3. Riverbend Bears

 Oh I can already see the angry tweets from the Riverbend faithful with this one. All things considered I truly believe every team in our top 7 has the ability to win their district/region. And that certainly includes the Bears. With the graduation of now James Madison LB Aiden Fisher, the Bears realistically will see some kind of drop off at the LB position. And that is absolutely not a shot at Riverbend's current linebackers. Marc Anthony Parker is a stud and his own right and new starters Jonas Taylor and Will Gill will do their part to ensure the LB position won't be a weakness. In the secondary E.J. Wilborne and Devin Washington's experience will help the Bears keep every play in front of them. The Dline is probably the scariest part of this defense. With 6'7 Penn State Commit Mega Barnwell sitting right in the middle of the Bears 3 down lineman front. Junior Bah and Joseph Broussard will also be solid up front for the Bears. 

    Offensively there is even more talent returning. For starters Tanner Triplett is returning after leading Riverbend to a share of the district title a year ago. He won't be handing the ball off to Aiden Fisher this season but Barnwell, Parker, Washington, and Wilborne all return as weapons for Triplett to get the ball out to. He'll be protected nicely as well as the Bears return 3 of 5 Offensive lineman. A season ago the Bears used their offense to control the clock in their favor, the strategy is what helped them knock off opponents like Mountain View and North Stafford. This season as this unit is more mature and stronger I expect that trend to continue and for it to lead to even more points being put on the board. 

Riverbend's schedule has few cupcakes if any, there first 2 games include are on the road against a tough Spotsy team and Class powerhouse Freedom. Followed by two proud programs in Chancellor and Courtland. And then, the Commonwealth district. Riverbend will no longer catch anyone off guard, you know what you get when you play this team but the Bears still believe they deserve more respect.

Record Projection: 8-2