Regional 8 Preview: Breakdown

Kyler Staley February 25, 2021 @ 02:00 PM

The high school season is almost over and we are getting locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Sectional. Time to take a look at the pairings that make up Regional 8.   Sectional 29: Greensburg The Teams: Connersville, South Dearborn, Lawrenceburg, Franklin County, Batesville, Greensburg, Rushville Our Contenders: Greensburg, Connersville Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="870278" first="Colin" last="Comer"] (2022) Prediction: This Sectional is really just a two team race that will likely be decided in the finals. On the top part of the bracket, Connersville got the best draw and the most challenging draw all at the same time. They were the only team with a bye and will be playing arguably the 3rd and 4th best team in this Sectional, either South Dearborn and Lawrenceburg, in the semi-final round. On the bottom part of the bracket Greensburg will likely go through Rushville in the first round before beating the winner of the Franklin County/Batesville in the semi-final round. So that should eventually lead to a Greensburg/Connersville final game that will probably see Greensburg come out the winner here. I just think Greensburg has the back court with [player_tooltip player_id="874113" first="Lane" last="Sparks"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870278" first="Colin" last="Comer"] where they can rely heavily on them to carry them to Regional play.   Sectional 30: Charlestown The Teams: North Harrison, Silver Creek, Corydon, Madison, Salem, Scottsburg, Charlestown Our Contenders: Silver Creek, North Harrison, Madison Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="529572" first="Trey" last="Kaufman"] (2021) Prediction: This is without question the most loaded Sectional in Regional 8 with 3 teams with a realistic shot at winning this thing. Let us start with [player_tooltip player_id="1077026" first="Nick" last="Center"] and Madison on the bottom part of the bracket. They have the easiest rout to the finals as they open up with Salem (3-16) and then will play the winner of the the Scottsburg/Charlestown game and should beat either of those teams. On the top part of the bracket is where things get real interesting with the probable semi-final matchup between [player_tooltip player_id="769684" first="Branden" last="Northern"] and Silver Creek vs [player_tooltip player_id="870295" first="Logan" last="McIntire"] and North Harrison. This will be a battle of a game but North Harrison will need to play a perfect game in order to defeat the reigning 3A Champions. In the Sectional 30 Final you will likely see Madison-Silver Creek matchup. Madison has the players to play Silver Creek extremely tough here but Silver Creek has arguably the best duo in Indiana High School ball, [player_tooltip player_id="529572" first="Trey" last="Kaufman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"], that will likely carry them to their 4th straight Sectional Championship   Sectional 31: Washington The Teams: Pike Central, Lincoln, Princeton, Washington, Sullivan Our Contenders: Sullivan Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="870312" first="Randy" last="Kelley"] (2022) Prediction: This is all Sullivan here. They do have the longest path to the final game but there really is no team that should stop them on their path. [player_tooltip player_id="1077029" first="Rhett" last="Thompson"] and Princeton are probably the only team that will give Sullivan somewhat of a fight in the semi-final round but that should be Sullivan’s game to lose. Then in the Sectional 31 Final, it really is the pick of the littler for the Golden Arrows as they will play either Pike Central (2-16) or Lincoln (1-15). Expect nothing less other than for [player_tooltip player_id="870315" first="Rocco" last="Roshel"] and Sullivan to make it to Regionals   Sectional 32: Boonville The Teams: Evansville Bosse, Heritage Hills, Evansville Memorial, Gibson Southern, Boonville, Mount Vernon (Posey) Our Contenders: Evansville Bosse, Heritage Hills Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="643488" first="Julian" last="Norris"] (2022) Prediction: This is an interesting Sectional because the winner of this one will likely be already decided in the semi-final round. Going ahead down to the bottom you should expect Posey to run through Booneville and Gibson Southern and make it to the final game. Up top, expect Heritage Hills to survive Memorial giving us the highly anticipated bout of Heritage and Bosse. This semi-final round game will without question be the best game of this Sectional as both teams are currently ranked in the top 10 of 3A. This has the makings of being a one or two possession game and I am going to predict [player_tooltip player_id="874112" first="Blake" last="Sisley"] and Heritage Hills coming out the victors here. Then that should lead to Heritage Hills beating Norah Gordon and Posey and winning Sectional 32.