Substate awaits area prep hoops teams

First the bad news.
Iola High’s Mustangs have sputtered down the stretch of the 2013-14 season, losing five of their last six.
Their most recent setback may have been the worst of all, a gut-wrenching, two-point loss Tuesday evening to Anderson County.
But all is not lost. Not by a long shot.
One of the byproducts of the split of Class 4A into two divisions — Iola is in Division II, the smaller half — is the Mustangs are still just two victories shy of the team’s first trip to the state tournament in more than 30 years.
Iola’s substate bracket is one of the most intriguing in the state, because of its wide-open nature. The top seed in the Mustang bracket sports an 11-8 record, hardly an insurmountable challenge.
Iola has defeated two of the other three teams in the bracket, Prairie View and the aforementioned Anderson County.
The 8-11 Mustangs open substate play as the third seed at 6 p.m. March 7 against second seed Prairie View (9-11) at the Anderson County High School gymnasium. The Mustangs swept the Buffalos in both of their regular season matchups.
A win there puts Iola in Saturday’s championship game against either top seed Burlington (11-8) or fourth seed Anderson County (3-17) at 7:30 p.m. March 8. Iola was 2-1 against Anderson County and did not face Burlington during the regular season.

THE ROAD to state is a bit more daunting for Iola’s Fillies, despite having won six of eight and putting the finishing touches on winning the Pioneer League championship.
That’s because the Burlington juggernaut stands in the way of Iola’s first trip to state since winning the Class 4A title in 2006. Burlington — the defending Class 3A state champion — has had little trouble adjusting to a bump up in classes to 4A-II. The Wildcats have won 18 straight and are the top-ranked 4A-II team in the state. Burlington defeated Iola, 49-22, in mid-January.
Iola (11-8) is the second seed of the girls substate and will face third seed Prairie View (10-9) in the semifinal round March 6. The teams split their two regular-season games.
Burlington (18-1) takes on Anderson County (9-11) in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners will face off at 6 p.m. March 8.
The state tournament is March 12-15 in Park City.

ELSEWHERE, Humboldt High’s road to a return trip to the Class 3A state tournament — they were runner-up in 2013 — is a rocky one.
At 17-3, Humboldt is the second seed and will host seventh seed Jayhawk-Linn (9-10) at 7 p.m. Monday.  A win there pits Humboldt against either third seed Wellsville (16-3) or sixth seed West Franklin (9-10) on March 6 at Wellsville, the host school.
On the other side of the bracket, a potential showdown awaits with 3A power and undefeated Council Grove (20-0). Council Grove is the top seed and hosts eighth seed Kansas City Christian (5-15). Osage City (16-4) takes on fifth seed Central Heights (10-10) in the other quarterfinal.
Humboldt’s girls (5-14) are the sixth seed and will travel to third seed West Franklin (9-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The winner will face either second seed Jayhawk-Linn (12-7) or seventh seed Osage City (4-16) in the semifinals March 7 in Wellsville.
Council Grove (16-4) is the top seed in the other half of the bracket and faces Kansas City Christian (4-16) while Wellsville (8-11) hosts Central Heights (7-13) in the other quarterfinal.
The championship game is at 6 p.m. March 8. The substate championship winners advance to the state tournament in Hutchinson.

IN CLASS 2A, Yates Center’s boys (4-15) are the eighth seed and travels to West Elk (18-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in order to return home as the host school for the substate semifinals and finals. The winner plays either fourth seed Oxford (15-5) or fifth seed Uniontown (8-12).
The other half other bracket features second seed Oswego (17-3) against seventh seed Sedan (7-12) and third seed Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (14-4) against sixth seed Pleasanton (7-11).
Yates Center’s girls (7-12) are the seventh seed and travel to second seed Pleasanton (12-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner plays either third seed St. Mary’s Colgan (11-6) or sixth seed West Elk (8-13).
Sedan is the top seed on the other side of the bracket at 15-4 and takes on eighth seed Oswego (7-13). Uniontown (10-10) and Oxford (9-10) square off in the other quarterfinal.
The 2A substate winners will head to Manhattan for the state tournament.

MARMATON Valley and Southern Coffey County’s schools both have sizable obstacles to a state berth in Class 1A-I.
The SCC boys (14-5) are the second seed and will face third seed St. Paul (5-14) at 6 p.m. March 6 at Waverly, the host school. Marmaton Valley (3-15) is the fifth seed and must travel to fourth seed Waverly (4-15) at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The winner gets the honor of facing top seed and unbeaten Marais des Cygnes Valley (19-0) on March 6.
On the girls’ side, Marmaton Valley (3-15) is the fifth seed and faces fourth seed Southern Coffey County (6-13) at 6 p.m. Monday in Waverly. The winner gets top seed Marais des Cygnes Valley (17-2) at 7:30 p.m. March 7. St. Paul (17-2) takes on third seed Waverly (12-7) in the other semifinal.
The 1A-I state tournament is in Emporia.

CREST HIGH’S boys are the second seed in Class 1A-II substate action. The Lancers take on third seed Argonia (7-13) at 6 p.m. March 6 at Chetopa High School.
Chetopa is the host school and top seed at 15-4 and will play either Altoona-Midway or Elk Valley, both of which are winless on the season.
Crest’s girls are the third seed at 3-16 and will play second seed Chetopa (7-12) at 7:30 p.m. March 7 at Chetopa.
Argonia (16-4) is the top seed and faces either fourth seed Elk Valley (1-17) or Altoona-Midway (0-18) in the other semifinal.
The 1A-II substate winners will head to the state tournament in Hays.