Season Previews Galore by Reinhart

Jeff Reinhart has been a busy man. He's been powering through league, section & team previews left & right on his Lancaster-Lebanon League News site. The previews are very deep & insightful for all teams but naturally we're going to focus on the Bulldogs. I won't rip off Jeff's excellent work so below are just a few Wilson excerpts from his previews. I strongly encourage you to check out each article as you'll find not only more Bulldogs notes but also how the league, sections & teams stack up against Wilson.

First up? Jeff's lengthy Wilson team preview (bottom of the page). He has the basics (coaches, classification, last year's result), the 2011 schedule, a game to "circle", plus his take on the schedule itself. Then he continues with last season's stats & this year's returning starters while listing every single player lost & his postseason awards. Yeah, Jeff's good. Naturally next up is the list of the returning players & what schemes Wilson runs on offense & defense. Jeff continues with "good" & "bad" about the 2011 squad plus a player to watch. Finally Jeff states his take on the season.

REINHART’S TAKE: I know 16 starters are gone. But I’m quite sure Wilson’s staff has the next 16 spitting fire and ready to go. It’s called a program. Team to beat until someone knocks them off the perch. Any takers?

Absolutely excellent stuff; I really encourage you to read the entire preview.

We're just a quarter of the way through Reinhart's preseason posts.

Up next are his preseason rankings. Now remember, Jeff covers all of the L-L. This list takes into account every team in all three sections in the league. Wilson comes in high, but doesn't top the preseason list. Who does? Well, a familiar face leads the team... Lancaster Catholic, with Bruce Harbach at the helm. Wilson will have to settle for 2nd.

2. Wilson (11-1 overall last season; Section 1 champs) – Bowed out to eventual champ Cumberland Valley in the District 3 Quad-A quarterfinals, and then lost a bunch of kids to graduation, including the entire starting o-line, some ball-hawker LBs and some key secondary pieces. And a DI quarterback. So things might look a little different at the outset this season in West Lawn. But this is still Wilson. And Section 1 is the Bulldogs’ to lose until someone knocks them off the top of the dog house.

FIRST GAME: Friday @ Governor Mifflin, 7 p.m. No love lost when those Berks County backyard rivals square off.

So if the Bulldogs are ranked 2nd across all sections, that means they have to be #1 in Section 1, right? Of course! Jeff has this to say...

1. Wilson – Shooting for an unprecedented fourth undefeated Section 1 championship in a row; Bulldogs have won 22 league games in a row and own 19 Section 1 crowns in all. Silly, silly numbers. But that’s how terrific this program is. Could be some (gulp) growing pains with 16 new full-time starters in the mix. Methinks somebody will even trip up the Bulldogs early in the season. But this is Wilson. Remember what I said about programs? Bulldogs’ section to lose until somebody bites them and knocks them down a peg. Good luck.

OK, so that's three links down. One more to go...

Games start Friday so Reinhart has your Week 1 primer all ready to go.

BACKYARD BRAWLS: Wilson @ Governor Mifflin (will probably hear those pads cracking in Lancaster County)

.......

WEEK 2 SNEAK PEEK: Wilson @ Manheim Central

Excellent work, Jeff! Can't wait to follow L-L football with him this fall.

If you want a Wilson question answered or just want to read some info. on L-L football, Jeff is hosting a live chat tomorrow (Thursday 9/1) at 7pm on the site.