Seoal predictions.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

Zaide Whitley will make the Trojans instantly better on defense even if he never plays a down on the defense. He is capable of putting kickoffs into the endzone, and which will allow Portsmouth to pen opponents far deeper than we have in the last several years.
It will make the Trojans D better right away, and I believe his presence in the Trojan back field will also be a welcome addition.

I’m getting kind of excited for this football season. But we have some major questions? If the pieces come together Portsmouth could turn some heads. Will the young guys be ready? Will the improved field position help the defense enough to make a difference on the number of points given up? Will we be able to replace guys lost on the line?
What we know, we have a good QB in Mason Jordan. We have proven we can put up points. We have a sophomore class that is very talented. We have a senior class that judging by all I have been told is working very hard to be better this season. We have a coaching staff that has been here for a long time, and has been proven winners in the past.

As for my SEOAL prediction
1 Jackson ( this program is really on the way up, coach Hall is doing a great job with the Ironmen and they will be tough again this season)
2 Portsmouth ( see above, PHS could be anywhere from 1st to last, but Chillicothe and Gallia both travel to Portsmouth this season. I think the Trojans will be 3-1, by the time SEOAL play starts which will spur them into a better season, but I could be wrong. But I think the pieces are there for an improvement this season.)
3 Chillicothe ( the Cavs had a productive first year under Coach Hinton but I think they might have a bit of sophomore hangover, as I believe they lose several, they will have athletes and coach Hinton will have a good scheme, every week, so they could shock if they pick it up fast. They will finish no worse than 3rd)
4 Gallia ( loses a lot, will be hard to find someone to take the place of Wilson and Golden. I don’t think the Blue Devils will be able to reload, but they could finish as high as 2nd, I can’t see them beating Jackson though. Going to Jackson, Chilli, and Portsmouth will be tough)
5 Logan ( the sleeping giant? I don’t know, but last year Logan didn’t seem like Logan to me. If they stay in the spread, I think it’s a rough year for the Chieftains.)
6 Warren ( just haven’t seen much from the Warriors and I doubt this is their break out year. They have talent every year but it hasn’t seemed to come together yet.)

[trojandave]

Trojan FB Alum: Good point about Zaide and his ability to kick the ball deep.......the percentages favor the defense to get a stop when the opponent has to go 20-25 yards farther to score. Zaide will be a HUGE asset in this area. He also will be a big help at RB with his speed.

If our defense can hold opponents to under 20 PPG, we should have a winning season with the octane that our offense will have.

[Auburntgrfan]

football alum. I can understand your thought process on the upcoming season, the Warriors have to prove themselves on the field. You know, the old woulda, coulda, shoulda. Warren was in several games last year and found a way to lose. Portsmouth, was along drive for a game that the harder they tried the worse it got, the trojens played lights out and deserved the game. Jackson was an old fashioned butt kicking, Logan should have been a "W", but alas, And Marietta came to win, unfortunately Warren did not. So Warren could be last or as high as fourth. Depends on many things. Anyway can't wait till its time to play with the pointy thing.
Remember when someone says nothing is impossible. Tell them to dribble a football.

[4puttsnowman]

the Massie-Ferguson is fired up ready to roll thru the SEOAL !
Roll Tide!

[moonshine]

With summer begining so starts season of families moving, so update us on any possible transfers which will affect our predictions for the SEOAL teams only!

[BBallin fool]

1.chilly
2.portsmouth
3.logan
4.jackson
5.warren
6.gallia

[noreply66]

Jackson-tie
Logan-tie
Portsmouth
Gallipolis-tie
Warren-tie
Chillicothe

[Mighty Mighty Devils]

1.chilly
2.portsmouth
3.logan
4.jackson
5.warren
6.gallia

your a joke don't be a hater Gallia will finish at the top or near the top of the SEOAL this year

[BBallin fool]

Joke you best watch who your calling a joke!!! Hell its early wish the blue the best but wilson, moore, golden and more gone !!! Chilly will win it !!! hey get in picks contest next season !!! I'm alway at the top!!! lol kiss where the sun don't shine!!!

[noreply66]

Didn't Chillicothe lose more than Gallipolis?

Chillicothe ,not counting 9th graders, will bring back around 22 of 39 players with only 8 points of their total offense from last year returning. 2nd year coach will have his hands full making a new scoring machine.

Gallipolis will bring back 28 players from around 39--- with those players--- they will bring back about 26 points. Rebuild a backfield to operate behind a very good line.

Jackson will bring back 34 players that scored 181 points with one player scoring half of that and one of the best kickers returning in the southeastern part of Ohio.

Logan should have around 30 players returning that scored in the area of 62 points.One of the better running backs in the league that could do very well if Logan goes back to the power game.

Portsmouth returns 21 players and 90 points. Several talented players are gone that has been with the time a few years. Less offense this year that will be in much need for their defense to come around.

Has far as an overall team Warren just might return the most. 48 points is about all they lose and around 19 very good players return.
Could have the best QB in southeastern Ohio along with a very good kicker. Had a lot a 9th graders out and will have to wait to see if they can step in as 10 graders to help.

Jackson looks like the team to beat but might be thin when it comes to back ups

Every team will probably have a new player come in. Just have to wait and see how they do.

[BBallin fool]

Logan might be the sleeper alot to pick from???

[96stroker]

I am thinking the Ironmen will be at the top Chilly Ports and Gallia will be right there . tHIS IS A TUFF LEAGUE YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT maybe down some years but league battle is usually decided in week 10 as it was last year , hopefully everyone has a injury free season and good luck to all

[BBallin fool]

Logan 5-5
GA 5-5
Chilly 5-5
Jackson 5-5
Warren 5-5
Portsmouth 5-5
Flip a coin??? Weak League.

[JChipwood]

I don't know if the league is weak or not, EVERY team in the league would at least compete for the TVC title or the OVC title and the top 2 would probably be 1-2 in either of those leagues. Just no true standout team going in..... In the end the SOC and SEOAL will again show that they are FAR superior to the other leagues in the area.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

The SEOAL is only down to SEOAL standards. The top four finishers would win the OVC, TVC, or SVC. Only the top 2 teams in the SOC could compete in the SEOAL, no SEOAL school would finish worse than 3rd in the SOC.

SOC is Burg, then either West Minford or Waverly most years. Burg is supposed to be way down this year, but I’ll believe it when I see it, West should be strong, Minford lost a lot last year, Waverly is still down, Valley was tough and returns a lot. They and West are probably the 2 top picks this year. West could hang with the SEOAL elite, not sure about Valley, they will be good but it takes a real beating on you playing in this league every week. I think the SEOAL is far more physical than other leagues around, which makes it very hard on the smaller enrolment schools. One of the key reasons why Portsmouth struggles at times is because of lack of depth, Ironton also although they fared better still was hurt by this same problem. This is why the SEOAL is the elite league in the area. As the league with the schools with the larger enrollments it is a harder league, as it should be. Just as SOC 2 is tougher than SOC 1.

[Mighty Mighty Devils]

Very nicely said

[LetsGoPSU]

agree to a point.....Ive always believed that you play the game to reach the playoffs and achieve special things weeks 11 threw 15, the Seoal has not proved to be helpful in this aspect for the Trojans.Maybe My goals are a little higher than everyone elses, but I would much rather have a consistant deep run into the post season, than to be just competitive in a league.Whether its a super strong league that beats each other up all season, or a weak league that garners enough points to allow you to have a shot........I guess its all in how you look at it.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

I agree, I would much rather have playoff success, than league titles. Maybe that is just a Portsmouth way of thinking about things since playoffs were all we had to play for, for so many years. I still believe though that if we win this league we will make a deep run, as well. Since we have joined the SEOAL, we have made one playoff trip, and had one other winning season in 07 and 09 respectively. 07 was a one and done year, we finished 3rd in the SEOAL that year behind Logan and Zanesville.
Compare that to PHS, when we made deep runs in the playoffs. 00, 01, 02, were all deep runs. All were at least 9 win seasons, and in 01 those 9 wins only got us a 5th place finish in the region. My point is those teams would have fared just as well playing in the SEOAL, and the teams that played in the SEOAL I don’t think would have fared any better or worse. Sure some of the teams may have pick up an extra win here or there, but those weren’t exactly easy schedules either. With wins over regional runner up Chesapeake, state runner up West, very good Ironton teams, D1 Huntington, Grant Gregory led Athens, playoff qualifier Ravenswood, 2 time defending state champion Amanda Clearcreek.
My point is I don’t think it would have made any difference, concerning playoffs. The playoff run teams would still had 9 or more wins playing in the SEOAL, and I don’t think not playing in the SEOAL would have helped the other teams enough to make the playoffs or improve their playoff runs of those that did make the playoffs. Just my opinion but the deep run teams were just better, and would have been just as successful no matter who they played. The only exception could be if 07 could have played a weak enough schedule to get 9 or 10 wins and a better seed, they may have been able to pick up a playoff win.
Examples of playoff success in the SEOAL, Ironton although not in the league last year played 4 SEOAL teams and lost in the regional final.
09 Ironton lost in regional final after finishing 2nd in the league to Logan
09 Logan lost 2nd round of D2 playoffs.
08 Ironton lost 2nd round of playoffs after finishing 3rd in SEOAL behind Chillicothe, and Logan
08 Chillicothe lost 2nd round of playoffs after finishing 2nd behind Logan
08 Logan lost 2nd round of D2 playoffs
07 No SEOAL made it out of first round, although both Logan and Zanesville qualified in D2, and Portsmouth in D4, so plenty of points available.

[trojandave]

Jackson right now is at the top of the SEOAL, but I would suspect that Logan and Chillicothe won't be down for much longer at all........Portsmouth has shown it can put a good team on the field, but just hasn't been consistent in doing so, probably because of being the smallest school in the league by quite a margin........Gallia Academy always seems to be competitive, although rarely winning the league title outright......the Blue Devils have made a decent number of playoffs appearances, though........Warren's program seems to be on the rise, but they haven't taken the next step yet, which is to be contending for the SEOAL title and playing in the postseason.

I do think the SEOAL will not have a banner year, but it soon will rebound to be much better when the Chieftains and Cavaliers get back on the winning side of the ledger, giving our league much more depth........when they do, there's no question that the SEOAL is the best league in SE Ohio, but until that happens, I can't say the league is clearly heads above everyone else. TVC member Wellston beat SEOAL champion Jackson handily last year, even though it was the first game of the season.

GO TROJANS!! PROUD MEMBERS OF THE SEOAL!!

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

I know what you’re saying Dave, but although Wellston beat Jackson, I think they would have lost several other games if playing in the SEOAL just as they did in the TVC.
Look at it this way, PHS narrowly lost to SOC 2 champ Burg, but got blown out by SOC 3rd place finisher West. You would have thought after getting smacked by West PHS would have gotten smacked by the Burg but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Portsmouth put it on Warren last year 47-7, Warren beat Chillicothe and Chillicothe put it on Portsmouth 41-7, and even beat Gallia Academy. After beating Portsmouth like that and Gallia, I doubt any thought they would lose to Warren. You never know what is going to happen in the SEOAL, anyone can beat anyone, any week.
I too, am proud to be in the SEOAL. My only regret about the league is that we weren’t able to get into it around 1995, when our enrollment and talent levels were higher. Although the enrollment level might not come back I think the talent level will.