Mid-Season D-6 Roundup
Mid-Season D-6 Roundup
Well we're about halfway done with most of everyone's season and I figured I'd let you guys know what I think of it so far.
AAAA
As predicted State College is dominating everyone and stands at 10-0 as we speak with a tough one at Johnstown coming up. I don't think they will go the season unbeaten, but they sure as heck can from what they've shown. Nobody has really been all that close to them from the scores I've seen, with an average margin of victory just below 20. The surprise here is Hollidaysburg(7-1). I fully expected Altoona to be their biggest contender this year, but sitting at 5-6 they don't look to meet back up with SC at St. Francis this season. My prediction for the championship, SC over Hollidaysburg big. I see SC making it deep into the state playoffs, and are probably the favorite to take the West in AAAA. WPIAL~Titan can fill you in a little more on this level.
AAA
The deepest D-6 class boasts 2 unbeaten squads in Central Cambria and Lewistown. I saw Lewistown take down PC in Cresson, which isn't an easy thing to do even with the down year(by Bruce's standards) they have had. Lewistown may have the 2 best players in this class in Hinton(soph shooting guard who does not miss) and Stewart(6'6'' center who can step out or beat you inside) but have more or less nothing after that. Those 2 combined for 59 of L-town's 69 points in Cresson. Central Cambria is the opposite of Lewistown so far, with balanced scoring, usually having 4-6 players in double figures on any given night and playing great D as of late. Johnstown has been lost in the mix but still only has that one loss to Beaver Falls so far. Johnstown has a great starting 5, but their depth may be what don't let them get as far as some may expect. Penn Cambria is the team I am yet to figure out. PC looks great one night against Lewistown, right after having big losses to CC(by 18) and Johnstown(by 20). They need to turn it on down the stretch as they have a big game in Cresson against Central Cambria that seems to be a must win if they expect to get a shot at defending their LHAC title. Johnstown travels to Ebensburg and has State College visit them in the near future. We will have to see how it all shakes out. I see CC and Lewistown facing off at St. Francis this season.
AA
Ligonier and Westmont seem to be the 2 most talented teams so far in this class. Stinogle has carried his boys from Lig Valley to an impressive 11-1 start and I don't see anyone really getting in their way too much the rest of the season. Westmont has alot of talent but also 4 losses to go with that talent, Coach Roman will have to get his boys in shape if he expects to bring home any hardware this season. Blairsville pulled off a great win against Penn Cambria earlier this season, and look to give LV all they can handle, along with Mt. Union who I don't know a whole lot about. Bishop McCort is loaded with talent and if they had any sort of organization they could be 8-2 instead of 6-4. The loss to Windber is unacceptable, Winber was plastered by CC to the tune of 78-28 earlier this season on CC's floor, and McCort let them take one from them. Those kind of meltdowns are not acceptable if they are to win anything this season. I see Ligonier Valley and Westmont playing for the gold at SFU.
A
I really don't know what to say about A this season when alot of the teams have only played 5 to 8 games so far. You have Johnstown Christian sitting atop the standings as far as avg. power points go at 5-0 but I don't see that lasting, they are way too weak to run with the big boys. In a very down year for A, I see Bishop Carroll and Saltsburg as my 2 favorites so far. Bishop Carroll may have too much size for any team in this class with one kid standing 6'8''+ and another at 6'6''+ but they refuse to play them both at the same time. BC plays a 4 guard offense and tries to out run you, but it doesn't work with teams that pressure them. Sorry that I don't have more info so I will get straight to my pick. BC and Saltsburg in the Final.
AAAA
As predicted State College is dominating everyone and stands at 10-0 as we speak with a tough one at Johnstown coming up. I don't think they will go the season unbeaten, but they sure as heck can from what they've shown. Nobody has really been all that close to them from the scores I've seen, with an average margin of victory just below 20. The surprise here is Hollidaysburg(7-1). I fully expected Altoona to be their biggest contender this year, but sitting at 5-6 they don't look to meet back up with SC at St. Francis this season. My prediction for the championship, SC over Hollidaysburg big. I see SC making it deep into the state playoffs, and are probably the favorite to take the West in AAAA. WPIAL~Titan can fill you in a little more on this level.
AAA
The deepest D-6 class boasts 2 unbeaten squads in Central Cambria and Lewistown. I saw Lewistown take down PC in Cresson, which isn't an easy thing to do even with the down year(by Bruce's standards) they have had. Lewistown may have the 2 best players in this class in Hinton(soph shooting guard who does not miss) and Stewart(6'6'' center who can step out or beat you inside) but have more or less nothing after that. Those 2 combined for 59 of L-town's 69 points in Cresson. Central Cambria is the opposite of Lewistown so far, with balanced scoring, usually having 4-6 players in double figures on any given night and playing great D as of late. Johnstown has been lost in the mix but still only has that one loss to Beaver Falls so far. Johnstown has a great starting 5, but their depth may be what don't let them get as far as some may expect. Penn Cambria is the team I am yet to figure out. PC looks great one night against Lewistown, right after having big losses to CC(by 18) and Johnstown(by 20). They need to turn it on down the stretch as they have a big game in Cresson against Central Cambria that seems to be a must win if they expect to get a shot at defending their LHAC title. Johnstown travels to Ebensburg and has State College visit them in the near future. We will have to see how it all shakes out. I see CC and Lewistown facing off at St. Francis this season.
AA
Ligonier and Westmont seem to be the 2 most talented teams so far in this class. Stinogle has carried his boys from Lig Valley to an impressive 11-1 start and I don't see anyone really getting in their way too much the rest of the season. Westmont has alot of talent but also 4 losses to go with that talent, Coach Roman will have to get his boys in shape if he expects to bring home any hardware this season. Blairsville pulled off a great win against Penn Cambria earlier this season, and look to give LV all they can handle, along with Mt. Union who I don't know a whole lot about. Bishop McCort is loaded with talent and if they had any sort of organization they could be 8-2 instead of 6-4. The loss to Windber is unacceptable, Winber was plastered by CC to the tune of 78-28 earlier this season on CC's floor, and McCort let them take one from them. Those kind of meltdowns are not acceptable if they are to win anything this season. I see Ligonier Valley and Westmont playing for the gold at SFU.
A
I really don't know what to say about A this season when alot of the teams have only played 5 to 8 games so far. You have Johnstown Christian sitting atop the standings as far as avg. power points go at 5-0 but I don't see that lasting, they are way too weak to run with the big boys. In a very down year for A, I see Bishop Carroll and Saltsburg as my 2 favorites so far. Bishop Carroll may have too much size for any team in this class with one kid standing 6'8''+ and another at 6'6''+ but they refuse to play them both at the same time. BC plays a 4 guard offense and tries to out run you, but it doesn't work with teams that pressure them. Sorry that I don't have more info so I will get straight to my pick. BC and Saltsburg in the Final.
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WPIAL~Titan
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Good Job
Good post, Sports999.
In the west in AAAA boys, State College is one of the favorites for sure, but I have seen Erie McDowell play and they are awfully tough. George Junior is also a very talented club. I would rate McDowell a notch better than State College and GJR. In the WPIAL AAAA, there seems to be a lot of parity. Chartiers Valley, Upper Saint Clair, Pitts CC, and Penn Hills are the 4 most talented teams. Mount Lebanon, North Allegheny, Baldwin, Hempfield, Shaler Area, New Castle, Pine-Richland, and Connellsville are darkhorses. We will see how State matches up with the WPIAL when they visit Penn Hills (Jan. 25) and Shaler Area (Feb. 6).
Here are my thoughts on D-6 at mid-season:
A...I know very little, but Bishop Carroll must be good and Saw Cone Valley play early and they're a decent A team. Saltsburg has had a decent program and for some reason, Williamsburg always produces some tough teams.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids-BC, CV, Saltsburg
AA...Always the deepest class in D6. MU and PV are 7-1 thus far, but after Mt. Union's horrific display of basketball in last years' D6AA final and seeing a number of so-called "world beater" Penns Valley teams get bonked in the first or 2nd round of districts over the years, it's hard to believe in these two clubs--I think "soft", "overrated", and "WEAK schedules" are the words that come to mind. Blairsville is 7-2 and knocked off the PC Panthers early. Westy is floundering at 6-4 after beating a decent Jeannette team, they proceeded to get hammered by Jtown and McCort (who lost to a below average Windber team last night), and lost at home to Carroll. Lig Valley apears to be strong record-wise, but lost to a very weak East Allegheny program from the WPIAL--EA is a team that's won a total of about 6 games in the last 4 years! BG is 3-9 so far, but guess what? No one will want to play them in March, even if they're 8-16. In summary, 6-AA has some good teams, ALL WITH THEIR VULNERABILITIES. Thus, 6-AA looks WIDE OPEN at this point.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids: Westmont-Hilltop, Lig Valley, Bishop McCort
AAA...Probably the most competitive class in D6 this season. Lewistown is rolling at 11-0 after defeating PC by 3 at Cresson this past Friday. I like Hinton and Stewart, but I think that a good defender who can bang will take Hinton out of games, then Ltown will have some problems scoring from the outside. I know that Jtown is talented with Tullis, Hoffman, and X, but can they play disciplined enough to allow their talent to win close games for them? I saw them self-destruct in a game last season because they played abolsutely CRAZY. Also saw they narrowly beat Central on the road earlier this month. That stuff just won't work against good, talented, well-coached teams, especially on the road or in the playoffs. Central Cambria has some very good players and great balance and will be a pain for the top teams. The Red Devils are a VERY interesting team that no one seems to want to talk about. Remember, this CC team has 4 key players returning from last year's battle tested team that upset their way through the D6-AAA bracket, lost a tough one to PC in the finals, and scared the he** out of Moon (The most talented WPIAL AAA team last season AND this season, in my opinion) for about 2 1/2 quarters in round one of PIAAs at North Hills HS. Indian Valley is another decent team, but they have struggled early on with 6 losses already. Penn Cambria is a dark horse, but they'll be better by the end of the season and will be a dangerous 4, 5, or 6 seed in 6-AAA...Trust me, Jtown, Lewistown, or CC will NOT want to play Bruce in the playoffs. The Panthers are 7-4 with bad losses to Blairsville (by 6 in OT), at Jtown (by 20), and at CC (by 18) and a good effort in a 3 point home loss to Ltown. Central and Bellefonte could also be pesky teams come playoff time.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids: Lewistown, CC, Johnstown
AAAA...State College should just show up and they'll win 6-AAAA. Hollidaysburg should be the other AAAA team in PIAAs, if they get over the "Altoona Thing." Seems that they did in beating teh Mt. Lions in OT earlier in December. Altoona is a bit down this year, but has some post presence in 6-10 Cory Tubo. Toona will play tough defense and want any game they play to be in the 40's. After watching what Shaler Area and Nick Sefscik (28 points) did to Toona when they made the game fast yesterday, I think Toona slowing the ball down would be very wise.
Picks for 2 PIAA bids: SC, Hollidaysburg
W~T
In the west in AAAA boys, State College is one of the favorites for sure, but I have seen Erie McDowell play and they are awfully tough. George Junior is also a very talented club. I would rate McDowell a notch better than State College and GJR. In the WPIAL AAAA, there seems to be a lot of parity. Chartiers Valley, Upper Saint Clair, Pitts CC, and Penn Hills are the 4 most talented teams. Mount Lebanon, North Allegheny, Baldwin, Hempfield, Shaler Area, New Castle, Pine-Richland, and Connellsville are darkhorses. We will see how State matches up with the WPIAL when they visit Penn Hills (Jan. 25) and Shaler Area (Feb. 6).
Here are my thoughts on D-6 at mid-season:
A...I know very little, but Bishop Carroll must be good and Saw Cone Valley play early and they're a decent A team. Saltsburg has had a decent program and for some reason, Williamsburg always produces some tough teams.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids-BC, CV, Saltsburg
AA...Always the deepest class in D6. MU and PV are 7-1 thus far, but after Mt. Union's horrific display of basketball in last years' D6AA final and seeing a number of so-called "world beater" Penns Valley teams get bonked in the first or 2nd round of districts over the years, it's hard to believe in these two clubs--I think "soft", "overrated", and "WEAK schedules" are the words that come to mind. Blairsville is 7-2 and knocked off the PC Panthers early. Westy is floundering at 6-4 after beating a decent Jeannette team, they proceeded to get hammered by Jtown and McCort (who lost to a below average Windber team last night), and lost at home to Carroll. Lig Valley apears to be strong record-wise, but lost to a very weak East Allegheny program from the WPIAL--EA is a team that's won a total of about 6 games in the last 4 years! BG is 3-9 so far, but guess what? No one will want to play them in March, even if they're 8-16. In summary, 6-AA has some good teams, ALL WITH THEIR VULNERABILITIES. Thus, 6-AA looks WIDE OPEN at this point.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids: Westmont-Hilltop, Lig Valley, Bishop McCort
AAA...Probably the most competitive class in D6 this season. Lewistown is rolling at 11-0 after defeating PC by 3 at Cresson this past Friday. I like Hinton and Stewart, but I think that a good defender who can bang will take Hinton out of games, then Ltown will have some problems scoring from the outside. I know that Jtown is talented with Tullis, Hoffman, and X, but can they play disciplined enough to allow their talent to win close games for them? I saw them self-destruct in a game last season because they played abolsutely CRAZY. Also saw they narrowly beat Central on the road earlier this month. That stuff just won't work against good, talented, well-coached teams, especially on the road or in the playoffs. Central Cambria has some very good players and great balance and will be a pain for the top teams. The Red Devils are a VERY interesting team that no one seems to want to talk about. Remember, this CC team has 4 key players returning from last year's battle tested team that upset their way through the D6-AAA bracket, lost a tough one to PC in the finals, and scared the he** out of Moon (The most talented WPIAL AAA team last season AND this season, in my opinion) for about 2 1/2 quarters in round one of PIAAs at North Hills HS. Indian Valley is another decent team, but they have struggled early on with 6 losses already. Penn Cambria is a dark horse, but they'll be better by the end of the season and will be a dangerous 4, 5, or 6 seed in 6-AAA...Trust me, Jtown, Lewistown, or CC will NOT want to play Bruce in the playoffs. The Panthers are 7-4 with bad losses to Blairsville (by 6 in OT), at Jtown (by 20), and at CC (by 18) and a good effort in a 3 point home loss to Ltown. Central and Bellefonte could also be pesky teams come playoff time.
Picks for 3 PIAA bids: Lewistown, CC, Johnstown
AAAA...State College should just show up and they'll win 6-AAAA. Hollidaysburg should be the other AAAA team in PIAAs, if they get over the "Altoona Thing." Seems that they did in beating teh Mt. Lions in OT earlier in December. Altoona is a bit down this year, but has some post presence in 6-10 Cory Tubo. Toona will play tough defense and want any game they play to be in the 40's. After watching what Shaler Area and Nick Sefscik (28 points) did to Toona when they made the game fast yesterday, I think Toona slowing the ball down would be very wise.
Picks for 2 PIAA bids: SC, Hollidaysburg
W~T
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davesandstorm
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I expect to see Central on there real soon if they can regain their focus and turn it on a bit. They have the players to make some noise.
AAAA-State College has a sophomore that is DEFINITE Division 1 potential from everything I've read. Then they also have Willie Morse who is going D1.
AAAA-State College has a sophomore that is DEFINITE Division 1 potential from everything I've read. Then they also have Willie Morse who is going D1.
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Head Roadie
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Excellent post sports999 and I pretty much agree totally with your assessment. I'm also with WPIAL~Titan in that the JVL "AA" teams...Mt. U and PV are probably a bit worse than their records indicate...Mt. U, for instance, struggled with Claysburg-Kimmel. If the Heritage/LHAC "AA's" struggle with anyone come late Feb. it will be a battle tested BG squad as WPIALTitan indicated.
One team that seems to be forgotten is Juniata Valley. They are the best team of the JVL "A" squads. and could be a darkhorse.
I heard from one source that Harmony is pretty good too...anyone able to give more input on that "unknown" squad?
My picks:
S.College
C.Cambria
Ligonier
Conemaugh Valley
One team that seems to be forgotten is Juniata Valley. They are the best team of the JVL "A" squads. and could be a darkhorse.
I heard from one source that Harmony is pretty good too...anyone able to give more input on that "unknown" squad?
My picks:
S.College
C.Cambria
Ligonier
Conemaugh Valley
for CVHsFinest
Here it is for ya CVHsFinest, give your input.