Myers: Smyrna, Woodbridge start season No. 1 in football

Woodbridge football coach Ed Manlove knows the Blue Raiders could have a special season. Woodbridge starts the year ranked No. 1 in Division II by The News Journal

Who’s No. 1?

Preseason rankings don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Every high school football team in Delaware starts with a clean slate, a full chance to play its games, prove the doubters wrong and earn a postseason berth.

And once the playoffs start, your ranking (and seeding) don’t matter one bit. The last time the No. 1 playoff seeds won in both Division I and II was 2008, when Caesar Rodney and Milford swept the titles. Since then, only three top seeds out of 14 have won a state football championship.

But preseason rankings are great for selling newspapers and starting the season-long debate over who’s No. 1. Over the years, my preseason picks for No. 1 have done everything from win state titles to miss the playoffs. So it’s never wise to go into this thing thinking you have all the answers.

This year, we’re going with a no-brainer for No. 1 in Division I and going out on a limb a little in Division II. If both of them win, you read it here first.

There’s really no place for Smyrna to start other than No. 1 in Division I. The Eagles won the state title last year, and have much of that team back. Of the six returning first-team All-State players, three play for Smyrna – senior QB Nolan Henderson (3,297 passing yards, 36 TDs), junior RB Will Knight (2,015 rushing yards, 38 total TDs, 51 2-point conversions) and senior OT Jerren Carter.

Eagles coach Mike Judy knew the bull’s-eye was coming.

Delaware high school sports preseason rankings

“I welcome the target on our back,” Judy said. “All that does is make our kids better. It adds to the pressure, and our coaches are very good with coaching the kids to have a positive response to that.”

Smyrna improved from 2-8 in 2013 to 5-5 in Judy’s first season as head coach. Then the Eagles jumped to 12-1 and won the whole thing. They won’t take anyone by surprise this year.

“We fully understand that we’re going to be everybody’s Super Bowl,” Judy said. “I love it. I really do. It’s a great position to be in. I don’t look at it like there’s a lot of pressure on us.

“A lot of people were surprised that we won last year, and I still think some people thought it was a fluke. So we’re really playing with a chip on our shoulder, out to prove something again.”

Salesianum will start the season No. 2 in Division I, with plenty of motivation after losing to Smyrna 32-26 in overtime in last year’s title game. With first-team All-State tackle Randy Sinnott returning along with Zeb Wright, Sean Keating, Dom Marra and Josh Patrick, the Sals may have the state’s best offensive line.

And Sallies will have two chances at revenge in its first three games. The Sals open at home Friday against Father Judge of Philadelphia, which is already 2-0 this year and handed Salesianum its only regular-season loss last year. Then they host Caesar Rodney on Sept. 16 before traveling to Smyrna on Sept. 23 for the most-anticipated game of the 2016 season.

Blue Hen Flight A looks like an intense three-way battle. I’m starting the season with Concord ranked third, Middletown fourth and William Penn fifth, but you could put them in any order. We’ll get a good idea of how it will shake out in Week 2, as Middletown travels to William Penn on Sept. 17. Then the Colonials play at Concord on Oct. 22, and the Raiders travel to Middletown to close the regular season on Nov. 11.

Division II is wide open, as usual. The last four years, the Nos. 5, 7, 2 and 3 seeds won the state title, so being No. 1 may not be such a good thing.

When trying to come up with a top 10, I found at least 15 teams deserving of a ranking. But a trip to Woodbridge last week convinced me that the Blue Raiders should be the favorite to bring home the Henlopen South’s first state title since Indian River in 2011.

“Hopefully, we’ll take it in stride,” Woodbridge coach Ed Manlove said of his team’s approach. “They’ve been talking about it all year, everybody has. I think they’re kind of used to it. … Hopefully, if we can stay healthy it could be an exciting year for us.”

The Blue Raiders went 8-4 and reached the D-II semifinals last year. Second-team All-State DE Leah Styles, third-team All-State DT Shymere Vessels and 1,000-yard rusher Terrique Riddick are back. So is QB Troy Haynes, who started almost all of last season as a true freshman. And Brian Ireland, a 6-foot-2, 296-pound senior transfer from Florida, adds bulk to both lines.

Add in players stepping up from a junior varsity team that won every game by at least two touchdowns last season, and Woodbridge should be good. The Blue Raiders know it.

“They’re a lot more focused, because they know we have the potential to be very good,” Manlove said. “But they also know if you don’t go out there and play and respond to the pressure, it’s all for nothing.”

Nobody responded better than Howard last season, and the defending champs return enough pieces to start the year ranked No. 2. The Wildcats will be strong up front both ways, but must find an effective quarterback and running back.

No. 3 Caravel expects a major turnaround after last year’s 3-6 season. The Bucs lost only three starters, and add senior QB Alex Barker among other key transfers from Eastern Christian Academy.

But Caravel’s schedule is a major concern. The Bucs must tackle four Division I opponents – Concord, Elkton (Md.), Salesianum and Cape Henlopen – along with D-II contenders Archmere, St. Mark’s and Hodgson. If you’re looking for a team that could lose three or four games, grab a low playoff seed and run the table, Caravel could be the one.

Delaware Military Academy and Wilmington Friends have become consistent contenders, Milford and Glasgow have the ingredients to make a major jump, and Archmere, St. Elizabeth and St. Mark’s could wedge into the picture, too.

And I’m not even ranking St. Georges – Division II’s No. 1 seed the past four years – to start this season. The Hawks will be trying to prove me wrong, along with everybody else not named Smyrna or Woodbridge.

Buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ