Brackets filled: tourney matches are set

By John Bassetti

bassetti@vindy.com

HOWLAND

Step aside Selection Sunday, this was Seeding Sunday.

The boys basketball draw at Howland High set the seedings for five of the area’s six tournaments.

Struthers unanimously got top billing for the Division II tournament at Boardman, Mathews was the unanimous choice as No. 1 in Div. IV at Warren Harding, LaBrae was the unanimous No. 1 among 13 teams for Div. III at Howland, Springfield Local was the unanimous No. 1 among 12 teams for Div. III at Salem and new-kid-on-the-block Mogadore was the overwhelming favorite for Div. IV at the Struthers Fieldhouse.

“It always feels good that other teams in their area respect your record,” Struthers coach Joe Savko said. “We jumped up on the top line,” he said of having a bye and playing the Mooney-Hubbard winner.

“Hubbard played us tough this year and Mooney has the big kid [Doug Caputo] inside and the strong football players. So, it can always be a challenge,” Savko said. The 15-3 Wildcats’ three losses were to All-American Conference rivals Lakeview and Salem as well as Erie Strong Vincent at the Covelli Centre.

“We’re looking to get geared up and, hopefully, make a run,” Savko said.

Jason Lee, Mathews’ second-year coach, felt complimented by getting all 13 votes.

“That says something for the hard work our kids have put in this year, especially the way they played against some of the top-level teams they played in our conference,” Lee said.

Lee put his Mustangs (14-5) on the bracket first in the No. 10 spot and will play Badger.

“Last year, one mistake I made was taking a bye and our kids had a huge layoff,” Lee said. “This year, we just want to get out there and play.”

Mathews’ 2011-12 losses were to Brookfield, Pymatuning Valley, Grand Valley, Mineral Ridge and Berlin Center Western Reserve.

LaBrae got the top seed for a second straight year.

“It’s a good feeling, but we kind of expected that coming in undefeated,” Vikings coach Chad Kiser said. “It [No. 1] also puts a bigger target on our back for everybody to come after.”

After LaBrae passed first and the No. 2 seed (Newton Falls) passed, No. 3 Brookfield went on.

“That’s when we put ourselves on the same half as the 3 seed,” Kiser said of pairing with Brookfield to make sure his Vikings and Newton Falls weren’t together.

“Having already played Newton Falls twice, it would avoid playing them a third time until the championship,” Kiser said. “With [No. 4] Ursuline being a very talented group, it was either No. 1 or No. 4 getting matched up [with Brookfield], so staying away from Ursuline as long as we could was the biggest reason [that LaBrae went on after Brookfield].”

LaBrae beat Newton Falls in overtime two weeks ago, then beat Brookfield by three earlier. The Vikings also had a close call at Poland in December.

Berkshire was No. 5.

“Anyone’s got a good chance to win,” Kiser said. “You pick your poison. Having not seen Ursuline yet, but knowing their schedule and our familiarity with Newton Falls, there’s no easy one.”

Springfield Local (16-2) coach Eric Fender said his team’s selection was bittersweet.

“Our district is a good one [with teams from the Inter Tri County League] and now we have teams coming in from the Akron-Canton area,” Fender said,

The Tigers split with South Range and lost to Brookfield.

Springfield went on the board first and No. 2 South Range also went on top with the Tigers. Then No. 3 Canton Central and No. 4 Crestview went on the other side of the bracket.

“It’s an exciting time for the kids who are doing well in league,” said Fender, a third-year coach whose team wasn’t seeded last year.

Springfield beat South Range in OT, then lost by one.

“It’s a big rival, so it should be a fun, exciting time if that were to be,” Fender said of a likely third meeting — this time in the district semis.

Springfield has two games remaining.

Mogadore will make its first appearance at Struthers under fourth-year coach Russ Swartz, whose Wildcats played at Warren Harding the last three years.

“We got shifted over, so we didn’t know what to expect,” Swartz said of his team’s selection by a 12-0 vote.

“We were kind of surprised, mostly because we’re the new kid on the block.”

Mogadore (12-5) will open against Canton Heritage on Feb. 27. The Wildcats went on the board first. Heritage got the last pill and was the last seed.

“We’re playing the first game,” Swartz said. “We didn’t take the bye because we never played at Struthers before, so we wanted to get on the court because we have not been there.

Mogadore’s strength of competition is balanced: 5-2 vs. Div. II, 3-2 vs. Div. IV and 4-1 vs. Div. III.

“We play a lot of bigger schools,” said Swartz, whose losses are to Div. IV Windham (twice), Southeast and Woodridge (both D-II) and Rootstown (Div. III).

Of teams at Struthers, East Canton is in Mogadore’s league and the Wildcats played Canton Heritage non-league.

“We don’t play any ITCL teams,” Swartz said. “Heritage will be a familiar opponent that will help us get our feet wet at a new venue.”