Region 6 will be very strong this season, but most of the strength will come from teams in District 12. The first poll of the year has two teams from District 12 in the top 10 (Ryan and D-L-B) and another on the received votes list (ORCS). It is very hard to say who will come out on top of District 12. In addition to those teams listed, Berthold should be strong this year. I don't believe they graduated any starters from last years team. They have an early season match up against Stanley (on the RV list in the first poll) and that should help judge how they will be this season. M-L-S is also in the mix in District 12 and they have one of the best young players in the state in Isaac Undlin. He had a good season last year and alot is expected of him this year. If he gets good support from the rest of his team, they could be a force in the district and region. I really think that it is possible that all five of these teams (Ryan / D-L-B / ORCS / Berthold / M-L-S) could end up in the top 10 poll at some time this season. I also think it will be very difficult to get through the district season undefeated for any of these teams. Picking who will win is very hard. There is no clear favorite as far as I can see. D-L-B lost the least to graduation (compared to Ryan graduating two all district players and ORCS losing 4 of their starters, three of whom were all district). D-L-B was playing very well at the end of their season last year. At present, I would call them the favorite to win the district. But, I am not confident enough to even bet a nickle on that at this point in the season.
District 11 will not be as strong. I think District 12 teams will dominate the region this season like they did last season. With that said, I think the newly co-oped Velva-Sawyer team will be interesting to watch. They have an early season tournament that should put them up against either Kenmare or ORCS. It will be interesting to see if they are competitive or can win against those tough opponents. If they develop player chemistry, they are my favorite in district 11. Rugby is a large school with an established program. They had a disappointing end of their season, both at the district tournament and region tournament, but they will always contend in the district. Drake-Anamoose lost their two best players to graduation so I do not think they will contend for the championship this season. To round out my top 4 in the district, I would put in Bottineau and TGU.
When the Region tournament rolls around, I expect the top three teams at the end to all be District 12 teams. I think it will be D-L-B, Ryan and ORCS. No idea who will actually win. That is my outlook. I am interested to hear what others think. What are some other guesses on who wins District 12? Does anyone else think I am being too hard on District 11?