FOOTBALL: A WAY TOO EARLY LOOK AT THE 2023 LIBERTY CONFERENCE

By Fred Parnell, Owner, Juniata Football Past & Present on Facebook

MIFFLINTOWN, PA -- Yes, I know the high school football season is still five months away, but it’s never too early to talk about Juniata Football.

Will Juniata and Upper Dauphin slug it out again for the Conference Championship? Will Line Mountain and/or Susquenita step up and challenge for the title? And what about Newport? What direction are they headed? Finally, can either James Buchanan or Halifax become competitive this coming season? Let’s take an overall look at each of the seven teams, starting at the bottom.

HALIFAX I spoke with some people in the know down there last season and they told me basically that in five years the Fax won’t have a football program. They just can't come up with the numbers to field a competitive program. Plus, the District is losing students every year. It doesn’t look good.

JAMES BUCHANAN I am rooting for this team. They have been down for so long! They actually showed some small signs of being headed in the right direction, but we will know more after this season. For those of you who are not aware, the Rockets have not always been bad.

NEWPORT The mystery team of the Liberty Conference. The last two seasons have been really bad. This season should give us some sign of the direction the Buffalos are headed. I expect to see some improvement, but not enough to challenge for the title.

SUSQUENITA If there were betting on high school football, the Blackhawks would have cost me money the last couple of seasons. I thought they were better than they really were. Every year they are somewhere between 4-6 and 6-4. And that is exactly what I am going to predict for them this upcoming season.

LINE MOUNTAIN This team steadily improved throughout the season last year and I suggest the Trojans and Indians not take the Eagles lightly or they just might get beat. I think they are definitely the third best team in the Conference.

JUNIATA/UPPER DAUPHIN If you want me to pick the winner… you are just going to have to wait. It’s all going to depend on which team best fills the holes left by graduation. If you are looking for an edge for the Indians, here it is. They will play the game in Mifflintown and I think everyone knows strange things happen to the Indians when they have to play in Elizabethville.

I will revisit this article in early August and make any necessary adjustments.

JUNIATA FOOTBALL PAST AND PRESENT will be back for another season and I intend to continue the Prediction Contest and posting all the information I can find about Big Red as well as a post game review following every contest. The more comments and suggestions I get from the members, the better the page will be…..