TIME TO WIN OR GO HOME: CENTRAL, JACKSON BOYS PART OF DIZZY 4A DISTRICT

Consider, if you will, the following nonsense otherwise known as "As the Class 4A, District 1 World Turns":

Sikeston's boys beat Jackson pretty easily, but Jackson splits its season games with Cape Central, which beats Sikeston on its home court.

Cape Central, which at one point or another was seeded behind Jackson, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff in early-season tournaments, ends up beating all three district foes, but loses to Farmington, which is considered to be the weakest of all of the five schools in the district, even though it flaunts a 19-5 record, the best in the tournament. Poplar Bluff (11-13) beats Farmington.

Jackson (16-8), despite its loss to Sikeston (13-11), earns the No. 2 seed, ahead of the No. 3 Bulldogs, but they play each other in the first round anyway so the seeding is trivial.

Whew!

In other words, this district is a mystery.

The drama begins to unfold at 7:30 p.m. Monday when No. 4 seed Poplar Bluff, the host, takes on No. 5 Farmington. The top three seeds -- No. 1 Cape Central, No. 2 Jackson and No. 3 Sikeston -- have first-round byes and will play on Tuesday.

Central will play the Farmington-Poplar Bluff winner at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Sikeston will play Jackson at 7:30.

The championship game will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

"It's a weird district, no question," Cape Central coach Brett Reutzel said. "I don't know that you could've seeded it any particular way that would've made a whole lot of sense.

"Since we did beat Jackson, Sikeston and Bluff, I honestly think we deserved the No. 1 seed, but I'm not sure that there is a No. 1 seed to be given to anybody. Anybody could be the No. 1 seed or could beat the No. 1 seed. I think it's wide open."

"I think you could say it's open, but right now Cape Central is playing the best, although they've had some close wins," Jackson coach Steve Burk said. "It's pretty crazy when everybody has beaten everybody else. I think any team can potentially win it because no team stands out."

Jason Roddy, a senior forward for Cape Central said he likes the Tigers' chances to advance to sectionals.

"I knew we could (get the No. 1 seed)," Roddy said. "Nobody gave us much of a chance. I think the tournament is real even. Every game is real close. I really think we have a good chance to go somewhere this year. Even in sectionals, we would have a good chance. I just hope we make it out."

The same unpredictability as the 4A district holds true for the Class 3A, District 1 tournament.

Dexter (21-4) is seeded first, but has cooled slightly after an amazing 11-0 start at the beginning of the season. Doniphan, blessed with a mesh of intimidating height and accurate shooting guards, is seeded second. Charleston, which always seems to feed off of a tournament's aura is slated third and beat Doniphan earlier this year. New Madrid County Central is seeded fourth, while Kennett, which beat No. 1 Dexter last week, is seeded fifth.