Sacred Heart, S-C to meet in opener

The high school basketball season tips off Nov. 30 with a marquee matchup.

Sedalia’s two high schools, Sacred Heart and Smith-Cotton, will meet in the first round of the Red Cross Pharmacy/Dairy Queen Shootout in Marshall.

These teams haven’t met in years — if ever.

Both squads will have similar looks to last season, as each returns four starters.

S-C is under new leadership, as Kevin Schnicker replaces Jimmy Lincoln as head coach.

The Gremlins went 25-3 last season, winning their second straight district championship.

Each team returns a  Democrat All-Area first-teamer.

Evan Schnicker will lead S-C into action, and Jacob Harlan leads a balanced Sacred Heart team.

The girls teams from Sacred Heart and Smith-Cotton will also compete at Marshall.

The first week of the season will feature two other tournaments.

The boys and girls teams from Cole Camp, Knob Noster, Lincoln and Warsaw will compete in the Warsaw tournament.

The boys and girls teams from Pilot Grove, Smithton  and Tipton will play in the Tipton tournament.

The new-look Northwest  tournament is set for Dec. 7-12.

Two long-time participants, La Monte and Sacred Heart, pulled out of this year’s tournament.

La Monte left because it will compete in the Mid-State Conference tournament that week in Leeton. Sacred Heart withdrew because it elected to compete against bigger schools in the Marshall tournament.

The boys and girls teams from Bunceton, Green Ridge, Northwest, Otterville and Stover will play in the tournament with newcomer Fayette rounding out the field.

Fayette’s JV might participate to add an eighth team to the field.

If not, the tournament will use a hybrid bracket with the bottom half utilizing traditional bracket play and the top half using the round-robin format.

Concordia, St. Paul Lutheran, Sweet Springs and Windsor will play in the I-70 Conference tournament Dec. 7-12 at Wellington-Napoleon.

Smith-Cotton’s girls will play the first high school basketball game in the school’s new gymnasium on Dec. 10.

Their opponent will be Camdenton.

Smith-Cotton’s boys will make their debut in the  new gymnasium Oct. 17 against West Central Conference rival O’Hara.

The first Kaysinger Conference game is set for Dec. 17 when Green Ridge hosts La Monte in a boys-girls doubleheader.

The conference schedule tips off in earnest in January.

Sacred Heart’s boys and girls will attempt to defend their titles in the Kaysinger tournament Feb. 6-13 at State Fair Community College.

Here are the dates for other tournaments involving local teams:

•Otterville Holiday Classic, Jan. 2-9.

•The Stover Invitational,  Jan. 4-9.

•Smith-Cotton’s boys tournament, Jan. 11-16.

•S-C’s girls tournament,  Jan. 18-23.

•The Windsor tournament, Jan. 25-30.

District play begins Feb. 22 for Class 4 and 5 schools. The small schools’ districts will start Feb. 27.