WMA Previews District 60-B hosted by Grant.

This district at Grant is loaded with quality teams as we have seen in many West Michigan brackets. Four of these six teams have had great seasons and are capable of all taking each other down.

Big Rapids leads the way in this bracket but Shelby, Fremont and Reed City are all dangerous teams up north.

Newaygo- Connor Bradley and Zenn Timmer lead the way for the Lions as they have struggled through a tough season in 2010-11. A 7^th place finish in the Lakes 8 and a 0-4 record vs Fremont and Grant doesn’t bode well for the first round match-up with Fremont.

Grant- We saw the Tigers at Spring Lake earlier this year and saw some things we liked. Travis Male is a good player who can knock down the outside shot. A 53-49 victory over Fremont at home shows that Grant is capable of competing with the big boys here the problem is they drew Big Rapids in the first round.

Reed City- the Coyotes finished 2^nd in the Central State Activities Association (CSAA) behind Big Rapids although BR won 22 and 11 point affairs over Reed City in the regular season. The bye will give Reed City some time to prep for Big Rapids for a third time this year but it’s going to be tough to get over that hurdle.

Fremont- the Packers are led by Tyler Krimm, Chase Curtice and Lucas McKian and won the Lakes 8 over Spring Lake. An opener against Newaygo will be a nice tune up for a 2^nd round date with a talented Shelby team. Fremont took Comstock Park to double overtime on the road so we know they can play, that game against Shelby will be vital in deciding who gets a run at Big Rapids.

Shelby- the Tigers are a talented team that has fared well at times against rather stiff competition. DJ Beckman and JR James run a nice outside, inside game respectively and the bye gives the Tigers an advantage in my eyes. Having to face Fremont off of one day of rest will play into Shelby’s favor in what is sure to be a great game to watch.

Big Rapids- the balanced Cardinal attack is led by Aaron Daugherty and a near sweep of the CSAA has these boys poised for a run. A season opening loss to Muskegon Heights makes that 16-3 look even better knowing that they were able to rebound from a disappointing start and make their run at a conference and now district title.

My prediction is for Fremont to easily move by Newaygo and Big Rapids to get by Grant as well leaving us the top four teams in the district to settle things. Fremont and Shelby will be a great game to watch and either team could take it home, I’m going to have to lean towards Fremont in that one. Big Rapids will face Reed City for the 3^rd time this year and should be in this final against Fremont. In the end I’m just not sure that Fremont has enough to take down Big Rapids although that’s not to say it can’t be done. The easier road for Big Rapids provides them chances to rest key players for the final against either tough opponent they need to prepare for.

Feel free to discuss below in the comments section and tell us all the reasons why we’re right, as well as why we’re wrong.