ICC 2019 Preview
ICC 2019 Preview
Football season is upon us and this year’s ICC should be interesting as usual. Claysburg and Tussey Mountain have the largest number of returnees from teams who were successful (CK 7-5/TM 8-3) last year. That being said, the road to the ICC title still runs through Bellwood. Northern Bedford also returns a healthy number from a team that was young and improved dramatically the second half of the season in ’18. Juniata Valley had a great late season run as well and returns a healthy number of starters but lost some real studs too. Southern Huntingdon is a 6[sup]th[/sup] contender but things could go either way for the Rockets from this vantage point.
There are many unknowns in my bottom six as well. Everett and West Branch, in my opinion, have the best shot of elevating to the top half of the standing but neither team will crack the top three in the league.
Bellwood does not play Claysburg and the Tussey Mt. at Claysburg opener does not count in the league standings and will only factor into the race in the event that they tie for the title at seasons end. With a twelve team league you cannot play everyone else in the league and another potential key matchup that is not on the schedule in 2019 is Juniata Valley and NBC.
Below are my projected end of season standings and some key matchups and notes about them throughout the season
ICC Predictions
1.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Bellwood-Antis
2.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Claysburg-Kimmel
3.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Tussey Mountain
4.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Northern Bedford
5.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Juniata Valley
6.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Southern Huntingdon
7.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Everett
8.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Mo Valley
9.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]West Branch
10.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Mt. Union
11.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Glendale
12.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Williamsburg
KEY GAMES:
Aug. 23 – Tussey Mt. at Claysburg – Early look at who the #1 contender to overtake Bellwood might be. Interesting to note that this game does NOT count in the standings. It merely will give us a sneak peek.
Aug. 29 – SHC at NBC – Battle that could elevate SHC back into the top tier of the conference if they can pull the upset.
Sep. 6 – Juniata Valley at Bellwood – JV will answer whether they are top tier and contender material in their early season visit to Bellwood.
Sep. 13 – NBC at Tussey Mt. – Rivalry game with serious early season implications in the ICC race.
Sep. 20 – SHC at Juniata Valley – Another rivalry game that will determine top ICC team in Huntingdon Co.
Sep. 27 – West Branch at Everett – This matchup is key because it could determine which one of these teams could elevate to the top half of the league standings.
Oct. 4 – Claysburg at Juniata Valley – This could be CK’s toughest test after Tussey as they do not play Bellwood and have NBC at home.
Oct. 18 – Bellwood at Tussey Mt. – Could have league championship implications. Preseason game of the year in the conference.
There are many unknowns in my bottom six as well. Everett and West Branch, in my opinion, have the best shot of elevating to the top half of the standing but neither team will crack the top three in the league.
Bellwood does not play Claysburg and the Tussey Mt. at Claysburg opener does not count in the league standings and will only factor into the race in the event that they tie for the title at seasons end. With a twelve team league you cannot play everyone else in the league and another potential key matchup that is not on the schedule in 2019 is Juniata Valley and NBC.
Below are my projected end of season standings and some key matchups and notes about them throughout the season
ICC Predictions
1.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Bellwood-Antis
2.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Claysburg-Kimmel
3.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Tussey Mountain
4.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Northern Bedford
5.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Juniata Valley
6.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Southern Huntingdon
7.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Everett
8.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Mo Valley
9.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]West Branch
10.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Mt. Union
11.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Glendale
12.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]Williamsburg
KEY GAMES:
Aug. 23 – Tussey Mt. at Claysburg – Early look at who the #1 contender to overtake Bellwood might be. Interesting to note that this game does NOT count in the standings. It merely will give us a sneak peek.
Aug. 29 – SHC at NBC – Battle that could elevate SHC back into the top tier of the conference if they can pull the upset.
Sep. 6 – Juniata Valley at Bellwood – JV will answer whether they are top tier and contender material in their early season visit to Bellwood.
Sep. 13 – NBC at Tussey Mt. – Rivalry game with serious early season implications in the ICC race.
Sep. 20 – SHC at Juniata Valley – Another rivalry game that will determine top ICC team in Huntingdon Co.
Sep. 27 – West Branch at Everett – This matchup is key because it could determine which one of these teams could elevate to the top half of the league standings.
Oct. 4 – Claysburg at Juniata Valley – This could be CK’s toughest test after Tussey as they do not play Bellwood and have NBC at home.
Oct. 18 – Bellwood at Tussey Mt. – Could have league championship implications. Preseason game of the year in the conference.