Southwest District Preview: Division IV

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southwest District previews finish up with a look at the 3 Districts in Southwest Ohio. Some of the top teams in the state reside in this area and will be widely watched as the tournament progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 1</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Jackson Center (1), Cincinnati Christian (2), Fort Loramie (3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: CCPA- The Lions have the leading scorer in the CMAC in <strong>Josh Marshall</strong> (Sr) who is averaging 26 points per game. CCPA was a game short last year and will be hungry to try and play the role of spoiler this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Cincinnati Christian is fresh off of an undefeated year in the MVC and is one of the more consistent teams in Division IV losing just twice during the entire year. <strong>Caleb Brown</strong> (Sr) is one of the better scorers in the MVC and will be leaned on if CCS is going to get through the sectional. CCPA will have the best chance to stop the Cougars. Jackson Center is the highest seed in the bottom sectional and is one of the hottest teams in the state with 20 straight victories. Fort Loramie knows the Tigers very well as Jackson Center has beaten them twice so far this year. It is hard to beat a team 3 times in the same season, but Loramie has one of the best scorers in the SCAL in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867944' first='Caleb' last='Maurer']</strong> (Sr).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Predicted Final: Jackson Center vs Cincinnati Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 2</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Russia (2), Cedarville (2), Springfield Catholic Central (3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: Botkins- The Trojans have not looked like previous years, and have struggled losing 5 of their last 9. However, this is still a Botkins teams that is competitive and have the SCAL Player of the Year in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165701' first='Carter' last='Pleiman']</strong> (Sr). Knowing Russia and playing them twice already could be grounds for an upset should the Trojans and Raiders meet for a 3rd time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Cedarville enters the sectional as the highest seed and one of the best teams, going 10-2 since the new year. The 1-2 punch of <strong>Drew Koning</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1068239' first='Tyler' last='Cross']</strong> (Jr) is tough to defend and is going to be the reason why the Indians advance. Catholic Central has also gotten into a groove, winning 8 of their last 11 and having the top scorer in the OHC in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462469' first='Tyler' last='Galluch']</strong> (Sr). Legacy Christian could be a sneaky team as they have several returning seniors, should they get a chance with the Irish. Russia enters the bottom sectional as one of the area's best teams and one of the top defensive teams in the area. Botkins will be one of the biggest challengers as will Lehman Catholic. The biggest X-Factor will be if either teams offensively can handle the pressure Russia brings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Predicted Final: Russia vs Cedarville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 3</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Troy Christian (1), Riverview East (1), Fayetteville-Perry (3)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: Dayton Christian- The Warriors have one of the better 1-2 combos in seniors <strong>Brady Woodall</strong> and <strong>Jamison Bates</strong> who combine for 43 points per game. Seniors and especially senior guards, help win games in March. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Troy Christian is the early favorites as the #1 seed as the Eagles have won 14 straight, beating Tri-Village, Miami East, and Springfield Catholic Central. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467911' first='Parker' last='Penrod']</strong> (Jr) and <strong>Frank Rupnik</strong> (Jr) lead this group as the likely biggest challenger will be Dayton Christian. Riverview East is the top seed out of the Cincinnati sectional, winning 18 straight games and last losing December 9, 2022. Fayetteville-Perry is the closest seed and has played a strong schedule and have the combination of size and seniors to challenge anybody on any given night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Predicted Final: Troy Christian vs Fayetteville-Perry</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->