Class 3A Elite 8 State Duals Preview

STATE CHAMPIONS WILL BE CROWNED THIS WEEKEND.

CLASS 3A

The Bracket- Class 3A
#11 Lafayette vs #2 Gilmer
#4 Pike vs #8 Franklin Co
#12 Bremen vs #5 Ringgold
Gordon Lee vs #1 Columbus

My State Duals Sectional Predictions were terrible in this Classification, hats off to those teams that advanced through to "prove me wrong".  To me Bremen was the biggest surprise, I knew that the winner of Pike vs White Co would probably advance, and i had Morgan Co vs Gordon Lee labeled as one of the best round of 16 matchups.  I am not completely surprised by LaFayette advancing out of their quadrant, but I am a little surprised by their margin of victory over Hart Co.  Three teams advanced out of Area 6 which shouldn't be too surprising as that is always a tough Area, and they had pretty favorable draws.

Quarterfinals
Gilmer, Ringgold, and Columbus should all advance by pretty healthy margins,  Columbus has a few holes in their lineup that will allow Gordon Lee to make that match interesting, but in the end the Blue Devils will pull away.  Pike vs Franklin Co will be a great match, and I see Pike winning by 4 in a nailbiter.

Semifinals
Gilmer will give up some points to both Pike and Franklin Co, but in the end they have too much depth and flexibility, and they should return to the finals for the 13th consecutive year.  In the other Semifinal, I see a much closer matchup between Ringgold and Columbus.  The Blue Devils have more "sure wins" in the Dual, and if they can get the matchups they want, they should win relative comfort.  However, if Ringgold is able to dictate the matchups, then this match will be tight, and the Tigers will be one upset away from pulling out the win.

Consolation Rounds:
Gordon Lee over Bremen
Franklin Co over LaFayette

Pike Co over Gordon Lee
Ringgold over Franklin Co

3rd Place Match:
Ringgold will prove to be just a little bit too much for Pike Co, and will end up pulling away for a 10-15 point victory to secure 3rd.

Finals:
Gilmer and Columbus have been 1 and 2 all season long, and now we will finally get to see the two teams meet.  This match is one of those under the radar, juicy matchups, that many people will over look this weekend because of some of the other Finals matches that will be going on (I wish there was a way to get all of these Championship matches in the same place).  All season long I have had Columbus as the #1 team, but this Gilmer team has really started to come along as the season has progressed.  I see this as a tight back and forth match that will favor the experienced Bobcats, who have "been there before".  Gilmer wins 34-30

Final Standings
1. Gilmer
2. Columbus
3. RInggold
4. Pike Co