BOYS BASKETBALL Canton district has Federal dominance

Poland and Canfield have the top seeds in Boardman.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON -- The boys Division I sectional basketball tournament at the Canton Civic Center will have a distinct Federal League flavor this season.
The top three seeds in the tournament -- North Canton Hoover (20-0), Canton McKinley (15-3) and Austintown Fitch (14-6) respectively -- play in the Federal League. And, all eight Federal members are in the 12-team field. Warren Harding (15-4) and Boardman (7-12) also appear in this showdown.
Hoover, the top-ranked team in the state, is coached by Randy Montgomery, a Salem High graduate. Play begins Monday with the winner advancing to the Akron regional.
Division II
The greatest concentration of local teams can be found at Boardman High School in the Div. II tournament.
All 12 teams in that field are from the Mahoning Valley.
Top seed Poland (16-3) and second-seeded Canfield (15-5) play in the Metro Athletic Conference, as do Niles, Salem, Howland and Struthers.
"There's a lot of good teams in our district, it's extremely balanced." Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. "Fortunately we've put together a good run at the end."
The other two seeds in that event are members of the Trumbull Athletic Conference -- Liberty (15-4) and Hubbard (10-9).
The Rayen School, Wilson and Chaney will represent the City Series in the tournament, which will send its winner to the Canton regional.
In a different Div. II tournament, held at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, West Branch and Alliance will renew a rivalry that has been dormant for more than a decade, next Wednesday.Lakeview (16-3) is the lone local entry in the Div. II action at Madison High School and Southeast (17-2) plays at Stow.
Division III
Cardinal Mooney (13-6) is the second seed and United (14-5) the third seed at the Salem High School Div. III tournament. State-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas has the top spot.
Also in that field are Ursuline (7-13), Springfield (12-7), South Range (2-17), Lisbon (16-4), Crestview (12-8) and East Palestine (5-14). Play begins Monday; the winner advances to Canton.
The Div. III tournament at Hubbard High School has many TAC schools, including LaBrae (16-3), Newton Falls (11-8) and Brookfield (10-9), which are seeded 1-2-4 respectively. Campbell Memorial (13-7) earned the third seed here. The survivor goes to the regional at Canton.
At Struthers High School, many Div. IV teams will battle it out for a berth in the Canton regional.
State-ranked Sebring (18-1) is the top seed but ICL-winner Western Reserve (15-5) is No. 3.
McDonald (12-7) and Columbiana (11-8) also play at Struthers.
There is also a Div. IV tournament at Warren Harding.
sullivan@vindy.com