Area team set for a new season in Region 7-AA
The regular season is over, and any mistake a team makes only becomes more costly from here on.
The Region 7- AA basketball tournament kicks off Monday with Chattooga hosting the first round for the boys’ and girls’ brackets. The semifinals and finals will be held at Model on Friday and Saturday.
The top four teams in each bracket will represent the region in the Class AA state playoffs, with every team still with a chance to make a move.
“A new season has begun, and we have to come out with everybody contributing,” Armuchee girls’ coach Michelle Arp said. “You need focus because you want this season to go on for as long as possible.”
Chattooga and Model represent the top seeds in the boys’ and girls’ brackets, respectively.
The Indians ( 22- 3) went 10-2 in region play and undefeated at home this season, while the Model girl’s finished the regular season 24-0, 120 in 7-AA. Both teams receive a bye to the semifinals and an automatic state berth.
The boys’ bracket is as unpredictable as ever after the events of the last few weeks.
Chattooga, despite its dominant play, wrapped up their region schedule Friday with a 61-50 loss against No. 2-seed Darlington.
The Tigers (17-7) are on an eight-game winning streak and have surged up the region standings.
“It’s great going into the region tournament, but we’ve got to continue to work hard,” Darlington coach Tim Garrett said. “It’s now day one of the season though. So what work we’ve done up to this point doesn’t even mat- ter. We’ve got to get back to working on fundamentals and our defensive rebounds.”
The Model Blue Devils may be the most puzzling case. A team that was leading the region halfway through region play has stumbled, playing many games down to the wire and losing its last two region games to fall to the No. 3 spot.
“We have a lot to work on, and we have been exposed the last couple nights,” Model coach Jacob Travis said last week. “We can be the team we want, but we have a lot to work on before we get there.”
Model ( 14- 8) will play Dade County in Tuesday’s boys’ first round, and is set to face either Darlington or No. 7-seed Armuchee if the Blue Devils make the semifinals.
The Tigers and Blue Devils both won on each other’s home court during the regular season, most recently last Tuesday when Darlington won 52-51 at Model.
On the girl’s side, things begin with the Lady Blue Devils, who won 11 of their 12 region games by at least 10 points. Despite owning the No. 1 seed, the team remains determined to continue improving.
“The biggest thing to remember is you do not lose focus,” Model coach Sally Echols said. “We still are not content with where we are right now, and we are still hungry to continue improving.”
The Lady Blue Devils have a first-round bye and may play No. 4seed Darlington in the semifinals, a team that has given them trouble. Model finished its regular season with a 55-51 win against the Lady Tigers, a game that Darlington coach Josh Hembree said proved his team’s capabilities. But before that Darlington (17-8) must win its opening round game against Gordon Lee to qualify for state. The Lady Tigers split the regular season series with the Lady Trojans.
On the other side of the bracket, Armuchee (15-8) comes in with a 6-0 record against the teams it might face in the first two rounds.