The 2009 OHSAA Basketball Tournament pairings have been made. In the girls pairings in Athens 1 district, the Lady Hornets will play Wheelersburg at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 at Rock Hill. The winner will play at Waverly, Feb. 26 at 6:15 p.m., probably against Federal Hocking.

If Coal Grove wins both games, they’ll play in the Convo on March 7 at 5 p.m. The Lady Pointers, who are defending district champions, will play the Fairland v. Portsmouth West winner at Rock Hill, Feb. 21 at 2:45 p.m. Winning that one will take South Point to Waverly on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. to play Eastern, Piketon or Westfall; winning there will put the Lady Pointers in the Convo March 7 at 5 p.m. to defend their title, perhaps against the Lady Hornets.

In Athens 2 district, the Ironton Lady Tigers play Chesapeake at Rock Hill at 1 p.m., Feb. 21 and will be the favorites.

The winner will play Feb. 28 at 1:45 p.m. at Waverly, probably against Alexander. If the Lady Tigers win at Rock Hill and Waverly, they’ll play for the district title at the Convo on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m., probably against Lynchburg-Clay, Zane Trace or Nelsonville-York.

If the Lady Tigers win their district, they’ll probably play the Lady Pointers at Lancaster on March 11 at 6:15 p.m. in the regional semi-finals. Good luck to all.

In the boys sectional pairings for the Athens 1 district, on Wednesday Feb. 25 at Jackson the Fighting Tigers will play Crooksville in round one at 6:15 p.m. and the Pointers will play Federal Hocking at 8 p.m.; the two winners, which may be the Tigers and the Pointers, will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, the 28th, at Jackson.

The winner of that game will advance to Athens to play at the Convo on March 8 at 3:45 p.m. in the district semi-finals; their opponent will probably be Piketon, but it could be Adena, Eastern or Lynchburg-Clay.

In the other Athens 1 sectional bracket, the Chesapeake Panthers have a bye in the first round and play the winner of Belpre v. River Valley on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Jackson at 6 p.m..

The Panthers should win and advance to the District semi-finals at the Convo on March 8 at 2 p.m., where they will probably play Westfall, but it could be Ross Southeastern, West Union or Valley.

If the Tigers and the Panthers win through, they will meet for the Athens 1 district championship on Saturday, March 14, at 6 p.m. We have a fair chance of having a county team win that district this year.

In the Athens 2 district, sectional play begins at Jackson on Feb. 23: the Coal Grove Hornets play Nelsonville-York at 8 p.m.

If the Hornets win, they’ll play Alexander at Jackson on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m. The winner will advance to district play at the Convo on March 8 at 7:15 p.m. Their opponent will be Huntington Ross, Peebles, Portsmouth West, or Zane Trace. If the Hornets win through, they will play March 14 at 8 p.m. for the Athens 2 district championship.

I know this two district setup is somewhat confusing, but it does give our county the chance to have two teams in the Athens regional.

Also in the Athens 2 district at Jackson, on Feb. 24 Rock Hill will play Wheelersburg at 6:15 p.m. and defending district champion Fairland will play Wellston at 8 p.m.. The Dragons are more likely to win than the Redmen are; the Burg is down some, but their defense is still tough.

The winners will play Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. at Jackson. The experienced Fairland team has a good chance to advance to the Convo and play at 5:30 p.m. on March 8; their opponent will be North Adams, Minford or Portsmouth. North Adams has the bye.

If the Dragons win the district semi, they may play the Hornets for the Athens 2 district title on March 14 at 8 p.m. at the Convo.

Upsets are possible, and please don’t bet on any of the assumptions made here.

Dan Rapp is pastor of Ohio Baptist Church and a south Ironton resident.