WATCH: Every fall, we put out our annual Pigskin Preview. In that preview, we make predictions for high school and college teams from all across the area.
It's a tough thing to do, and ultimately - we get some right and we get some wrong. Sometimes we're really wrong.
Here's where we knew it and where we blew it in the 2022 Pigskin Preview.
WHERE WE BLEW IT: Seneca Indians
I'm not going to lie, I thought we may have seen the best of them in 2021 - but they were even better this fall. We picked them to go 6-3, and the finished 8-1 in the regular season, including knocking off top-ranked Lamar.Â
Seneca made it all the way to the Class 2 state semifinals, and they are now 19-7 overall in their first two seasons under head coach Cody Hilburn with a pair of district championships.
WHERE WE KNEW IT: Girard Trojans
We picked them to go undefeated in the regular season, and for the second straight year, that's what they did. The Trojans closest game of the regular season was week one against Columbus. From there, they drilled everybody. Girard finished with a 10-1 overall record and their second consecutive regional title.
WHERE WE BLEW IT: Pittsburg State Gorillas
I thought they were goin to be really good this season, but they were even better than I thought. We had them in the magazine at 9-2, and they went 11-0 in the regular season and won their first MIAA championship since 2014. They also made the playoffs and blew out UIndy in the first round, before falling to eventual national champion Ferris State in the second round.Â
Pitt State had 18 players earn All-MIAA recognition, and since the season ended they've had three players earn All-America honors: OL Trase Jeffries, LB PJ Sarwinski and TE Devon Garrison.
WHERE WE KNEW IT: Missouri Southern Lions
The Lions took a step in the right direction last year. We thought they would take another step forward this year, and that's what they did.Â
The Lions finished with four wins this fall in their season full season under head coach Atiba Bradley. It's the first time since 2014 they've won four games. Three of their losses were by four or fewer points, so Missouri Southern is still definitely a team on the way up.
WHERE WE BLEW IT: Miami Wardogs
We really blew it with the Miami Wardogs.
We picked Miami to go 3-7 this season. They got things turned around and went 6-4 in the regular season. Not only that, but the Wardogs made the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. They had a nice mix of younger and older players, and it was awesome to see them get some momentum.Â
Sometimes I'm happy to be wrong.
WHERE WE KNEW IT: Chanute Blue Comets
I didn't think there was anybody on Chanute's schedule that could compete with them in the regular season, and that proved to be true.Â
Chanute went 8-0 in the regular season as we predicted. Their closes game of the regular season was a 15-point win over Pittsburg. The Blue Comets made it all the way to the regional championship game and finished with a 9-1 overall record.
WHERE WE BLEW IT: Quapaw Wildcats
We had them in the preview at 5-5 and they were a lot better than that.
Quapaw went 9-1 in the regular season. I said it all year, this was one of my favorite teams to watch. They finished with a 10-2 overall record for their first 10-win season since 1995.
There are more predictions where we were right or wrong (like how we whiffed on Colgan). These are just the ones that stood out to me at first glance.
We'll be back again next fall to blow it on some more of these predictions.Â