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Is it too early to start previewing the upcoming season. Any thoughts on the teams to beat in the ICC this year? Bellwood of course...will they be dethroned by Juniata Valley, the defending D6 Champs. Who else can win the ICC in 2019. Claysburg should be pretty good. NBC and Southern are  typically solid. Thoughts?

Bellwood will once again win the ICC like they always do.  JV I would say still gets to 7 wins this year and so does CK. TM is going to be tough so will SHC. MU has a good young class coming through but not sure if they can compete against a bunch of seniors.  NBC will prob get to 6-7 also.  Everett lost Akers which was the whole team. I would say BA, TM/SHC/JV, CK,NBC, MU, Everett, MV, WB, Glendale, W-Burg. 

Mount Union will be improved this year with most of the key contributors last year being underclassmen, they'll have most of the roster back. I could see a few talented freshman moving up and playing roles on the team this year as well. They have to stay healthy, as it has been the Achilles heel of the team for the past few years.

They'll definitely be making a jump back to the top of the conference in the next few years and will probably stay there for many years to come. There is some incredible talent coming through from the peewee and junior high levels. The junior high team lost to only Bellwood last year and basically dismantled every other team they played. They could very well rival and maybe surpass the 2014 team in speed/athleticism when they make it to the varsity level.

As for other teams in the conference:
Bellwood is always the class of the conference and should probably win it easily.
Claysburg should be pretty good with key contributors returning from last year's team. I think they could be conference runner-up this season.
Northern Bedford always has the best coaching in the conference, but I'm not sure what kind of talent they have. No matter what, they'll get the best they can out of the kids and have them well prepared to play every week.
Southern Huntingdon has some really good athletes coming through, they may have some growing pains this season replacing key pieces along their line, but they'll probably challenge for a conference championship in 2020 and 2021. If the line plays well this season, they'll finish near the top of the conference, if it struggles they'll be muddled in the middle with the rest of the conference.
Juniata Valley is a question mark, they lost a lot of their key players this past season from a once in a few decade caliber team. I know they don't have much of anything at the junior high level, with only like 19 kids dressing last season.
I expect West Branch and Everett to take steps back, as they lost their key playmakers from a season ago. They'll probably finish closer to last than they will to first this season.
Tussey Mountain has Leonard back, so that's a great start. You never know what you're going to get out of Tussey year-to-year.
Moshannon Valley is a question mark. The team wasn't very good last season and they don't have a large roster. Their junior high team wasn't very good last season either. They have their starting QB back, but lost Dale in the backfield. I expect them to finish at the lower end of the conference, but they could surprise me as they have some big bodies coming back this year.
I know nothing about Glendale as they aren't on our schedule this cycle. I don't expect them to do much given their recent history though.
Williamsburg will struggle. They just don't have the bodies as the smallest school in the conference.

But hey, this is all purely speculation and we'll get to watch it all unfold on the field beginning in just under 2 months! Can't wait!!!

Mo Valley JR high team finished 5-3 last year.. 2 of the 3 they lost..they played like they didn't want to be there.. Mo Valley is rebuilding. I've been at two 7 on 7  in Tyrone. I know these 7 on 7 is just to see what everyone has. Claysburg and JV. Not impressed with passing game.. or there defense.. Mo valley... We never do any good. The other 2 teams are not in the ICC.. Tyrone looks real good and BG looks good on offense but has weak spots on defense. The safe bet for the ICC is Bellwood.. all others are rebuilding. they all lost key players. Glendale and williamsburg will be at the bottom.

Mo Valley JR high team finished 5-3 last year.. 2 of the 3 they lost..they played like they didn't want to be there.. Mo Valley is rebuilding. I've been at two 7 on 7  in Tyrone. I know these 7 on 7 is just to see what everyone has. Claysburg and JV. Not impressed with passing game.. or there defense.. Mo valley... We never do any good. The other 2 teams are not in the ICC.. Tyrone looks real good and BG looks good on offense but has weak spots on defense. The safe bet for the ICC is Bellwood.. all others are rebuilding. they all lost key players. Glendale and williamsburg will be at the bottom.

smitty65 wrote:Mo Valley JR high team finished 5-3 last year.. 2 of the 3 they lost..they played like they didn't want to be there.. Mo Valley is rebuilding. I've been at two 7 on 7  in Tyrone. I know these 7 on 7 is just to see what everyone has. Claysburg and JV. Not impressed with passing game.. or there defense.. Mo valley... We never do any good. The other 2 teams are not in the ICC.. Tyrone looks real good and BG looks good on offense but has weak spots on defense. The safe bet for the ICC is Bellwood.. all others are rebuilding. they all lost key players. Glendale and williamsburg will be at the bottom.

Basing ANY opinion off of 7 on 7’s is poor. Half these teams don’t even get more than 1/3 of their players at these things if they are lucky. Also,,most games in the fall are won or lost on blocking and tackling..neither of which are present. I am not saying these 7 on 7’s aren’t worth anything..they are great for the kids that go, but to base an opinion on how the season is going to turn out from watching these is baseless.... 

I was also at the Tyrone 7 and 7 and I can tell you this. 1. Ck”s quarterback is chamberlain and he is not left handed nor is he under 6’0. 2. You can’t based these teams off playing teams like Tyrone that are 3 maybe 4 times the size of them. JV and CK will dominate MV with speed this year not size. These two teams will be fast.