My 2008 high school football projections

It's that time again, high school football season is knocking on the front door.

Practice doesn't officially begin until Aug. 1, but 7-on-7 leagues, and summer workouts have been going on for the last several weeks.

We will be kicking off the 2008 High School Football Tour with this blogpost! I'm going to give you my 2008 projections and answer a few questions I've gotten over the last few weeks from readers.

Each Friday during the month of July, I will be previewing one of the four 4-A conferences in the Triangle. On Friday July 4, I will preview the Tri-Eight Conference.

Meanwhile, here are my early projections:

Cap Seven Conference

Wake Forest-Rolesville
Millbrook
Leesville Road
Enloe
Sanderson
Broughton
Wakefield

Greater Neuse River Conference

Garner
Southeast Raleigh
West Johnston
Clayton
Smithfield-Selma
East Wake
Knightdale
Holly Springs

PAC-Six Conference

Southern Durham
Jordan
Chapel Hill
Hillside
Northern Durham
Person
Riverside
East Chapel Hill

Tri-Eight Conference

Apex
Middle Creek
Fuquay-Varina
Athens Drive
Cary
Green Hope
Lee County
Panther Creek

I've gotten a lot of questions over the last few weeks about the upcoming season. What are my expectations? State champions? Well, I'm going to attempt to answer some of those...

Q: Can Independence get back on track after a down year and win the state championship?

A: Well, personally I don't think Independence had a "down" year. Going to the state championship just doesn't classify a team as "down" to me. I guess for Indy it may have been a down year based on their triple-digit winning streak? Anyway, to answer your question, I would definitely consider Indy as a contender. News from Charlotte last week was that DeVonte Holloman, starting safety for Indy and a key to their overall team, would be moving to South Carolina. I've been told by sources in the Charlotte area that we could see a lot of players moving schools next year to avoid getting caught in any residency scandals. I've also heard that Butler will be the most talented team in Mecklenburg County. So who knows? Personally, if I had to pick a state champion today, common sense would force me to say Independence.

Q: Was Leesville's miracle season a one-hit-wonder or will they be competitive for consecutive years?

A: Leesville Road has already proven themselves NOT to be a "one-hit-wonder." Last year was definitely the best so far, but the Pride also enjoyed a lot of success in 2006 when they were co-conference champs with Broughton and Wake Forest-Rolesville. This year should be another pretty good year for Leesville Road. As you can see above, I picked Leesville to finish third in a tough Cap Seven Conference behind Millbrook and Wake Forest-Rolesville. I don't think they're going to be as good this year as last year, just because they lost A LOT of all-star players, but if sophomore quarterback Logan Bible matures and their defense steps up to the plate, they may end up sneaking into the conference title spot. It wouldn't surprise me if either of the top three teams that I picked in the Cap Seven ended up winning the conference.

**UPDATE** I exchanged e-mails with Leesville Road head football coach David Green, and he said that there is some competition at the quarterback position this summer. Green said former Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Jake Groeschen, a rising senior and college prospect, enrolled at Leesville Road and will play football in the fall. Groeschen moved to Raleigh last year from Ohio and enrolled at Gibbons because he attended Catholic school in Ohio, according to Green. At Gibbons last year, Groeschen completed 80 of 168 passes for 890 yards on the season. He comes in at 6-foot-3 and 180-pounds. There is another potential sophomore starter at quarterback, Josh Stanley. Green said all three quarterbacks have looked good in 7-on-7's and he looks forward to seeing them play against a true defense.

Q: You were at Green Hope in 2004 when they went to the Final Four, so do you think they will ever get back to that status, and what are things looking like this year?

A: I was at Green Hope in 2004 when the football team went to the "Final Four." For those of us who had to pause and think that through for a minute, it is the same thing as the Eastern Regional Final. Green Hope lost to South View on a very cold night in Hope Mills. Going to the regional final and contending for the state title is a pretty elite status. Will the Falcons get back to that anytime soon? Possibly, but they're a ways off right now. I have talked to head football coach Steve Katz about the Falcons this year, and he says he thinks they can be competitive. He called last season "a learning experience," and cited the lack of speed as one of the biggest issues for 2008. They will have two solid quarterbacks this year, senior Marcus Varsano and sophomore Kameron Bryant. You can read more about Green Hope on Friday when I preview the 2008 season for the Tri-Eight. I will say, this appears to be a down year for the conference, so if Green Hope can sneak away with a few conference wins, they could find themselves with their first playoff berth since 2004.

Q: Do you suspect we will see a lot of residency scandals this year? It seems like there were a lot last year in Fayetteville, Johnston County, and obviously Mecklenburg County.

A: This is something you just can't predict. I don't think you'll see a lot in Mecklenburg County in the next few years because the school leaders' actions should have scared any rule-breaker stiff. Based on what I've been told by people in the area, we may see a lot of moving from school-to-school over the summer, but that is because they will be moving back to their base school. The only football residency issue in Fayetteville that I can remember from last year was Douglas Byrd. In Johnston County, I believe the only issue was West Johnston. We'll see what the new season yields, but it's usually a guarantee that we will see at least a couple ineligible players - not necessarily residency issues, though.

Q: What is this I'm hearing about a new football practice schedule? Does that push back the date of scrimmages and things? What if a team already had a plan to hold a scrimmage before that date?

A: Yes, the N.C. High School Athletic Association adopted a new schedule for football season. The first day of football practice will be Aug. 1, instead of the Monday during the week of Aug. 1. It will push back all of the dates, including scrimmages. The first day for scrimmages in football will be Aug. 12. The NCHSAA Board of Directors said at their meeting that they would discuss arrangements with out-of-state teams on a one-by-one basis if it conflicted with the new schedule. The biggest problem would be making sure the players get all of their days of practice in before hitting.

If you have any questions that you think everyone would like to hear my answer to, shoot me an e-mail... stevens@ncsportsreport.com.