Divisions II, III, and IV will be in-depth next week in the district round.

Northeast 1 @ Lakeview H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 15th
#17 Grand Valley @ #14 Columbiana, 7:00pm
#13 South Range @ #9 Hanoverton United, 7:00pm
#20 Wickliffe @ #6 Mentor Lake Catholic, 7:00pm
#21 LaBrae @ #4 Columbiana Crestview, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 18th
Columbiana/Grand Valley winner @ #1 Shaker Heights Laurel, 1:00pm
#10 Ravenna Southeast vs/@ United/South Range winner, 1:00pm
#8 Rootstown vs/@ Lake Catholic/Wickliffe winner, 1:00pm
#22 Beachwood @ Crestview/LaBrae winner, 1:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
South Range @ United

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Grand Valley @ Columbiana

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchup
Rootstown @ Lake Catholic

Summary – Laurel is the clear-cut favorite team in the district and there’s a big gap between them and the second best team in this district. I believe 90-95% of the districts can have the favorite lose at some point, but this is one of the 5-10% that would be the shock of the entire tournament in the state in all divisions. Laurel will be one of the best teams in the state and should make a very deep tournament run. If that 5-10% does happen, whoever wins out of the Southeast, United, South Range section could make things tough for Laurel, especially if it’s South Range. Crestview will most likely make it to the district semifinals and will either face Lake Catholic or Rootstown. Crestview is a very young team and I believe the experience of both Lake Catholic and Rootstown could upset Crestview in the semifinals, whichever one makes it to that game.

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Northeast 2 @ Struthers H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 15th
#23 Campbell Memorial @ #2 Garrettsville Garfield, 7:00pm
#18 Cardinal Mooney @ #5 Brookfield, 7:00pm
#12 Youngstown Liberty @ #11 Pymatuning Valley, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 15th
#16 Kirtland @ #7 Villa Angela – St. Joseph, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 18th
#19 Warren Champion vs/@ Garfield/Campbell Memorial winner, 1:00pm
#15 Lakeview vs/@ Brookfield/Mooney winner, 1:00pm
Pymatuning Valley/Liberty winner @ #3 Poland Seminary, 1:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Youngstown Liberty @ Pymatuning Valley

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Cardinal Mooney @ Brookfield

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchup
Pymatuning Valley/Liberty @ Poland

Summary – Top half of the bracket is fairly clear-cut as Garrettsville Garfield will most likely face Villa Angela – St. Joseph in the district semifinal, but Kirtland could pull off the upset and face Garfield instead. The bottom half of the bracket is when it gets really interesting as both the sectional semifinal and sectional final matchups would be competitive games. Mooney may be an 18 seed, but they play a tough non-conference schedule and both Ursuline and Youngstown East had great seasons in the Steel Valley Conference to test Mooney as well. Pymatuning Valley and Liberty could be a track meet while Poland awaits the winner. The expected matchup out of this district semifinal would be Poland vs Brookfield, but fellow NE8 member Lakeview could give Brookfield a game as well.

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Northeast 3 @ North Ridgeville H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 15th
#23 Akron Manchester @ #3 Chippewa, 7:00pm
#13 Independence @ #11 Brooklyn, 7:00pm
#14 Black River @ #8 Norwayne, 7:00pm
#19 Northwestern @ #2 Waynedale, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 18th
#18 Trinity vs/@ Chippewa/Manchester winner, 1:00pm
Brooklyn/Independence winner @ #5 Keystone, 1:00pm
Norwayne/Black River winner @ #6 Columbia, 1:00pm
#21 Mapleton @ Waynedale/Northwestern winner, 1:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Independence @ Brooklyn

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Northwestern @ Waynedale

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchup
Independence/Brooklyn @ Keystone
Norwayne/Black River @ Columbia

Summary – Out of the 12 teams in this district, seven of them are either in the Wayne County Athletic League or the Lorain County League. Two of the three WCAL co-champions are in this district as well as the LCL champs, Keystone, and the runner-up in Columbia. Ideally, you would see two WCAL vs LCL matchups in the district semifinals, but Brooklyn/Independence winner and Norwayne could spoil those matchups. Norwayne will face Black River in the first WCAL – LCL matchup of this district. Most likely, Waynedale and Chippewa will face off in the district championship game, but those other teams mentioned above could spoil the third game of the season between those two conference rivals.

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Northeast 4 @ Wooster H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 15th
#20 Wellington @ #1 Smithville, 7:00pm
#17 Tuslaw @ #10 Triway, 7:00pm
#22 Hillsdale @ #4 Warrensville Heights, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 18th
#16 Fairless vs/@ Smithville/Wellington winner, 1:00pm
#12 Canton South @ #7 Loudonville, 1:00pm
Triway/Tuslaw winner @ #9 Cuyahoga Heights, 1:00pm
#15 Orrville vs/@ Warrensville Heights/Hillsdale winner, 1:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Tuslaw @ Triway

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
N/A

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchup
Canton South @ Loudonville
Triway @ Cuyahoga Heights

Summary – This district seems like a Smithville vs Warrensville Heights championship game is imminent, but the team to look out for is Triway. They could give Warrensville Heights a tough district semifinal game, but I see the program experience of making it to the regionals the past couple of seasons as why they will most likely get that district championship game matchup with Smithville. Canton South @ Loudonville might be one of the most entertaining games of this entire district.

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East District 

Sectional Quarterfinals – February 13th – 7:00pm
#10 Ridgewood @ #9 Buckeye Trail

Sectional Semifinals – February 15th – 7:00pm
Buckeye Trail/Ridgewood winner @ #3 Fort Frye
#12 St. Clairsville @ #7 Claymont
#16 Beaver Local @ #2 Tuscarawas Valley
#13 Buckeye Local @ #6 Martins Ferry
#17 Coshocton @ #1 Union Local
#14 Barnesville @ #11 Sandy Valley
#8 Bellaire @ #5 Meadowbrook
#15 Richmond Edison @ #4 West Muskingum

Sectional Finals – February 18th – 1:00pm
Fort Frye/Buckeye Trail/Ridgewood winner vs Claymont/St. Clairsville winner
Tuscarawas Valley/Beaver Local winner vs Martins Ferry/Buckeye Local winner
Union Local/Coshocton winner vs Sandy Valley/Barnesville winner
Meadowbrook/Bellaire winner vs West Muskingum/Edison winner

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Bellaire @ Meadowbrook

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
St. Clairsville @ Claymont

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Meadowbrook/Bellaire @ West Muskingum

Summary – Union Local isn’t just one of the best teams in the area, they are arguably one of the best teams in the state. The winner of the section between Bellaire, Meadowbrook, and West Muskingum might give them a competitive game, but Union Local would probably make it to the district championship game. Who they will play in the district championship game will be the question as both Tuscarawas Valley and Fort Frye can make a case to make it there and could be an amazing district semifinal matchup between the two teams. However, one team that could spoil that district semifinal matchup is Claymont. They’ve had some really good games against solid opponents and they won’t be phased going up against Fort Frye if they make it past the sectional semifinals.