Playoffs: Chipley to host Paxton

PAT MCCANN / Florida Freedom Newspapers

One aspect of the Rural classification 1A countdown to the Final Four that may have been overlooked is the contraction in the number of wins needed to reach Lakeland.

Because the new grouping has fewer schools than other statewide classifications regional tournaments consist of two rounds instead of three. While in a sense that makes it easier to gain a berth in the state boys basketball showcase it also resulted in a 10-day layoff between district championships and regional semifinals.

Chipley, 22-3, is one ballclub the layoff possibly worked against as the Tigers have had plentiful senior leadership and are on a 20-game winning streak.

They host Paxton 7 p.m. tonight with the winner moving on to a highly anticipated region title game against the Holmes County-Malone survivor.

Alex Hamilton and Cameron Dozier have been the mainstays of a Chipley squad that has a number of players capable of leading in scoring. This also is the final chance for Tigers’ seniors, who were undefeated last February when they fell to eventual two-time state champion Rickards in the prior classification system.

Graceville, 15-12, exemplifies a team that may have benefited from extra preparation time. The Tigers host South Walton tonight, with Cottondale traveling to West Gadsden in the other half of the Region 2 bracket.

Veteran Panhandle coach matt Anderson is in his first season in Graceville and said there has been an adjustment period between coach and players.

“We’ve had breaks like this, this is maybe the third time this year and it always seemed to help us,” Anderson said. “Me being new and getting the system put in, so far it has helped us.

“We’ll see if it continues to do so. The short turnaround times have given us problems.”

Anderson said his team’s ability to defend has been a strength. The Tigers are led in scoring and rebounding by junior Marquis White and junior point guard Rasheed Campbell revs the offense and is the second-leading scorer.

Cottondale’s fourth-quarter rally fell short against Graceville in their district title game. That forced the Hornets to travel to meet a highly regarded West Gadsden team.

Holmes County and Malone each are capable of reaching the 1-1A championship game. Also alive in 4A is Marianna, which eliminated East Gadsden on Thursday and will host Tallahassee Godby tonight.