Tomorrow starts practice and not much conversation going on here so I figured I’d try and jump start it.
There are some intriguing scrimmages coming up this week with Sussex Central vs. Odessa, and Sussex Tech vs. Seaford on Friday as well as DMA vs. William Penn and Woodbridge vs. Hodgson on Saturday.
There was a little bit of a shake up with schools and divisions but some of the top teams from last year are still top dogs with some new comers fighting to make some noise.
In Class 3A Smyrna are the defending champs and should be at the top until someone takes it from them. Dover looks primed for one of their best seasons since 2011 with the amount of talent returning. Appo is coming off their first ever Class 3A Division 1 crown after winning the tiebreakers over Sallies and Middletown all while returning one of the better running backs this upcoming season with Daniel Mcconomy. Sallies returns what was an incredibly young team last year that made the playoffs and gave Bill Dinardo his 300th win. Middletown brings back some key talent and are always in the thick of things come December. St. George’s has moved down to the southern division, St. Marks takes their place and looks to show that they belong with the big dogs once again. A New head Coach at Caesar Rodney and Hodgson whom are playing every game of theirs on the road should make for an interesting season.
In Class 2A, it always starts with Division 3 with teams such as Lake Forest, Woodbridge, Delmar, and new arrival Laurel. Any conversation for a playoff berth or more should begin with these 4 schools. The Privates up north seem to always have an argument with the previous statement with Archmere, Friends, DMA, Howard and Red Lion all with the potential to call themselves Champs when it’s all said and done.
In Class 1A which I might consider the biggest unknown when it comes to who is the team to beat. Laurel and Odessa moved up, St. Elizabeth’s lost more talent than was able to replace. Seaford just finished running through a mass exodus with several big name players finding homes elsewhere. So in what could be one of the most intriguing classes, Teams such as Tatnall, Charter, A. I. Dupont could all finally find success on the gridiron and Communities might finally start rallying behind these smaller schools, more kids eventually come out for try outs and one school has a chance to win their first ever playoff game and or championship.
All in all, it’s an exciting time of year!