With regional quarterfinal wins by Neches over Slocum on Monday and Oakwood over Roxton on Tuesday, the showdown between Neches and Oakwood moves one step closer.
The two Dogwood Circle teams have reached the Class A, Division II regional tournament at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches this weekend. With wins on Friday by both teams in the regional semifinals, it will set up a District 24-A showdown to reach the state tournament.
It seems like it is destined that Neches and Oakwood would meet to decide who goes to the state tournament. The two teams finished tied for the District 24-A title, with each team losing to the other once for their only district losses.
It also would be fitting that one of the teams makes it to the state tournament as District 24-A was the strongest district in Region III. At the end of the regular season, third place in the district had to be settled by a tie-breaker between Slocum and Kennard. Slocum won the game and Kennard, who went to the state tournament the last two years, had to stay home.
"We had a team that was sitting home that would have won a title in other district," Neches head coach Andy Snider said after the win over Slocum Monday night. "That says a lot about our district."
District 24-A was only one of two district in Division II that had all three teams make the regional quarterfinals — District 5-A was the other.
But while it may seem fitting that Neches and Oakwood end up in the regional finals, there is still work to be done by both teams on Friday. Neches plays Aquilla at 3 p.m. and Oakwood take on Walnut Creek at 5 p.m.
I will be doing live updates on the blog for both games and hopefully again for Saturday.
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