#5 BANDYS

The story of the Bandys Trojans in 2008 reminds me of an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. The Good: pass-happy quarterback Kyle Houser returns for his junior season after leading the league in yards-per-game (174.3) and touchdown passes (26). The Bad: Bandys only has two other starters returning on offense. The Ugly: They've only got one starter returning on defense. Ouch!

AT A GLANCE

2007 Record: 6-6 overall; 5-3 CVAC

Coach: Randy Lowman
Career: 166-92-1 (21 years)

Returning Starters: 4; 3 on offense, 1 on defense

Primary Strengths: Without out a doubt the rockstar on the Bandys roster is junior quarterback Kyle Houser. In his first season on the varsity all he did was complete 133 of 257 passes (51.8%) for 2,092 yards and 26 touchdowns. Nobody knows what Houser is capable of more than the Red Tornadoes. The sophomore signal caller led his 0-3 Trojans into Frank Barger Stadium and led the way as they overcame a 21-0 deficit to push the Tornadoes into overtime. Before it was over Houser had racked up 294 yards passing and five touchdowns. Hickory finally came out on top, 42-35, but the memory of Houser's exploits linger. Fortunately for Houser his favorite target, fellow junior Seth Cranfill, also returns for another season. Cranfill led the Trojans in receptions (49) and was second in yardage (633) behind John Mark Williams, who has graduated.

Potential Problems: Obviously inexperience will be the biggest problem for the Trojans. They were depleted on both offensive and defensive lines and so add depth issues to the lack of inexperience and it could be a bumpy ride in 2008. The Trojans will have to do a better job of running the football to relieve some of the pressure on Houser. He is not a threat to run the football so he'll have to have some other safety valve or else he will be a sitting duck. More distressing, however, is the lack of experience and size on the defense. The better teams in the league will look to drive the ball on the Trojans and thereby limit Houser's opportunities to make plays. The Trojans have been plagued with inconsistent play the last three years and must overcome that in order to be successful.

Key Losses: Almost the entire defense, including a handful of three-year starters. Top rusher LeQuan McCorkle has graduated. Other than Cranfill all of Houser's top targets from last year, John Mark Williams, Zach Hamby, Kyle Flynn, have graduated. Four of last season's starting offensive linemen are gone.

Overview: On top of losing practically their entire offensive and defensive starting units the Trojans almost lost their long-time head coach. Randy Lowman made the decision to retire from teaching after last season with the intent of returning as head coach after a six month waiting period. He almost didn't make it back due to circumstances that I won't delve into here. Fortunately for Bandys they have an experienced and tight-knit coaching staff that managed to carry on during all the off-season distractions. There is no question that Houser is very good at what he does and is expected to get even better as he continues to mature. But the Trojans will have to find a go-to guy for the running game. The first option is senior Josh McCombs, who racked up 501 yards on 88 carries in limited action last season. After him the Trojans will have to rely on somebody moving up from the JV. On the strength of Houser's abilities and the stability of the Bandys coaching staff I have picked them to finish fifth in the CVAC. I don't see them finishing higher than that but I can definitely see them finishing lower if they can't fill all the holes.