CLASS 3A-4A HOOP CLOCK HITS 12 AS DISTRICTS ARRIVE

The 4A and 3A District tournaments begin Monday night in several venues around the state. Several local teams look to have a outstanding chance of advancing past districts with the possibility to maybe make a deep run into the state playoffs. A look at the district tournaments with local relevance:

Boys Class 4A, District 1

For the first time in over six years, Cape Central enters as the No. 1 seed in what looks to be a wide-open district bracket in Farmington.

The Tigers (19-6) have earned a bye to the semifinal round Wednesday at 6 p.m., where they will face the winner of Monday's opening contest between No. 4 seed Farmington and No. 5 Poplar Bluff. In December, Central easily beat Farmington on the road. But this past week, the Knights knocked off state-ranked DeS oto and could be peaking at the right time.

"Honestly, I think it's anybody's tournament," Central coach Brett Ruetzel said. "Anybody could beat anybody in our district."

Central may enter the tournament without leading-scorer Nathan Owen, who has missed the last two Tiger games due to a serious illness. Owen, a 6-foot-3 senior, has averaged nearly 20 points a game this year and will be vital to the Tigers' district hopes. Senior LaVelle Lewis is the only other double figure scorer for the Tigers but he is coming off a 34-point scoring performance Friday night against Ste. Genevieve in Owen's absence.

Jackson, which recently beat the Tigers, earned the second seed. The Indians (18-6) open play Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., with a semifinal game against No. 3 seed Sikeston. The Tigers beat Jackson earlier this season at home.

"Central's beat everybody so I'd have to pick them as the favorite," Jackson coach Steve Burk said.

During the season, Jackson split its series with Central and Farmington, but lost its only matchup against Sikeston on the road.

Juniors Justin Keen and Jeff Walter, both 6-5, will lead the Indians into district play. Both average about 15 points a game with Walter leading Jackson with over seven rebounds a game.

The championship will be decided Thursday at 7;30 p.m.

Girls Class 4A, District 1

Last year's 4A state runner-up, Jackson, will enter the district in Farmington as the top seed in hopes of advancing back to the state finals.

The top-seeded Lady Indians, ranked second in the latest 3A poll, have earned a bye to the semifinals and should advance into the finals to meet either No. 2 seed Poplar Bluff or third seed Cape Central.

"It'll be tough," Jackson coach Ron Cook said, looking over the district bracket. "Cape Central has a good team this year and so does Poplar Bluff. The game between those two should be a good one, and so should the championship game."

Returning all-state selection Michele Millham leads the Lady Indians attack, averaging 14 points while her younger sister Christa averages 11.

The Lady Tigers (19-6) would like nothing better than to face Jackson in the final after dropping two decisions to the Lady Indians over the past month. But Central will have to get past the Lady Mules who have beaten them twice already this season.

Senior guard Nicole Thiele leads the Lady Tigers on the floor, averaging 19 points, and senior center Laura Lukens adds 13 points and 8 rebounds a game.

Jackson may also be wary of meeting Poplar Bluff, ranked eighth in the latest 3A poll. Although Jackson has beaten Poplar Bluff twice this season, the Lady Mules have been known to present problems for the Lady Indians. Two years ago, the Lady Mules ended Jackson's undefeated season in the district final.

The district title game will be played Thursday at 6 p.m.

Boys Class 3A, District 1

The Charleston Blue Jays, the host, will be heavy favorites to advance through their district.

The Blue Jays will enter action with the No 1 state-ranking in 3A and, of course, the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Charleston ended the regular season 23-3.

With the top seed, the Blue Jays earned a bye to the semifinals Thursday where they will either face No. 4 Kennett or No. 5 Dexter. The Blue Jays should easily advance to the finals to meet either second-seed New Madrid, coached by former Charleston coach Lennies McFerren, or No. 3 Doniphan.

The championship final will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Girls Class 3A, District 1

New Madrid's Lady Eagles earned the top seed in the girls' bracket. The Lady Eagles toughest competition will come from second seed Kennett and No. 3 Doniphan.

The final will be played Friday at 6 p.m.

Boys Class 3A, District 2

Perryville's boys, ranked eighth in the latest 3A poll and co-champions of the Jefferson County Conference, will be looking to continue a tournament winning streak they started this season when they opened the season with the tourney championship at Woodland.

Over the course of the Pirates' 22-2 season, they also won the Chester (Ill.) Invitational and a MICDS Holiday tournament in St. Louis to go undefeated, thus far, in tournament play.

The Pirates will start district action in Park Hills as the No. 2 seed behind top-seeded North County (21-3) in what looks to be a very competitive field. Early in the season, the Raiders beat the Pirates in Perryville, 60-51 and are also coming off the MAAA Conference Tournament championship.

The Pirates, usually playing with a lineup with no one under 6-4, are led by twin-tower seniors Scott Kassel and Bruce Weinkein. Kassel, at 6-8, leads the Pirates, averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds a game. The 6-11 Weinkein adds around 14 points and 11 boards a contest.

Perryville opens against the seventh-seeded Fredericktown Blackcats on Tuesday at 4 p.m. A win will match the Pirates in the semifinals against either No. 3 Arcadia Valley (18 wins) or No. 6 Ste. Genevieve (7-16).

The district championship will be decided Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Girls Class 3A, District 2

The Perryville Lady Pirates will take the second seed into their district in Park Hills. Perryville, 18-8 on the year, surprisingly did not match up with any of the teams in its district over the course of the regular season and will enter districts without much knowledge of their competition.

"It's kind of unusual but we haven't faced anybody in our district," said Lady Pirates' coach Steve Wunderlich. "There are probably three teams that could be there at the end."

Fredericktown, co-champions of the Mineral Area Athletic Association, earned the top seed and a bye to the semifinals. Perryville opens up with seventh-seed Potosi on Monday and will likely match up with No. 3 seed North County in semifinal action Wednesday night.

The finals will be Friday at 6 p.m.