[More Cowbell]

Shelby Valley should have even more of a tough time this year than they did last year. One one hand, young players like Richardson, Belter, and Newsome will be a year stronger and better. But they also lost some good senior leadership in Rusty and Trey Roberts, Brett Reynolds, and Jacob Robinson. Last year's roster only included 3 juniors and one sophomore, and out of those 4, only Logan Lucas was a major contributor.

The upshot is that Valley will be heavily dependent on freshmen and sophomores this year. They are certainly a talented group, but I still think they are likely another year away from competing for region again. As for district, that's a different story. If ER really is without Cam Justice, they will take a big step backward this year. And Pikeville lost a lot as well. The 59th really shapes up as a fairly weak district this upcoming season.