2019 – 20 League Preview: Sandusky Bay Conference – Bay Division

The Sandusky Bay Conference – Bay Division is an athletic conference spanning schools from Sandusky, Ottawa, Huron and Erie Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Margaretta, Oak Harbor, Edison, Huron, Port Clinton and Willard. <strong> </strong> <strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)</strong> Jayden Moore – Margaretta Cassidy Crawford – Willard Taylor Malson – Margaretta Aliyah Caporini – Edison Sophia Eli – Oak Harbor &nbsp; <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> A familiar face is back on the sidelines at Willard. Barry Pfahl is the new head coach for the Crimson Flashes, replacing the highly successful Jon Dawson – who Pfahl assisted for the past 4 years. Prior to his time as an assistant, Barry was the head coach at Willard for 19 years from 1993-2012. Margaretta is a clear favorite this year in the Bay Division of the SBC. Last year’s conference player of the year Jayden Moore is back and she is joined by 1^st-team All-League performer Taylor Malson as well as Elliana Schaefer. Eric Kochendoerfer’s squad plays a tough non-conference schedule, which should prepare them for the big league games and a nice tournament run at the end of the year. If there is a team in the Bay Division that can knock off Margaretta, it is probably Willard. Cassidy Crawford, an Ashland University commit, can do it all – her size and ability to play inside and outside make her a true match-up nightmare for all opponents. Crawford will be joined by Presley Feltner and Layla Dials, as they try to avenge their two losses to Margaretta last year (63-35 and 55-29). Although Margaretta and Willard are the most talented teams in the conference, there are a number of talented players returning in the Bay Division of the SBC that do not play for either one of those teams. Aliyah Caporini from Edison, Sophia Eli and Ryann Steinbrick from Oak Harbor, Ava Winnestaffer from Huron and Carli Laurel from Port Clinton should all have outstanding seasons this winter. <strong> </strong> <strong>3 Big Games: </strong> Edison @ Oak Harbor on November 30^th Margaretta @ Bellevue on December 17^th Willard @ Margaretta on January 11^th &nbsp; <strong> </strong> <strong>2 Fun Facts: </strong> Margaretta will be making a return trip to this year’s Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland HS over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Last year, MHS was a last minute replacement – giving the host Berlin Hiland Hawks all they could handle, before squandering a 22-14 halftime lead and losing 42-33. The 2019-2020 version of the Polar Bears will battle Tri-Village on Saturday morning. Huron is the only school in the Bay’s 6-team version of the SBC to win a state championship in girls basketball. The Tigers won their state championship in 1983. <strong> </strong> <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Margaretta