Conference Preview: Eastern Dakota Conference

To start off our conference previews we look at one of North Dakota's Class A conference, the Eastern Dakota Conference. We will break down each team and highlight why we think they will be better or worse. We we then <span style="font-size: 12pt">throw</span> out a prediction of how this year will go.  All records shown will be from last season and are according to MaxPreps.com. <span style="font-size: 12pt"><strong>Devils Lake (19-8; 16-6 district)</strong></span> Last season, Devils Lake was the Eastern four seed but lost to the Western one seed, Mandan, in the first round of the playoffs. They ended up making it to the Consolation game where they fell to the Western four seed, Bismarck. Devils Lake should be pretty solid once again this year with the return of six seniors. They only lose three seniors from a year ago. Senior <strong>Mattea Vetsch</strong> is the top uncommitted senior in the 2019 class in North Dakota. <strong>Fargo Davies (21-5; 18-3 district)</strong> Fargo Davies was at the top of the district last year and that should be the same this year. They did lose in the first round of the playoffs but they have a lot of talent still. Fargo Davies did lose seven seniors but have a wealth of talent on the team. They will be led by the senior 6' duo of <strong>Lauren Fyhire</strong> and <strong>Alyssa Paper</strong>. Those two are going to do some damage this year and will be a ton of fun to watch this season. Their junior class is loaded. <strong>Fargo North (11-14; 10-12 district)</strong> Fargo North lost a lost of bodies last year as they had 10 seniors graduate. For an 11-14 team to lose that many players, it will be hard to recover. Three of those 10 players were over 5'10 and the lack of height this year for Fargo North is very real. Look for this team to take a step back this year even though they have seven seniors on the team. <strong>Anna Benson</strong>, a 5'11 center, is going to be a huge focus of the team if they want to contend. <strong>Fargo South (3-17; 3-16 district)</strong> Fargo South really struggled last year, but they are a very young team. With over half their team last year being freshmen and only three graduates, they are going to improve a little bit this year. I think they are still a year or two away from getting to double digit wins. They have six sophomores and four seniors as well as a freshman on the roster this year. Look for them to build some momentum going into next year. <strong>Grand Forks Central (0-24; 0-20 district)</strong> Like Fargo South, Grand Forks Central is a young team. Last year they only graduated three players and had eight underclassmen on the roster. The roster this year is made op of three seniors, two juniors, and the rest sophomores. It is going to be another rough year for Grand Forks but this sophomore class does have a little bit of potential. They will win a few games this year for sure. <strong>Red River (18-8; 16-4 district)</strong> Red River had a pretty successful year last year and they should be right up there again this year. This team is going to be led by senior <strong>Jadyn Sondrol</strong>. She is a girl who can really take over a game and will need to do so this year at times. Should be a good year for Red River because they have a senior laden team this year with a lot of experience. <strong>Shanley (16-7; 16-3 district) </strong> Shanley is a team with a ton of height coming back but they did lose three players over 6' tall. Senior <strong>Hadley Huber</strong> is going to be heavily relied on to set the offense and to score. The biggest impact player on the team is going to be junior <strong>Reile Payne</strong>. She's the second ranked player in the class of 2020 in North Dakota. Should be a pretty solid year for Shanley. <strong>Sheyenne (17-8; 13-6 district)</strong> Sheyenne was another young team last year who should be near the top of the conference this year. Senior <strong>Maggie Manson</strong> is looking to cap off her senior year with a title. Manson, the first D1 commit in Sheyenne school history, is going to look to lead this program to new heights this year. Look for a solid year from Sheyenne as they have others that can contribute too. <strong>Valley City (9-13; 8-11 district)</strong> Valley City had a veteran team last year but they still return quite a few pieces that contributed last year. Senior <strong>Taryn Dieterle</strong> is going to be the obvious piece to the puzzle that teams are going to have to defend against. Her sister, sophomore <strong>Jadyn Dieterle</strong> is our top ranked sophomore in the state. Expect a huge jump for her this year. <strong>Wahpeton (5-17; 4-16 district)</strong> Wahpeton struggled a bit last year but really had lot of talent. They return one of the best players in the 2020 class as <strong>Jordyn Kahler</strong> is ranked 6th in the state. They do not have a senior on the team so this year might be a bit of a stepping stone to the solid team that they will have in two years. There is a lot of young talent so don't be surprised to see a few upsets sprung by this group. <strong>West Fargo (8-14; 6-13 district) </strong> West Fargo is a bit of a wildcard this year as they are going to be really experienced but they don't have a ton of talent. One of the most talented players on the team is senior <strong>Mariah Schatz</strong>. Schatz is really going to have to lead this team this year as they lost a few big contributors from last year. They are probably going to be right around the same team as last year. <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>2018-19 Predictions</strong></span> This is a very tight race as only one team really stands out at the top. The next five teams or so are interchangeable. It is going to be a tight race this year in the EDC. <ol> <li>1. Fargo Davies</li> <li>2. Devils Lake</li> <li>3. Shanley</li> <li>4. Red River</li> <li>5. Sheyenne</li> <li>6. Valley City</li> <li>7. Fargo North</li> <li>8. West Fargo</li> <li>9. Wahpeton</li> <li>10. Fargo South</li> <li>11. Grand Forks Central</li> </ol>