SBC BAY/RIVER BOYS: Everyone is chasing Margaretta in the Bay

There's no denying Margaretta is the overwhelming favorite to win the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division boys basketball title. "Overall, the league is very balanced outside of Margaretta," Port Clinton coach Jared Rhode said. "Everyone knows they are the cream of the crop and the best team in the area. However, the other teams can all probably push for second in the league or finish last. That should make for a lot of interesting competition." The Polar Bears have won the league championship the last two years, finishing 10-0 in league play last year. Willard split the title with Margaretta two years ago. Do the Crimson Flashes have enough to challenge the Polar Bears this season? Can anyone dethrone Margaretta and its high-powered offense? A look at the six Bay teams in alphabetical order: Edison The Chargers were 9-14 last season including a 3-8 mark in the league. Edison returns one of the top 1-2 punches in the area in seniors Cole Leimeister and Coltyn Meagrow. Leimeister averaged 16.3 points and 3.8 rebounds a game while Meagrow put up 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per night. Davin Wendt graduated from last year's team after tallying 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds a contest. "We have to play our game," Edison coach Dan Campana said. "We need to be disciplined, physical and play very fast. We have stressed these keys of identity for our game. We will need to share the ball and be aggressive offensively. Our kids will have to learn fast and play tough if they want to compete in the SBC." Huron The Tigers finished 15-8 last season and went 8-2 in the league. Huron's only league losses were to Margaretta. The Tigers' two leading scorers — Tommie McDonald (14.6 points) and Jackson McNulty (14 points, 9.8 rebounds) — both graduated. Huron will likely turn to senior Quentin Conway, who averaged 5.6 points per game last year. He will be flanked by some size, including Parker Schafer, who contributed 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds a contest. "To be successful all year long we have to be selfless teammates," Huron coach Toby Miller said. "We have to free ourselves from the pressure of individual performance. You can't let your own success or failure be an anchor that prevents you from putting the team before yourself. "Free yourself from this pressure, care about your teammates, be one heartbeat." Margaretta The Polar Bears won 24 games and a second straight district championship last season and return a plethora of talent. NCAA Division I Dayton signee Julian Washington averaged 21.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per contest as a junior. He'll be joined by Judah Keller (10.8 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds), Tyson Bailey (8.5 PPG) and Kale Bailey (7.1 points, 3.1 rebounds). The biggest piece Margaretta will have to replace is 3-point threat Nolan Wiley. He averaged 11.9 PPG and made 54 percent (50 of 93) of his 3-pointers. "For our basketball team, I believe it all starts on the defensive end," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "We need to get stops and not concern ourselves with steals. We need to have a mindset of toughness and pride to get defensive rebounds. That allows us to play in transition." Port Clinton The Redskins were 9-14 overall last year and 3-7 in league play. Port Clinton was led by Aiden Finn's 10.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, but he graduated. The Redskins will turn to Zach Speer (9.2 points, 6.2 rebounds) and guard Martez Wilson (6.3 PPG) to lead this season. "We are optimistic that our win total will grow this year and we will be able to be quite competitive," Rhode said. "Our players have worked extremely hard in the weight room and on the court to get stronger and more skilled. Strengths should include our post play as we should have the ability to generate mismatches inside versus most opponents. "Our kids have also worked to become better shooters and I'd like to think our outside shooting should improve." Vermilion The Sailors finished 7-16 last season and went 2-8 in league action. Vermilion does return its top two scorers in Brock Meyers (10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds) and Mason Cooper (10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds). "We must dictate every night how we want the game to be played," Sailors coach Kurt Habermehl said. "Too often last year, we let the other team make us do things we weren't suppose to do. We must make teams play our style. "With our size, we have to be more of a balanced team. Lastly, we have to control the boards every night. We need to limit the other team to one shot and get easy baskets with offensive rebounds." Willard The Crimson Flashes were 8-15 last year, finishing 4-6 in league play. Willard returns three of its top four scorers, but will be without one due to injury. Sophomore Jaxson Hall is back after averaging 15 points and 3.2 assists per game. Also returning for the Flashes is Mason Dawson (11.6 PPG) and Jake Rothhaar (6.4 PPG), but Rothhaar will miss significant time due to a football injury. Willard must replace Kellen Cooper, who averaged 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Scouting the River Division Old Fort won the SBC River Division last season with an unblemished 18-0 mark in league play. Tiffin Calvert was runner-up with Gibsonburg and New Riegel finishing tied for third. St. Mary Central Catholic finished in the bottom half of the pack, but got hot late and played for a district championship. Can the Panthers pick up where they left off? How does Danbury play under Keith Diebler once again? A look at the two local teams that compete in the SBC River: Danbury For the second year in a row, the Lakers will have a new coach on the sideline. It's a familiar face as Diebler, who coached Danbury for five seasons, is back in the saddle for the Lakers. Danbury was 3-20 (2-16 River Division) last year under Adam Scott, who took an assistant coaching job at Ohio Northern. The Lakers will likely be led by Frankie Kovach, who averaged 15.2 points and 5 rebounds per game. Danbury has to find an answer for the graduation of Tyler Harris, who put up 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds a contest. "Our strength is our youthful enthusiasm, but our weakness is our experience," Diebler said. "We have to improve every day and be connected on both sides of the ball." St. Mary CC The Panthers were 9-16 last year and 7-11 in the league. SMCC lost its last three games of the regular season before getting back to its winning ways. The Panthers won a pair of tournament games before falling to St. Paul in a Division VII district final. Cayden Wikel returns to lead SMCC after tallying 12.4 PPG. Third-leading scorer Gabe Burch (6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds) is back as well. The Panthers will have players such as Bryan Gibson, Jackson Grimm, Cullen Dillard, Trace Smith and Crew Trumpower who all played on the Northern 8 football championship team. Blake Finneran, who advanced to the state tournament in golf, returns after scoring 6.3 PPG "I think our greatest strength is our depth," SMCC coach Kyle Hammond said. "We have a good group this year with the ability to play small or big. We can rotate a lot of different guys without losing anything defensively. We also have a lot of experience returning with a solid senior class that can lead the group." Returning All-SBC Bay selections First team Julian Washington, Margaretta; Judah Keller, Margaretta; Cole Leimeister, Edison Second team Jaxson Hall, Willard; Coltyn Meagrow, Edison; Brock Meyers, Vermilion Honorable mention Mason Dawson, Willard; Zach Speer, Port Clinton; Tyson Bailey, Margaretta Returning All-SBC River selections First team Reece Walby, Gibsonburg; Isaac Gallagher, Old Fort; Avery Shilling, Lakota Second team Aiden Morant, Gibsonburg; Cayden Wikel, SMCC; Nick Elchert, Lakota; Grady Otterbacher, Calvert; Blayse Beard, Lakota; Logan Ritzler, Calvert; Carson Slates, Woodmore Honorable mention Ashton Miller, Hopewell-Loudon; Frankie Kovach, Danbury; Aiden Faeth, New Riegel; Dimitri Carter, Old Fort