A fresh bracket means a world of possibility. Like a sheet of snow before an angel is carved or the moment before a fork pierces a fresh plate of food.
Fate will begin to unravel with the regional playoffs tipping off with quarterfinals Tuesday (boys) and Wednesday (girls). Brackets turn over to a reseeded state quarterfinal round on Friday, March 8 (boys) and Saturday, March 9 (boys and girls). The state title games will take place at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center running March 15-16.
Here’s where Harford County teams landed in their respective regional brackets:
Fallston (Class 2A East Region I) and Patterson Mill (1A North Region II) each received top-seeds in their respective regions. In both cases, that earns a first-round bye. The Cougars were stopped in the regional championship by Harford Tech a year ago, while the Huskies’ playoff magic ran until the 1A state semifinal.
For the 2A East I regional semifinal, Fallston will wait to see the winner of North East and C. Milton Wright.
Patterson Mill will face Joppatowne Friday. The winner of that game meets Havre de Grace or Reginald Lewis in the 1A North Region II final.
No. 2 Edgewood opens against No. 7 Aberdeen in the 3A North II regional quarterfinals with a date and time to be determined. Bel Air is slated to play Digital Harbor in the same region for the 3-6 matchup to play the Harford County winner of Rams-Eagles.
3A North Region II: 1. Poly, 2. Edgewood, 3. Bel Air, 4. Patterson, 5. City, 6. Digital Harbor, 7. Aberdeen.
2A East Region I: 1. Fallston, 2. Rising Sun, 3. North Harford, 4. North East, 5. C. Milton Wright, 6. Harford Tech, 7. Elkton.
1A North Region II: 1. Patterson Mill, 2. Havre de Grace, 3. Reginald Lewis, 4. Joppatowne.
C. Milton Wright (2A East Region I) is Harford County’s lone top-seeded boys team. The Mustangs enter the playoffs on a two-week hiatus, last playing Havre de Grace on Feb. 16 –– their lone county loss.
In that same region, it’s Elkton vs. North East, Fallston vs. North Harford, and Rising Sun vs. Harford Tech, all to be played Tuesday night. The winner of Cobras and Tigers advances to play C. Milton Wright.
Elsewhere, Patterson Mill earned a two-seed in a competitive 1A North Region II field. The Huskies earn a buy on the shoulders of a 14-win season, led by Drew Pape, who recently joined the 1K points club. They’ll face the winner of Havre de Grace and National Academy Foundation of Baltimore.
The other side of that regional bracket pits Joppatowne and Reginald Lewis at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
3A North Region II: 1. City, 2. Patterson, 3. Poly, 4. Bel Air, 5. Digital Harbor, 6. Aberdeen, 7. Edgewood.
2A East Region I: 1. C. Milton Wright, 2. Elkton, 3. Fallston, 4. Rising Sun, 5. Harford Tech, 6. Patuxent, 7. Calvert.
1A North Region II: 1. Lake Clifton, 2. Patterson Mill, 3. Havre de Grace, 4. Joppatowne, 5. Reginald Lewis, 6. National Academy Foundation.
