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Read replies (20)
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In a year that has seen a lot of shocking and surprising matchups, there are a few teams flying under the radar across the board in th SEMO area. I wanted to pinpoint five teams, one in each class, who we could all be sitting around scratching our head this time next month asking how they are still vying for a state title while "better" teams are sitting at home.
Class 1: Leopold-The Wildcats have taken their lumps to SCC and Risco though each game has shown a few things that could completely change around the outcomes had Leopold executed. They have a top shooter in Stroder and an underrated supporting cast. Don't be shocked if they outlast South Iron, Risco, and SCC to make a Final Four run. Ceiling: State Title
Class 2: Hayti-The Indians sort of shed a little bit of darkhorse status with a big win over Caruthersville last night but they were still the fourth team in what many were calling a three team district. With home court advantage and strong play both by guards and on the inside, don't be surprised if Hayti is holding a championship instead of Portageville, Holcomb, or Bernie. Ceiling: State Title
Class 3: Doniphan-The Dons have quietly put together the resume to potentially earn a two seed in the district tournament. While they still have games with Charleston, Kennett, and Caruthersville that will definitely test their mettle, their strong play on the inside makes them another team that could pull out a huge upset in districts and put the entire state title race into chaos. Ceiling: State Championship Game (I don't see them being able to stay with a Cardinal Ritter).
Class 4: Farmington-Some may be clamoring to name Perryville the darkhorse but everyone knew they were a legitimate threat even before they took down Cape on Wednesday. The Knights have been overshadowed all year by a much more hyped DeSoto team but let's remember who has won that district the last few years even when DeSoto has looked like the "better" team. The Knights have hung with most everyone on their schedule well and have the strength and athleticism to potentially force an upset or two. Ceiling: Final Four
Class 5: Poplar Bluff-The Mules have been the most inconsistent team in the area, defeating Jackson and Doniphan but losing to South Iron and others. I kind of had to pick them by default due to our lack of Class 5 schools in the area and the fact that neither Cape nor Jackson would really be surprising in any way. PB has already defeated the Indians once. They can put a run together to leave a bad taste in their large school counterparts' mouths. Ceiling: Sectionals
I'd appreciate other points of view and opinions as I know there are other teams that could definite be considered. Thanks for taking the time to read.
Replies
I agree about Hayti. All the talk is about Bernie,Holcomb, and Portageville but Hayti showed last night that they are getting better. They have the size on the inside to match up with Massey who plays for Holcomb. Bernie is not as good as they were last year and Portageville does not have the depth now. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Hayti took districts this year. They are sort of like Cville though, you never know what team is going to show up and play
Other teams I thought about were Advance and Oran in Class 2, New Madrid (man is that one heck of a district) in Class 3, and Dexter in Class 4.
Class 3 district one is loaded. Charleston,Kennett,Caruthersville,Doniphan,NMCC. Anyone of these teams on a given night can beat the other. Charleston is by far the favorite though. Who ever comes out of this district will have earned a district title, that is a fact!
District 5 will come down to MRH and Cardinal Ritter. Class 3 is loaded with great teams this year
In Class 1, Gideon recently gave Risco all they could handle and is playing much better. I think North Pemiscot is also a sleeper team in Class 1. In Class 2, I don't think anyone should overlook Advance. In Class 3, I want to throw out a school that I admit has flown totally under my radar so far and that is Clearwater. They have very quietly had an excellent season, have beaten state ranked Eminence, and come close to beating South Iron, Winona, and Doniphan. SemoSportsWeb currently has Clearwater ranked #16 in their Top 25. In Class 4, Dexter is red hot and much improved from the disastrous start to their season. NMCC is getting hot at the right time too in Class 4.
Sorry, NMCC is Class 3, but the point is the same.
NMCC is Class 3.
Cheesehead,
I agree Hayti is improving, and definitely has a great shot to win that district. However, I wouldn't necessarily say they have matched up well with Holcomb, and consequently Massey to this point. Holcomb has beaten them twice, and Massey has combined to score over 40 points in the 2 meetings where neither team scored more than 50 points total. With that said, I would still pick Bernie to win this district when the time comes.
Gideon and Leopold could both challenge Risco , South Iron and SCC for the chance to represent SEMO in class 1 . No matter what class 1 will be represented well by SEMO !!!
I haven't seen Clearwater play but there is no way I know for a fact that they are the #16 team in the Semo area. I think their schedule they play makes them come off as a better team than what they really are, plus they only beat Woodland by 2 or 3 last night. It's the same way in baseball almost every year it seems like. They seem to always be ranked in class 2 but never seem to live up to their hype.
Isn't north pem class 2?
No North Pem is class 1 with Risco and Gideon.
Charleston has seen a Cardinal Ritter caliber team in West Memphis back in November, who had every player standing at 6'6 it seemed. I think it would be a toss up if the Jays played Cardinal Ritter. It's not like the Jays haven't beat Cardinal Ritter before in fact, the Jays beat the best Cardinal Ritter team ever in '96 55-51, when they had NBA signee, 7'1 Loren Woods and Duke signee Chris Carwell. So yes, we can play with them, we are CHARLESTON.
The 6'8" Berksheid(sp) kid, who is averaging over 30 ppg, would be a challenge for the Jays; but, as you mentioned, the Jays handled the 7'1" Loren Woods and the 6'7" Chris Carawell back in '96. Overall speed and quickness and intense pressure on the guards can overcome a major size disadvantage, i.e. Sikeston vs DeSoto.
I'm sure Ritter would bring a lot more quickness than DeSoto would, but could their ballhandlers handle the pressure? Deciding factor in my book.
But, let's not put the cart before the horse....long road to a Cardinal Ritter matchup; and, that's for Ritter, as well.
We also have to remember Class 2 District 1 is being held at Hayti. The last time that occurred the Indians went to sectionals.
I wouldn't give anyone the nod in class 3. My district 5 has MRH and Ritter who went down to the wire in the dist championship last season. Ritter lost a ton of experience and MRH returns 10 guys from last years team. Means absolutely nothing. Ritter is playing better with young talent and is on fire right now. Thats why we play the game. Class 3 district 6 is no joke either. You have Luth. North, Whitfield and John Burroughs (dark horse). Burroughs has already beaten North by almost 30 a week ago and are playing some good ball.
Luth. North beat Whitfield in the Xmas tourney. Whitfield beat Ritter in the early part of the year. MRH beat Whitfield this past weekend. Ellsberry is playing some good ball in District 7. They are the team that knocked off Ritter last season. So there is no really clear cut favorite at all. Dont forget you still have the defending champs in Hogan Prep.
If I could have it my way, I would love for it to be an all Blue Championship. MRH vs Charleston. Blue Devils vs Blue Jays. Thats why we play the games. Good luck to everybody.