Where does your team finish when the dust settles on the 2024 season?
If you go into the season with tempered expectations, and don't look ahead, there's a chance you can truly enjoy all nine weeks of the high school football season.
LOCALLY
It's hard to pick against last year's conference champs. Some of those teams just have measures in place to ensure their success year in, year out.
Aquinas should be the favorite in the Coulee, but getting past the likes of West Salem and Westby won't be easy. G-E-T and Luther are dark horse teams that could disrupt anyone on any given night, though.
In the Mississippi Valley, the team that shows the most consistency is the one that should claim the league title.
Onalaska has some questions on offense and Baraboo was a true contender last year. It's conceivable that the two share the conference crown.
The rest of the pack is hard to pick, though. Four teams went 3-4 last year. Did any one of them get better? Did any lose too much to truly come back to form?
Sparta seems to be poised for big things, but climbing to the top will be anything but easy. The team was inconsistent last year, though that may change as the bulk of its starters come back with extra experience.
Hillsboro and Ithaca would appear to be good fits for the Scenic Bluffs, especially with Bangor and Cashton unloading a bunch of senior talent from a year ago.
Keep in mind that Hillsboro was quelled by fifth-place Royall with relative ease last year and Ithaca was blanked 48-0 by Bangor and defeated 39-6 by Cashton.
Could either be the breakout star of the SBC? Sure, but history is still history.
THE OUTSKIRTS
As much fun as it is to keep an eye on the uber-local teams, it's also enjoyable to know who's going to be good in the outlying areas.
North Crawford will be trying to defend their Ridge & Valley 8-player title from a year ago. However, teams like De Soto and Wisconsin Heights will also be in contention. There are plenty of Thursday and Saturday 8-player games, so go catch some of that action if you're curious what that game looks like. Trust me, it's not that different than traditional 11-player football.
Mauston always seems to challenge for a South Central Conference title, but things could be different this year as Berlin, Ripon and Waupun join the league.
In the Dairyland, Melrose-Mindoro will have some early-season growing pains, but won't be out of the playoff picture throughout the regular season.
Pepin/Alma won the league last year, but unloaded a bevy of boys. Blair-Taylor and Cochrane-Fountain City would appear to be in line for this year's Dairyland title.
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