Then you have a group of 6 teams that I feel are right there waiting to give it their best shot to overtake the throne. You can rank these teams in any order you choose to rank them so I am not ranking them in any particular order.
Bixby Blue - These guys are good. Very well Coached. They have the know how and the talent to win it all. They made a deep run in the playoffs and dropped their 1st and only game to Tyaa Black in the playoffs. After having ran thru their Division last year they ended up in what is arguably the toughest Division in our age group this yr and have just kept trucking along. They still have a big game with LC Gold left and obviously that is going to be one of my GOTW but, these guys are poised to make themselves another deep run in the playoffs again this year.
Hilldale Red - This is my team so I will keep it short and sweet. I love these guys with all my heart. Admittedly so we are not in the toughest Division this year but, we most definitely were last year. Anyone who thinks these boys won't be ready to play are absolutely mistaken. With that being we are well aware that we can be beaten and come into each and every game with that as our mindset. Having only 2 losses thus far over the past 2 seasons both of those losses came in smash mouth games against another team that is from that D5 Divison from last year and will appear on this list. The Collinsville Cardinals (Red). Very humbling to say the least but, it made our entire team push that much harder this season.
Collinsville Red - These guys are EXPLOSIVE. Very well Coached and although they have dropped a few games they are more than capable of beating anyone. Their Coaches do their homework and they feature what I believe to be probably the best all around offensive player in this age group. We all know that we have grown as teams, coaches, and players. These guys went from what was no doubt the toughest Division in 1st grade to what I believe is the toughest Division (when you look at the top 4 teams) this year. D4 may be the toughest from top to bottom but, D3 has my vote for toughest top 4 teams. These guys have played some of the best teams in this age group over the past 2 seasons and are serious contenders to win it all. I would not recommend taking them lightly.
LC Black - While I don't know a ton about these guys I have seen them live a couple of times. I have seen enough to tell me that their defense is legit. As I talked with another Coach we both agreed that when the cold weather hits it goes hand and hand with a team like LC Black. They also hail from D3 and have had what looks like absolute wars with Collinsville Red & Tyaa Blue. They will be more than ready to challenge for it all in a few short weeks.
Tyaa Blue - Up until these last few weeks Tyaa Blue had only ever been defeated by 1 team and that was the champs. Now their are 2 more teams to add to that list but, both were so close that you could chop it up to a bounce of the ball. These guys have proven they are more than capable of making a run back to Finals were they came in runner up after a very close game with Tyaa Black. They are battled tested and very well coached. They obviously have the talent to win it all and still have the address to Bixby saved in their GPS. These guys are another member of D3 and absolutely deserve to one of the frontrunners to win it all. Do not let their record fool ya.
BA Black- These guys had a brand new Coaching staff come in and got those boys hungry to capitalize on what was pretty good run in the playoffs. Another member of D3 these guys have battled with 2 of the top 4 so far this yr splitting 1-1 and still have a huge game with LC Black lingering that has a Division Championship at stake as well as final Division Standing implications. From what I gather they are hard nosed and gritty team and aside from a disappointing game they lost to Collinsville Red,(which in turn was the most impressive win any team has posted so far this season for Collinsville ) these guys absolutely deserve to be in the convo. These Coaches are class acts and the boys success is a reflection of that.