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Where exactly is Bobby Fischer these days? Any team that goes up against Eaton may need his help.

“We are a chess match team,” Eaton coach Mason Young said. “We start out a game making a move and see if you have a counter for it. And then we make another move until somebody gets checkmate.”

Eaton looks ready with leading scorer and rebounder Katie Mackey back, surrounded by experienced talent.

Last season the opposition could team up on Mackey, now a 5-foot-10 senior, and force the rest of the Reds to win the game. This time, 5-11 center Whitney Cunningham and 5-7 guards Caryl Abeyta and Katey Young can take over.

“We have other people who can be the high scorer. There are others who can get the job done,” Young said. “To put the whole puzzle together, everybody has got to bring their piece.”

One of the many teams ready to end Eaton’s fun and games is Pagosa Springs, led by Liza Kelley and Jessica Lynch.

“The two of them together can really push the ball and do the things you want them to do,” Pagosa Springs coach Bob Lynch said.

Add 5-11 senior Emily Buikema to the mix and a Final Four run, as in 2004, is a real possibility.

Platte Valley has one of the best 3A players in Alison Cheney, but just making it through the first four games on the schedule will be as challenging as any playoff bracket.

The season starts with games against 4A runner-up Greeley West, Holy Family, Denver Christian and Estes Park, the teams that sent Platte Valley to a 1-3 start a year ago.

“We don’t believe in an easy start. But I still question if we have to play them all in the first seven days,” Platte Valley coach Terri DeJong said only half-jokingly.

Out on the plains, Centauri is isolated enough to get overlooked. But if this team comes together as coach Dave Forster thinks it can, people will take notice.

Senior point guard Janette McCarroll is a three-year starter who can penetrate the paint or step outside and fire away. Fellow senior Amanda Gylling is athletic enough to play anywhere on the court and take some of the scoring load off McCarroll.

“We have a veteran crew with five seniors and three really good juniors. We might be lacking some size, but our overall quickness and shooting ability is good,” Forster said. “We don’t want to get too excited this early, though.”

Faith Christian and Denver Christian look like the heavyweights of the city schools, and Colorado Springs Christian and St. Mary’s stand out down south.

Strasburg, with 6-footers Jackie Stewart and Michelle Kissler, Frederick and Roaring Fork should challenge as well.

Class 3A top players