Class 1 District 11 Championship Previews

Thanks to Mother Nature both the girls and boys Class 1 District 11 championship games will be played Friday night at La Plata High School.

In the girls championship, top seed Marion County meets third-seed La Plata. Marion County defeated Brashear 44-32 in the semifinals, while the host Lady Bulldogs came back from a 10-point deficit to beat North Shelby 57-54. Marion County head coach Reed Plunkett says limiting La Plata’s transition opportunities will be important.

Marion County is 19-6 on the year and seeks its first district title since 2014. La Plata has won eight straight games and enters the district championship 18-8. Lady Bulldogs head coach Nathan Simler says cutting down on turnovers will be crucial.

Marion County won the last meeting between the teams in January, 56-53. A win would give La Plata its first district title since 2001.

In the boys championship, both North Shelby and Atlanta are looking to end lengthy district title droughts. While the Raiders are in their second title game in four years, they haven’t won a district championship since 2006. The Raiders defeated Atlanta in their regular season matchup 80-66. North Shelby head coach Landon Daniel says one of the keys to victory will be neutralizing Atlanta post player Roman Phillips.

Phillips comes in averaging 16 points and eleven rebounds a game for Atlanta. The Hornets bring a record of 21-4 and a twelve-game winning streak to the district title game. Atlanta hasn’t lost since facing North Shelby over a month-and-a-half ago. Atlanta head coach Jason White explains what’s changed since their first meeting with the Raiders.

The Atlanta defense has allowed a combined 58 points over their first two district games. Atlanta is seeking their first district title since 1998. Brandon Monty and Colin Schowe will have the call for both games Friday night at La Plata. Pregame coverage will begin at 5:45 pm on Superstation KRES and centralmoinfo.com.