By Matt Browning

The McPherson Bullpups were the No. 4 seed in the Class 5A playoffs last season, but they lost a significant amount of talent from that team that finished with a 14-3-2 record. The Bullpups do return first team all-league defender Cody Achilles, second team allleague defender Caden Hardgrave and honorable mention all-league defender Logan Ediger. Being able to put the ball in the net will be the biggest question mark for McPherson this year, as its defense should be solid.

Salina South finished the season 6-10 after losing to Kapaun Mount Carmel in the first round of the playoffs. The Cougars do return second team all-league midfielder Brandon Oaks and second team all-league defender Nik Highsmith.

Oaks was second on the team in goals last year with 12, while Highsmith was second on the team in minutes played at 425. Also back for Salina South is honorable mention allleague forward Alex Escobedo and honorable mention all-league midfielder Jorge Navarro.

Salina Central went 5-11-1 last year and lost to McPherson in the first round of the playoffs. The Mustangs bring back first team allleague
defender Jesus Contreras, as well as honorable mention allleague forward Ricardo Picasso, honorable mention all-league midfielder Nolan Foley and honorable mention all-league defender Liam Foley.