The Big Northern West flip-flopped last year.
Teams that typically are on top of the conference were at the bottom, while teams that have struggled finally dug themselves out of the basement.
But one thing remained the same — Oregon.
The Hawks repeated as champions last year with a 4-1 conference record and finished 8-3 overall.
“We’ve dodged the bullets the last couple years,” Oregon coach John Bothe said. “We won a couple of close games that could have gone either way, and we’ve been remarkably healthy.”
SCOTT MORGAN | RRSTAR.COM
Oregon’s John Bredeson takes
part in Aug. 13 drills.
With six starters returning, including the offensive backfield of Nick Snyder, Ryan McWethy and Andrew Smith, Oregon is favored to three-peat this fall.
But there will be plenty of Big Northern challenges, with Genoa-Kingston and Stillman Valley two of the bigger threats.
Genoa-Kingston is coming off its first winning season in 14 years. The Cogs lost most of their scoring with the graduation of running backs Kevin Billington and Marty Dwyer, but enough talent returns to make them contenders.
“I think Genoa-Kingston is going to bounce right back,” Bothe said. “I know they lost some good players, but Genoa-Kingston is going to stick around, and they’re here to stay.”
Stillman Valley had its first losing season since 1996 when it finished 4-5 last year. But the players worked hard in the offseason, and the program that garnered state titles in 1999, 2000 and 2003 is expected to return to form.
“Without a doubt, it was humbling what happened last year,” Stillman Valley coach Mike Lalor said. “We ran into some pretty good teams who were able to handle us, and to miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade, it was hard on all the kids.”
Like the Cardinals, Byron had a rare losing season (4-5) in 2007. Former Winnebago coach Mike Elsbury takes over the Tigers. Things seem shaky, but Byron is still a threat. The Tigers are the ones who handed G-K a home loss in Week 9 last year. It cost the Cogs a conference title, and the Tigers ended the season with pride.
“Last year we struggled against some teams, but we didn’t lose to any slouches,” said Elsbury, who takes over for Ben Dalton after serving as his assistant last season.
Winnebago (5-5) reached the playoffs for the first time in four years, but the Indians were hit hard by graduation and will rely on many newcomers this fall.
Lutheran (1-8) returns its offensive backfield, and the Crusaders will fight to stay competitive in a tough conference.
Staff reporter Emily Tropp can be reached at 815-987-1385 or etropp@rrstar.com.
