their 3 conference losses were Adamson's most in conference play since 2015. Will that well ever run dry? LOL

Predictions for the 2023 season - 

1. Eastbrook - As Bodie Howell gets older, he becomes more and more of a problem for the other CIC teams. In my opinion, he is the most dangerous runner they have had under center since Jacob Singer. Gaige Engle will be the best player in the conference for another year then Howell will gladly wear the crown. 

2. Oak Hill - Replacing almost 1900 yards and 36 TD's (Turanchick graduating) is difficult but insert Avery Mills. Kid is a tough and athletic as all get out. I would imagine they will be nasty defensively again as well. Oak Hill @ Eastbrook Week 3 crowns the conference champ. 

3. Alexandria/Mississinewa/Madison-Grant - Three-way tie for third. I do not see any of these teams beating #1 or #2 but can definitely see each of them beating one another. I am going to go with Alexandria beats Mississinewa, Mississinewa beats MG, and MG beats Alexandria. Alexandria returns a TON from last year but lost some very valuable pieces (Etchison, Pratt, Dillmon, and two starting OL) from last year's team. Lots of weapons at their disposal though. Johns and McGuire will be a lethal 1-2 punch on the outside. Mississinewa returns a lot from last year but they are streaky and can have some off games (as can everyone because we are discussing 15-18 year old kids). Ott is a big, hard nosed downhill runner that will not be very much for teams to tackle. Dilts and Barnes will also be an issue for them on the outside. MG will need to replace Tanner Brooks' offensive production but I imagine Stitt #34 will take a larger role. I was the official for a few of MG's wrestling matches and Stitt is put together & very fast. MG is never an easy team to play and their toughness/grit always factors into games. 

6. Frankton - If Frankton can kick their prehistoric offense and give their defense some help, they will be much higher in the standings. I thought last year they had the second best defense in the conference behind Oak Hill. It is hard to win games when you average just a little over two TD's a game (that number is excluding the 84 they put on Elwood). Farrell, Nunley, and Everson are studs. Saw a video on Twitter the other day of Everson getting 500 fairly easy on squat. Ethan Stansberry will be the starting QB if I had to guess and will do just fine. He threw a beautiful ball as a freshman so that will only get better with age and as his body continues to mature. Spread the defenses out and let Farrell/Luzzader gash teams up the middle and force them to cover Nunley & Carmack in space. But what do I know? 

7. Elwood - The streak stops at 22! Elwood gets a win against Southern Wells in Week 1 to start the season off on a positive and then three losses in a row before they beat Blackford at IWU in Week 5. The Mullins kid can play unfortunately he just does not have very much to zero help around him. That said I think he is a good enough athlete/player to get them close victories over Southern Wells and Blackford. 

8. Blackford - Not much to comment on. They lost their two leading rushers, but Dow was third in rushing as freshman and the top three tacklers from last year are all returning. Hopefully they can get the ship righted and get it headed in the right direction. 

Is it August 18th yet?