We all know that Reitz is the favorite. I hope Cuda can get healthy in time for the Owensboro game. I think our first true SIAC test will be Central. Central has several big lineman and Williams and Haywood who are 4.4 4.5 guys. I look for Bosse to be a lot better. I've heard a lot of good things about Carrington Crutcher, their frosh rb. Castles lack of speed I think will keep them and Mater Dei towards the bottom to middle. I think the middle of the siac will be very balanced.

This is what I think

Reitz

Central

North, Memorial, Bosse

Mater, Castle


Harrison

And I think Castle and Mater Dei can beat everybody but Central and Reitz on any given night. I also look for MD to make a playoff run. However, losing their starting qb two years in a row is a tough blow.

1) Reitz ( Who else )

2) Memorial ( They do have 27 Seniors despite losing the QB )

3) Central ( WR's depth helps Bears win some )

4) MD

5,6,7 tie) North ( barely in a close one with MD ), Bosse ( Speed helps Dogs this year ), and finally Castle ( bad year for the Knights )

8) Harrison ( but with a big 1 win season and that over the Knights)

This only IMO

Unless there is a drastic improvement I do not see Central beating either MD or Caste. Their line play was one of the worst I saw last season. If Haywood is a true D1 player, he must step up his play against Reitz. You didn't even realize he was on the field last season against Reitz. He is a good kid but in my opinion he is a track athlete playing football.....he may prove me wrong this year. Here are my picks.
Reitz, Castle, MD, Memorial, Central, North, Bosse, Harrison

Central beat MD last year and no way Castle is top 2 siac this year. Mater Dei will be better but other school like Bosse and North will improve a lot from last year. MD will not beat Central and I doubt they beat North, Bosse and Memorial. However, I think they can beat a few of these teams(I still think it will be a upset). Bosse's fr Carrington Crutcher is suposed to be the next Ricky Crider/Kenny Mills.

MD returns most of their team from a year ago. Crutcher has made a big mistake IMO (biased) choosing Bosse over Reitz. There is a big risk throwing him to the wolves his freshman season without the protection of a solid offensive line. I can't imagine being a freshman playing against the Reitz D. He will have alot to prove if wants to be among the likes of Ricky Crider.

I've seen both kids at the cub level and I can tell you right now the sky is the limit for Carrington Crutcher. I thought he wsa going to be a panther. Bosse caught a huge break!

Central also returns 14 starters from last years team. If I remeber correctly MD brings back 14 starters as well. I think the difference between MD and Central is a average team speed of 4.8 for Central and 5.8 for mater Dei l o l

And that team speed got Central what last year? I one point overtime win over Mater Dei, a 24 point loss to Castle, and a 48 point drubbing at the hands of Reitz. The thing is, Central could put up some points last year, but everyone knows, if you want to win in this league, you need to stop teams with you defense. Last season, Central gave up:

21, 35, 31, 7, 35, 55, 20, 21, 28

That is a 28.1 PPG average.

Compare that to the two other teams mentioned here.

Castle: 32, 14, 7, 0, 42, 14, 27, 29, 27. That is a 21.3 PPG average.

Mater Dei: 0, 36, 26, 20, 19, 47, 24, 32, 59. A 29.2 PPG average.

All three teams have similar numbers returning. Central needs to have a line that can actually block a person or two upon occasion, and get to the quarterback every once in a while. Castle can do it, MD can do it, and both can do it consistently. I don't see Central doing it consistently enough to even think about being a contender for the upper half of the league. Here is how I see it (things have changed in the last couple of months)

1. Reitz
2. Castle
3. Mater Dei
4. Bosse
5. North
6. Central
7. Memorial
8. Harrison

5, 6, 7 will probably be a tie, all three will beat Harrison, and then split with the other two teams.

I don't see Memorial finishing below 3rd.

Too many question marks for Memorial this year to make me believe they finish in the top half of the conference. They have some really good receivers again this year, but the question mark is who will get them the ball. A receiver can't do anything if the quarterback can't get them the ball. Add to that the fact they have to replace their entire offensive line basically, and your looking at the quarterback having to run for his life or getting rid of the ball faster then they want to. Inexperience is the big unknown for Memorial right now. We may know a little more after their scrimmage, but I think it will be a lean year for Memorial this year.

If Hurleys kid ends up being the qb, I think they will surprise some people. Mem has some very good recievers back from last years team. I still think Bosse will be the surprise team of the siac and MD lack of speed will hurt them. Trust me guys, Central is a year older and I thought 3 or 4 of those Central players could break in on any play last year. If my memory is correct they bring back 4 lineman and all of them are over 250 pounds. Their qb is back again also.

Who knows, every year somebody ends up playing better and worse than everybody anticipated. I can tell you this much. It doesn't make the siac look good when Castle gets rocked by T H N, then wins 5 conference games.