Ok guys enough talk about public vs private and surprises, lets hear some team previews. Who are the losses and additions, what are the strengths and weaknesses, how many returning from both sides of the ball? Lets hear some honest appraisal.

Hammond will be loaded on offense. They return pretty much the whole offense with the exception of a few OL. They loose some great players on defense but still have one of the best players in league (if not the best) Will Patterson. The Skyhawks will be the preseason #1 but will get everyone's best and a threepeat will be very difficult.

Heathwood will have one of the most athletic QB's with Mac Whalen. They return a couple guys up front and Davis Ray will be the main target outside. I think they will be very good on offense but the line and defense could still be a concern.

I hear Ben Lippen will be up and AC is going to have to reload (which they will.) Cardinal Newman is still got a long way to go but the Bolchez kid is a good player.

Thats my region thoughts. Should be very interesting.

laurence manning lost all of the weak links from last year and are not as young as last year. they have one of the best defenses in the state. with the line returning and only one replacement at the linebacker position they should be pretty dominate. they have a new QB who should do alright but the entire offensive line is returning now stronger and ready in there words and with a change in how they run the offense it should be interesting to see how they work.

Cats77, you may be the most idiotic Swampcat I've ever met. And I know some pretty stupid people from Manning(and a lot of great people as well, I have a lot of great friends at LMA or that have graduated, I'm most speaking of older men and one alumni). Laurence Manning Academy will NEVER become as strong in football as Hammond or ACS year in and year out. Not unless you get Coach Belangia to start getting Sumter High kids to play football for you as well as baseball. You better worry about competiting with Wilson Hall every year before you even think about Hammond & ACS. If LMA is half as good as you make them sound they might have a chance at winning the Super Bowl vs. the Steelers/Cowboys this year.

quote:

Originally posted by xStallionJockx:
Cats77, you may be the most idiotic Swampcat I've ever met. And I know some pretty stupid people from Manning(and a lot of great people as well, I have a lot of great friends at LMA or that have graduated, I'm most speaking of older men and one alumni). Laurence Manning Academy will NEVER become as strong in football as Hammond or ACS year in and year out. Not unless you get Coach Belangia to start getting Sumter High kids to play football for you as well as baseball. You better worry about competiting with Wilson Hall every year before you even think about Hammond & ACS. If LMA is half as good as you make them sound they might have a chance at winning the Super Bowl vs. the Steelers/Cowboys this year.

Now that's pretty funny right there xStallionJockx. I agree---they(LMA)would have to improve a great deal from last year---Pinewood absolutely pummeled the Swampcats last year in every aspect of the game. I personally think it was Pinewood's most convincing win of the season. Good luck this year cats77--your going to need it. Later!

Will we see you, ElCid?

I believe their in your conference, so I hope so.

quote:

Originally posted by beentheredonethat:
Will we see you, ElCid?

I'm afraid not, Brice has returned to Summerville High (see below). However, I do wait with anticipation for the outcome of certain matchups Pinewood will have this year. For example, Hammond, Wilson Hall, OP and Augusta Christian will all be very interesting this year. I now personally know most all of Pinewood's players and they are a great bunch of young men. They all worked so very hard in the off season preparing for the speed and strength competition. Just as I am sure they are working real hard for Pinky and Coach Holland over this summer. Expect good things from this team---people seem to be very concerned and are talking about Pinewood's lack of linemen however with the addition of Coach Holland and knowing the boys who will be playing the OL/DL this year I say they will do just fine. I'll be checking the message boards for updates throughout the season. Should be a great year for SCISA football. Later!

http://scvarsity.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=828721
Jim Baxter
SCVarsity.com Publisher

Talk about it in The Varsity Underground - Football and Recruiting
Summerville (SC) 2010 defensive tackle prospect Brice Laughlin admits he's never been excited as he's been this Summer, as the big trenchman prepares for the upcoming season. He's had a busy Summer, including stops at the SCVarsity.com All-State Football Combine and Elite OL-DL Camp, and he's ready to showcase his skills on the gridiron.

"I don't think I've ever been as excited about an upcoming season," said Laughlin. "The Greenwave played in the state title game last season and I think we've got the talent to return there again in 2008."

The 6-3, 270lbs athlete played two games with Summerville as a sophomore, starting against James Island and Booker T. Washington before transferring to Pinewood Prep.

"It was primarily for academic reasons," said Laughlin. "My brother went too, and he played tight end."

Laughlin practiced with the Greenwave his freshman year, but did not play because of academics, influencing the move to the private school last season. But the big man is back in green and ready for the season.

"This season is going to be special because I really haven't had a chance to play for the Greenwave," said Laughlin. "I haven't even played in a home game there so I haven't experienced that."

This Summer, Laughlin has been going to camps to showcase his skills. He was impressive at the SCVarsity.com All-State Football Combine in May, and he attended the USC and Clemson camps. "USC liked me at their camp," he said, "and the coaches from North Carolina A&T liked me at the camp, as well."

Laughlin says that the Greenwave may use him sparingly at linebacker this upcoming season, the position he played at Pinewood Prep last year, but his primary spot will be at defensive end.

He's been clocked at 4.9 in the 40 yard dash and bench presses 340lbs.

SCVarsity.com will keep you updated on the progress of this outstanding Class of 2010 prospect.

Is this OP'S year? Tons of seniors...

quote:

Originally posted by OP FAN:
Is this OP'S year? Tons of seniors...

OP FAN what do you think of the most recent HSSR Poll seen below. After seeing you guys last year I would think you guys would at least be in the top 5. Losing Coach Holland had to be a huge loss however with the talent you guys have returning it should be a good year---don't you think?

SCISA Class AAA
1. Hammond
2. Pinewood Prep
3.Augusta Christian
4. Heathwood Hall
5. Wilson Hall
6. Porter-Gaud

OP will be fine in the coaching department. It was time for Holland to go. There is an obvious attempt to purge all pre- new administration coaches from that school and replace them with newer,younger guys. The big question for OP is how those boys will handle all the mess that their careers have been. This is like the 4th new staff there. Change takes time and I don't know if they have it with such a large senior class. What they need to do is play defense and let the playmakers do it on offense.

Adman OP definately has some talent. I was recently reveiwing last years game PP vs. OP and was instanly impressed with OP all over again. Later!

This is pretty much the same team that only lost 1 game in 2 years on JV. All of the coaching changes have not helped, but I think(hope) this is the year.

quote:

Originally posted by OP FAN:
This is pretty much the same team that only lost 1 game in 2 years on JV. All of the coaching changes have not helped, but I think(hope) this is the year.

This is the kind of post that always amuses me. Not that OP won't be good, they just might, but it will have nothing to do with how many wins or losses they had at the JV level. Many of the schools have little to no JV program. Many times, the best players from 8th grade on up go straight to the varsity because of the numbers situation. Many of the JV squads are playing with what amounts to a middle school team.

I see it all the time in basketball. For two straight years, Thomas Heyward's girls went undefeated and won the JV region championships because they were playing with 9th and 10th graders when the teams they were playing against were using 6th, 7th and 8th graders. When those players became 11th and 12th graders the last two years, they won about 12 games combined and couldn't make the state tournament.

You may be right, but it can't hurt to have team that has played together since the 6th grade.