Who won Springfield area's Classes 1-3 boys quarterfinals & what to know about next week
Southwest Missouri will have a representative in the small-school boys' state semifinals this upcoming week in Springfield following Hartville's quarterfinal win. There were also a handful of other important games that went down on Friday that will set up a great slate of games come Monday night. Here's what you need to know.
State quarterfinals
Hartville 57, Marionville 43
Class 2 quarterfinals
After a one-year hiatus, the Eagles are back in the state semifinals.
Hartville will appear in the state semifinals for the eighth time in the program's history and it now includes appearances in three of the last four years.
The Eagles needed to climb back into the game after Marionville controlled much of the opening quarter. By halftime, Hartville had a four-point lead and broke away in the second half to be one of the final four teams remaining at the Class 2 level.
Hartville's semifinal opponent, Salisbury, is 27-3 this season with two of its losses coming in overtime in the Panthers' first two games of the season. The Panthers have a high-scoring offense at 66.9 points per game.
Up next: Salisbury on Friday at 4 p.m. in Hammons Student Center
Thayer 50, Sparta 37
Class 3 quarterfinals
One of the great seasons in Sparta's history reached its end with its 13-point defeat to Thayer, which has been on an absolute tear in recent weeks.
Thayer junior Aidan Burns scored 27 points in the game in a matchup the Bobcats started to take over during the second quarter. The Bobcats are back in the state semifinals for the second year in a row after finishing in third place last season.
Sparta's great run ends at 24-6 and with its first district title in over a decade. The Trojans return key starters from this season including star player Jacob Lafferty for his senior year.
Up next: Lutheran North at noon on Friday in Great Southern Bank Arena
Class 4 district championships
Catholic 66, Versailles 61
Class 4, District 10
When it comes to district play, you can never count out a Jay Osborne-coached team. His Fightin' Irish are district champs in his first year as head coach after he took over a depleted roster that reached the state semifinals last season.
The overtime win saw the Irish rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to force overtime at 55-55. The Irish had just enough firepower to come out on top.
Catholic will now face a Father Tolton program that is among the best in the state. The Trailblazers are coming off a second-place finish in the state last season, however, it had Link Academy five-star guard Aaron Rowe on the roster then.
Up next: Father Tolton on Monday at 6 p.m. at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar
Logan-Rogersville 53, Hollister 40
Class 4, District 11
The Wildcats' elite defense carried over to the postseason and Logan-Rogersville is heading to a sectional matchup on Monday.
Logan-Rogersville held Hollister to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Tigers came into the game averaging 59 points per game but they couldn't get anything going against a Rogersville team that wins its games at the defensive end.
Hollister kept the game within reach throughout as it went into the fourth quarter down by five. The Tigers' defense couldn't contain the Wildcats as they scored 23 points in the final frame.
Curry Sutherland continued his offensive tear by scoring 31 points.
Up next: Seneca on Monday at 7:45 p.m. at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar
Seneca 61, Aurora 47
Class 4, District 12
Seneca is a district champion for the first time since 2013 after beating Aurora.
Cooper Lang led Seneca with 18 points while morgan Vaughn added 14. Seneca is in its first year under head coach Cort Hardy. His team dominated pretty much from the opening tip en route to its championship.
Seneca's current 17-11 record is its best since 2019 when it went 18-10.
Up next: Logan-Rogersville on Monday at 7:45 p.m. at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar
Monday district championship schedule for Classes 5-6
Class 5, District 6 — Hillcrest vs. Parkview, 7 p.m. at Willard High
Class 6, District 5 — Nixa vs. Kickapoo, 6 p.m. at Ozark High
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Who won Springfield area's Classes 1-3 boys' state quarterfinals
