Big 8 West is LOADED

Lots of Conference Changes in Southwest Missouri this past year. Without a doubt, the biggest changes in recent memory have taken place.

No changes are bigger than what we have seen out of the Big 8. The League will now have two divisions. For the purpose of football, you could almost look at it as two different conferences.

For this look, I will concentrate on the West. The Big 8 West will have Nevada, returning to the conference it helped found, along with traditional Big 8 Members: Monett, Cassville, Lamar, Seneca, East Newton, and McDonald County.

Lamar- Anytime you talk about Big 8 football you really have to talk about Lamar. They have won SEVEN consecutive Class 2 State Titles. The Tigers run the double wing to perfection and hardly anyone has been able to slow it down, much less, stop it. The Tigers graduated a lot of talent but, in the past, they have always been able to reload.

Seneca- These guys were loaded last year. And, they did it with a lot of underclassmen. Its a team that can be explosive on offense. Now with a successful year of experience under their belt, they might just be ready to take the top spot.

Cassville- This is another team that has played a number of “young kids” over the past couple of years and that may be about ready to pay off. The Wildcats have a lot of experienced talent and are always tough and extremely physical. Coach Parnell does an excellent job and this is, without a doubt, one of the teams to beat.

Monett- Youth is the name of the game at Monett. Lots of fresh faces will be taking the field wearing the Purple and Gold this year. But they will have some experience returning at key positions including quarterback. While this may not be the Cubs of two years ago, look for them to be improved, especially as the year progresses and the young players get more and more experience under the Friday Night Lights.

McDonald County- This was a team that really looked better last year. They seemed to be more disciplined and had better focus. Now, numbers are going up as well. That is a good combination for Coach Kellen Hoover. Look for that upward trend to continue. The Mustangs will be a handful for most opponents.

East Newton- There is no hiding the fact that the road has been extremely tough for the Patriots for a while now. They have struggled with numbers and combine that with playing in one of the best conferences in the state and what you get is a lot of long Friday Nights. Coach Wolfe will be hoping to change that. But, as anyone knows that has had to totally build a program it takes time.

Nevada- The Tigers are the newbie in this group. Wes Beachler will bring his Tigers back to the Big 8. They were 5-6 last year but played a schedule that most around this area are not familar with. To say they are the wildcard in the group would be an understatement. Their numbers have been a little down for a school their size but you can bet Coach Beachler has been working on that.

My worthless predictions….