[Hoot Gibson]

I've never believed that last year's champ is this year's champ until somebody beats them. Barring an upset, if Johnson Central beats Ironton on the road, they will be undefeated at the end of the regular season. Playing devil's advocate, I can see two or three other teams making the case that Johnson Central's schedule may not be strong enough to put them at the top of the rankings, even if they go undefeated in the regular season.

I think that JC will be the best team in the mountains entering the playoffs but with a new head coach, a new starting quarterback, and a lot of new faces along the line, the pieces have to fall in place and they need to avoid key injuries to make it happen. I don't have a problem with anybody not ranking JC #1, but WYMT ranking them #5 was a bit ridiculous.