With one more week of the regular season remaining, several playoff spots are locks and others will be decided in upcoming games.

The top four teams in each region are assurred a berth. So let’s take a look at where we stand.

Gaffney (6-1 region), Fort Mill (5-3) and Clover (5-3) in Region 3-AAAA boys are going. York (3-4) and Nation Ford (3-5) have a shot at the fourth spot and either could finish as high as third.

In Region 4-AAAA, the boys teams from Lancaster and Ridge View are in with 6-1 records. The other two spots are up for grabs between Blythewood (4-4), South Pointe (3-4) and Spring Valley (3-5).

Northwestern’s girls (7-1) are half a game ahead of Gaffney (6-1) and the only question is which team will get the No. 1 seed. York is 5-2 and handed 20-1 Northwestern its first loss on the game’s final shot last Thursday.The Lady Cougars can’t finish lower than third.

The final two spots will be contested by Nation Ford (3-5) and Fort Mill (2-6).

There’s is a good chance only one area girls team will make it from Region 4-AAAA. Defending state champion Spring Valley is 8-0, followed by Ridge View at 5-2. The other two qualifiers are question marks. Blythewood is 4-4, South Pointe 2-5 and Lancaster 2-5. Even 1-6 Rock Hill has a shot, although slight.

Lancaster’s and Ridge View’s boys are tied at 6-1 atop the Region 4-AAAA standings. Blythewood is 4-4, South Pointe 3-4, and Spring Valley 3-5. The only team out of the running is 0-7 Rock Hill.

The only Class AAA school in the area is Chester. The girls will easily make it. The boys are done for the year after next week. The Chester girls storyline is a good one. The Lady Cyclones are 20-1 overall and 8-0 in the region. Next week they go to 6-1 A.C. Flora on Tuesday and host 6-1 Lower Richland on Thursday. Those three are in.

In Class A, the boys teams from Great Falls (21-0, 8-0) and Indian Land (6-2) are in. Lewisville is 5-4 and looks like a lock to wrap up third place after a rough start.

The only local girls team from Region 3-A that will make the postseason is Indian Land, which should finish second.

MONDAY – OK, folks.

Don’t forget about Monday night’s wrestling matches. There are four teams left to battle it out for the Upper State championship and history was made last Wednesday. The final four is made up of all York County.

What that means for local fans is that if you chose the right match on Monday, you could be watching the 2010 state champion. No matter what happens, a York County team will be in the finals against the Lower State champ on Saturday at Ridge View High School.

Monday night, Fort Mill hosts defending state champion Rock Hill. York hosts South Pointe. The winners hook up Wednesday night at either Fort Mill or Rock Hill to decide which team moves on.

Matches start at 7 p.m.

SORRY RYAN – Got a little ahead of myself eariler this week and handed Northwestern’s Ryan Foster an early diploma.

It was a big “duh” on my part because it was written that he graduated last spring. Not so fast. Ryan is still at Northwestern and will be back in goal when the two-time defending state champs and reigning National Champion Trojans begin the soccer season.

And for you folks out there that say football is my only sport, how could I let you down? Ryan was one of the best kickers in the state this season and along with South Pointe kicker Landon Ard, made this year’s Herald All-Area Football team.

ANN – Congratulations to Spring Valley girls basketball coach Ann Long, a wonderful coach and lady.

Long led Spring Valley to the Class AAAA state championship last year, her first at the school. And last week she picked up her 700th win.

Needless to say, Long has been a success everwhere she’s coached. Long got it done at Union, at Dutch Fork and now at the Valley. Her Lady Vikings are ranked third in the state, but they are 20-2 overall and are in first place at 8-0 in Region 4-AAAA.

The playoffs are just around the corner and don’t count Long out in her quest to lead her team to back-to-back titles.

STATS – Basketball stats leaders were promised this week but it’s not happening.

Since a strong effort in the second week, the number of coaches that don’t provide them has dropped way off. Thanks to those who made the effort to get them in this week, but there are not enough to really show how our area players are doing.

So coaches, next week is it for the regular season. To those who sent them this week, please do it like you always do. To those who didn’t, please get them in this week so we can run them one more time.

Barry Byers 329-4099

bbyers@heraldonline.com

Standings

Region 3-AAAA

Boys

Overall Region Gaffney 18 2 6 1 Fort Mill 14 7 5 3 Clover 14 8 5 3 York 9 11 3 4 Nation Ford 11 10 3 5 Northwestern 6 16 1 7

Girls

Overall Region Northwestern 20 1 7 1 Gaffney 14 4 6 1 York 13 7 5 2 Nation Ford 7 15 3 5 Fort Mill 6 14 2 6 Clover 4 19 0 8

Region 4-AAAA

Boys

Overall Region Lancaster 17 4 6 1 Ridge View 12 10 6 1 Blythewood 8 10 4 4 South Pointe 5 11 3 4 Spring Valley 9 12 3 5 Rock Hill 5 12 0 7

Girls

Overall Region Spring Valley 20 2 8 0 Ridge View 14 5 5 2 Blythewood 12 8 4 4 South Pointe 10 10 2 5 Lancaster 8 10 2 5 Rock Hill 6 14 1 6

Region 4-AAA

Boys

Overall Region Chester 20 1 8 0 A.C. Flora 9 7 3 3 Lower Richland 12 5 4 1 Lugoff-Elgin 11 6 2 3 Fairfield Central 4 17 1 7 Chapin 8 8 1 7

Girls

Overall Region Chester 20 1 8 0 A.C. Flora 17 4 6 2 Lower Richland 11 6 6 2 Lugoff-Elgin 8 13 2 6 Chapin 6 12 1 7 Fairfield Central 4 17 1 7

Region 3-A

Boys

Overall Region Great Falls 20 1 8 0 Indian Land 8 5 6 2 Lewisville 8 9 5 4 North Cental NA NA 3 4 Buford 6 14 3 6 McBee 3 8 2 6 Chesterfield 5 12 2 6

Girls

Incomplete

February 7, 2010 | Herald, The (Rock Hill, SC)
Page: 5D | Section: Sports