By Dan Messerschmidt
NORWALK — The boys’ prep tournament pairings were completed Sunday afternoon and the six Crawford County schools will play their sectionals at three different sites.
In Division III, Bucyrus (2-16) will play Western Reserve (12-5) at Hopewell-Loudon High School at 6:15 p.m. on February 28. The Redmen were seeded No. 13 of 14 schools in the Norwalk district, so coach Justin Mattix had only two choices when placing in the bracket.
“It was good that we didn’t have to play Edison (again),” Mattix said. “The best thing for us was to play Western Reserve. We have to go a little further, but we have played Edison the last two years.”
The Chargers have eliminated Bucyrus the past two seasons when the sectional was at Monroeville. Mattix decided to take his chance with a change of scenery. The other choice was to play Edison again at Shelby.
“It will be different,” Mattix said. “It’s something new. The kids won’t feel like they’ll be in the same boat.”
Upper Sandusky (16-3) got the No. 1 seed and took the bye into the sectional final on March 2 at Shelby High School. The Rams will play the winner of the Huron-Fostoria game being played at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27.
Oak Harbor (14-4) received the No. 2 seed and took the bye at Hopewell-Loudon. On March 2, the Rockets face the winner of No. 3 seed Carey (12-6) and No. 9 Wynford (7-11).
Wynford coach Jason Engel chose a third meeting with the Blue Devils, even though Carey swept the two games in the Northern 10 Conference.
“We wanted to put ourselves in a position to win two games,” Engel said. “We thought it is hard to beat a team three times. Carey is good, well coached, but there aren’t too many good spots (to place) in this district. We have a lot of good teams.”
In the Division IV district at Willard, Colonel Crawford (17-3) got the No. 2 seed and took the bye into the sectional final at Galion High School on March 2. The Eagles will play the winner of No. 10 Buckeye Central (5-13) and No. 8 Sandusky St. Mary (9-9). That is the 6:15 p.m. game on Feb. 27 at Galion.
“We took the bye like we have in past years, which has been successful for us,” Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon said. “We waited to see who would come our way and St. Mary and Buckeye Central came in our bracket.”
Mansfield St. Peter’s (21-0) received the No. 1 seed. The Spartans are currently ranked No.1 in the state in the AP poll. St. Peter’s will play No. 11 Danbury (4-13) at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Lexington High School. That winner will play No. 12 Monroeville (1-18) at 6 p.m. on March 2.
“The only surprise was that No. 3 Lucas went down in St. Peter’s bracket,” Sheldon said. “And No. 5 and No. 7 jumped in that bracket to try to play them in the sectional final.”
No. 9 Crestline (7-11) meets No. 6 Norwalk St. Paul (9-9) at Galion in the 8 p.m. game at Galion on Feb. 27. The winner takes on No.4 South Central (13-6) on March 2 at 8 p.m. in Galion.
In the Division IV district at Fostoria, No. 2 seed Mohawk took the bye into the sectional final at Carey High School on March 2. The Warriors will play the winner of No. 6 seed and N10 foe Seneca East (10-8) and No. 8 Tiffin Calvert (7-11), which will take place on Feb. 27 at 6:15 p.m. at Carey.
In the Division II Mansfield Madison district, No. 12 seed Galion (7-13) plays No. 3 Lexington (16-5) at 8 p.m. at Willard High School Feb. 28. That winner will play the winner of No. 10 Ontario (11-7) and No. 7 Clyde (13-6) — the 6:15 p.m. game at Willard on Feb. 28 — on March 2 at 8 p.m. back at Willard.