D3 Southeast District Previews

<p>We continue our coverage by looking at the Southeast District in Division III. Upsets tend to happen often in Southeast Ohio in this division. Will we see any this year?</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Southeast 1</span></p> <p>Top Teams: Minford, Zane Trace, Chesapeake, Wheelersburg</p> <p>Sleeper: Wheelersburg- In terms of a District Finalist, taking the Pirates to get to this game is not unheard of. This Pirates team is not the same team as a year ago that won a District Final, but they have the swagger of being Wheelersburg basketball. <strong>Eli Swords</strong> has been their leader all year and can sneak up on a team if not accounted for. Wheelersburg is on a crash course to see Minford for the 3rd time this year to go to a District Final. Minford has defeated the Pirates twice already this season, which is exactly why Wheelersburg could steal this third matchup in late February when they change gears.</p> <p>District Final: Zane Trace over Minford- I believe Minford will survive a matchup with Wheelersburg, but trusting the Falcons to win the District is a little harder to do. Zane Trace hasn’t lost since January 21st and has played some tough games on the year (Bishop Ready and McClain) and have an electric player in 6-foot-7 senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1198930" first="Donavin" last="Baker"]. </strong>While Minford has a combo in <strong>Trenton Zimmerman</strong> and <strong>Myles Montgomery</strong>, I’ve seen some weaknesses in the Falcons game where Zane Trace can capitalize. Defending and controlling the glass will be the difference in this matchup.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Southeast 2</span></p> <p>Top Teams: Fairland, Eastern Brown, South Point, Alexander</p> <p>Sleeper: Portsmouth- Expectations were high for the Trojans preseason as they looked on paper like a team capable of competing for a District title. Some losses earlier in the season doomed them from a higher seed and now the Trojans look to work out of the 11-seed. <strong>Dariyonne Bryant </strong> and <strong>Kenny Sunderlin</strong> are the top guys and this Portsmouth team has several losses by single digits this season. I like their chances with backs against the wall in the postseason to finish some of these close games out.</p> <p>District Final: Fairland over Eastern Brown- These two met back in December with Fairland winning 53-51. This rematch will be so much sweeter with so much more now being on the line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967169" first="Aiden" last="Porter"] </strong>and the Dragons enter as Southeast Ohio’s best team in Division III besides arguably Minford. The Dragons have 5 losses with all 5 being by 5 points or less. Eastern has a scholarship duo in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1082237" first="Trent" last="Hundley"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1195103" first="Luke" last="Garrett"]</strong> but this might not be enough to defeat the Dragons. Fairland has had a chip on their shoulder all year and have the expectation of winning a District title in this one.</p>