Division IV East District bracket predictions. Teams to watch out for are River (17-4) , Hiland (13-9, Caldwell (17-4), and Bishop Rosecrans (18-3). River is the one seed and for sure the favorite in this district, but this is a more open year for teams to win than years past. Hiland has won the Div. IV East District five years in a row and won the the Div. III East District two years in a row before that. A down year in Hiland terms still makes them a dangerous team. Caldwell who has undoubtedly the best player in the district, Bede Lori, will look to capitalize on a generational player. Lori a 2000 point scorer has proven to be the real deal and a true game-wrecker. Rosecrans have had a successful year and will want their shot at taking down one seed River.
We have two seed Caldwell losing to Shadyside in the sectional final and three seed Hiland advancing to the district final as a three seed. On the other side we have TCC upsetting Strasburg in the first round. That sets up a matchup of one seed River and four seed Rosecrans squaring off in the district semi final with River taking home the win. Lastly, a big time District Final looming with Hiland winning the District 62-57 over one seed River. Note the last time Hiland and River played was in 2018 in the district final where Hiland won 42-29. A lot of great teams in this district will make for some electric matchups.
Division III East District. This bracket got more interesting this year with IVC North champs Malvern (19-1)moving up to division three this year. Malvern has two outstanding players in J’allen Barrino and Mitch Minor. IVC South Co – Champs Sandy Valley(15-7) is also a contender with a balanced scoring attack from Dantae Faiello, Nick Petro, and Jordan Wigfield. IVC South Co-Champ Garaway (18-4) who was a favorite earlier in the year has a chance to make a repeat as district champs on the backs of Alex Roden and Brady Roden. Garaway is without a doubt the most experienced team as they returned every player from last year and start five seniors. Another team to watch out for is Martins Ferry who has had a successful year posting a 17-3 record.
This district could go any way with multiple teams able to beat each other on any night. Malvern has beat both Garaway and Sandy Valley this year while Sandy and Garaway split one and one in their head to head matchups. District Semi Final between Sandy Valley and Malvern would be a truly awesome matchup with two big time rivals hashing it out. Especially with Sandy needing revenge after their loss to Malvern in the IVC showcase. Garaway will need to pull out some good shooting games to advance to the District Final with wins over Bellaire and IVC foe Buckeye Trail. In a District Final we have Garaway and Malvern with a rematch from earlier this year. Garaway was missing Drew Mullet a sharpshooter in the first matchup. Expect this game to be a high scoring affair with Garaway taking home the win. Another district with potential for some sensational matchups and big storylines.
