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Class 3 may be the areas best shot for a state champion. I couldn’t pinpoint who that winner will be but there is four legitimate threats and three come from district 11. Lets dive into this interesting year in Class three.
Districts with Local teams
(teams in bold symbolized district Host)
District 9 (Belle, Bourbon, Dixon, Iberia, Linn, Steelville)
District 10 (Hartville, Houston, Liberty (Mtn View), Licking, Mansfield, Thayer)
District 11 (Conway, Greenwood, Pleasant Hope, Skyline, Sparta, Spokane, Strafford)
District 12 (Ash Grove, Clever, Diamond, Pierce City, Sarcoxie, Southwest)
District 13 (Adrian, Butler, El Dorado Springs, Sherwood, Holden, Stockton)
Districts to watch: District 11
Favorite: Strafford Indians 16-8
There are 5 teams in this district that are talented enough to be crowned a district champion. Unfortunately, only one will emerge out of the district from hell. The three teams that we will talk about here are all Final Four contenders. Really this district can go to any three of them, but I am going to label the Strafford Indians my favorite in the district despite receiving the three seed. The Indians are the most consistent out of the three despite the 8 losses. Strafford is an experienced bunch as multiyear starters Seth Soden, AK Rael, and Logan Fraker are a solid trio that can get it done on both sides of the ball. Add in Teagan Lawler, and Ozark transfer brothers Cody and Avery Voysey and you start to look at the deepest team out of the three by a longshot. Strafford knows what it takes to beat both challengers. They split two games with Greenwood but in all reality dominated the majority of their meeting in the Blue and Gold but ultimately fell by four. In the rematch, the Indians were in another battle, but this time pulled out the 64-61 win in overtime earlier this month. Skyline is the other challenger and would be the likely opponent in the championship game and in their lone meeting in what ultimately decided the Mid-Lakes championship, Strafford traveled to Skyline and thumped the Tigers 69-45. Watch out for these Indians.
Challenger: Greenwood Blue Jays 19-7
If there was a 1A, Greenwood would take that honor because despite what was thought after the loss of Aminu Mohammed, these Blue Jays are still lethal. We already talked about the first two meetings with Strafford but since falling to Chadwick and Strafford in back to back outings, they have rattled off three straight wins in impressive fashion. One of those wins coming against the worst matchup imaginable in a big College Heights squad. The Blue Jays had one of the best games of the season back in December against Skyline in a game where Tommy Pinegar and Tanner Jones went shot for shot with an unconscious Lawson Beem. Greenwood has plenty of weapons in Pinegar, Jones, Nick Burri, and Ryan Gibbons. However, the emergence of Collin Clark could be the key to the Blue Jays postseason
Dark Horse: Skyline Tigers 17-7
No one confuses me more than these Skyline Tigers. For the majority of the season, they looked like the sure fire best team in Class 3 in the area. However, they have 5 losses that leave me shaking my head. I have no doubt that the Tigers are a better team than the likes of Chadwick, Jefferson City, El Dorado Springs, Marshfield, and West Plains. However, when it was played on the court, the Tigers failed to perform. We have also seen Skyline only lose one Mid-Lakes game in the last two years, beat Greenwood in that matchup we already talked about, beat 21-3 Ash Grove, and have honestly looked about as dominate as anyone at times. Lawson Beem is in contention for the best player in the entire area. Kourt Cheek and Zach Williams have been about as reliable as any other 2 and 3 in the area. This team has dudes, and they will not be an easy out. They are listed as the dark horse due to some inconsistent play at times but if these guys are doing what they are capable of, they are a favorite to be at JQH come March.
Players to watch
Tanner Jones 6’3 Greenwood 2024
Tommy Pinegar 6’2 Greenwood 2022
Lawson Beem 6’0 Skyline 2022
Avery Voysey 6’0 Strafford 2022
AK Rael 6’5 Strafford 2023
Seth Soden 6’4 Strafford 2022
Jacob Lafferty 6’6 Sparta 2024
Jaden McCoy 6’3 Spokane 2022
JD Tate 6’8 Spokane 2023
Team with best chance for Final Four run: Thayer Bobcats
We will dive into what makes Thayer so good here in a second but whoever makes the Final Four from the local districts will have to run a gauntlet. Four of the five all local districts will make up a quadrant that will send one team to the final four. However, 5 teams in those four districts are state ranked and if you add Hartville who are receiving votes that makes 6 elite teams. Thayer is the top ranked team in the state, so you have to like their odds to win the battle royale. However, it will be no easy task for anyone who comes out of the area as they will more than likely have to face the winner of district 14 that includes #4 Lafayette County and #6 Lone Jack in the semifinals before the championship game. Thayer knows how to run gauntlets as they have already won the Cabool tournament where they had to beat two likely Final Four teams in class 2 in Alton and Norwood on back to back nights to win the championship. Then lets add another win vs Alton and sweeping Branson, Republic, and Bolivar in a 10 day span to take home the Oregon County Showdown and the 87th Liberator Tournament trophy. Not bad for a small school out east that no one knows about.
Other teams to watch
Thayer Bobcats 23-1
We already have touched on the Thayer Bobcats so we will keep this shorter than some of the others. You may have never heard of Thayer, or you may not be able to point them out on a map, but boy did they put themselves on the map and circled their small town in the Southeastern part of our coverage area and then made another circle in Bolivar because they made themselves at home in the Bolivar tournament. Wins over three Class 5 and 6 teams including then the top ranked team in Class 5 in the Liberators. They have a rich tradition winning the last 8 district championships and 10 of the last 11. That includes a 4th place finish in 2014. They have lost to Final Four teams the last two years, but this is Jordan Andrew’s and Gaige Pitts year. They have a road to the promised land, and I expect them to take full advantage.
Stockton Tigers 18-7
Lets talk about one of my favorite teams to go watch. This is an entertaining team to watch and its not just Jay Baxter, Layne Colvin, and Brayden Postlewait either. Coach Draper gets after it. And I mean gets after it. So much so that he told me after winning the Stockton Tournament that he loses at least a pound every gameday. I don’t know the factual evidence behind that, but he does look thinner every time I see him. Anyway, Stockton has gone from an afterthought to a legitimate district favorite this year much in large part to the trio mentioned above. Baxter has taken that next step and has become a matchup nightmare. Colvin is starting to find his stride after a broken hand sidelined him early this season. Postlewait and a host of other contributors led the Tigers to a second place finish in a loaded SWC behind only Ash Grove. (whom we will soon talk about) Stockton is in a precarious situation however because they avoided the district of death and wouldn’t have to see the winner of 11 and 12 until quarterfinals. However, if they do in fact get out of the district in which they are the top seed, They will more than likely face a top 6 team in either Lafayette County or Lone Jack in the sectional round.
Ash Grove Pirates 21-3
What a turnaround from the Pirates. Ash Grove hasn’t had a winning season since 2014 and finished 1-23 just two seasons ago. Bringing in Grant Williamson to take over the program has paid dividends early as they sit at 21-3 with losses to three very good squads in Fair Grove, Skyline, and a 19-5 Morrisville squad. Since their early season loss to Morrisville, they have rattled off 11 straight wins and took their first SWC championship since 1985 going 8-0 in conference. Sam Moreland has been fantastic down the stretch and came up big in a double OT win over Marionville and an OT win over Stockton in back to back games. But the Pirates run deep with talent. Joining Moreland is junior sharpshooter Brock Mooneyham, Tyler Tummons and Sophomore Brady Nicholson. They are set up in a very winnable district for them as they will open against the winner of Sarcoxie and Clever before taking on most likely Diamond (whom AG already holds a win over) or Southwest. Then they will have the biggest game in recent Ash Grove history with the winner of District 11.
Sparta Trojans 15-10/Spokane Owls 10-14/Hartville Eagles 18-7
This feels like the island of misfit (but very talented) toys. Since we have three to talk about here, we will be brief, but Sparta and Spokane draw each other in the opening game of the District 11 gauntlet. Let it be known however that this will be the best 4-5 matchup in the entire state. Both of these teams are talented enough to win a district championship. Unfortunately, maybe not this district. Jacob Lafferty and Dexter Loveland has been a ferocious 1-2 punch inside for the Trojans and lets talk about Spokane. They may have been the most disappointing team in terms of results, but they have had a rough time this year. They were 3-2 before a broken foot by 6’8 junior JD Tate sidelined him until the Spokane tournament. The Owls went 2-7 in that time and then a 3-2 record turned into 5-9. Tate and his senior teammate Jaden McCoy are each capable of scoring 30+ points a night but have struggled to find the flow of the game after Tate’s return. If they figure that out and catch Skyline on an off night, don’t be surprised to see them competing for the district championship. If not, they may relive the 54-38 loss to Sparta earlier this week.
The final team to talk about is like the annoying little brother that you think is gone but guess what, he is still throwing a wrench in your life. Yes, Hartville has spent the last 9 season hoisting district championships along with 3 state championships including the last 2. They won 45 straight games dating back to three years ago and in all reality if you take out three OT losses to Final Four teams and a 2-point loss to Nixa in 2020, they had won 80 straight games. Sure, I get that doesn’t count for anything, but these Eagles don’t care that they lost 7 of the top 8 from a year ago, They just keep winning. They keep doing what they always have and played great defense and ran a patient offense usually finishing with a back cut or a kickout 3. This has led them to an 18-7 season and a district 2 seed in a “rebuild” year. The only problem Hartville faces is the 1 seed in the district, Thayer. IF they can slow the Bobcats roll, another trip to the Final Four is on the table.
Local District Championship Predictions
District 9 (Belle, Bourbon, Dixon, Iberia, Linn, Steelville)
1 Steelville over 2 Dixon
District 10 (Hartville, Houston, Liberty (Mtn View), Licking, Mansfield, Thayer)
1 Thayer over 2 Hartville
District 11 (Conway, Greenwood, Pleasant Hope, Skyline, Sparta, Spokane, Strafford)
3 Strafford over 1 Skyline
District 12 (Ash Grove, Clever, Diamond, Pierce City, Sarcoxie, Southwest)
1 Ash Grove over 3 Southwest
District 13 (Adrian, Butler, El Dorado Springs, Sherwood, Holden, Stockton)
1 Stockton over 2 Adrian
Class 1 District Overview