D10: Quarterfinal Tuesday

Here's a quick rundown of the games today in the D10 playoffs:

Senior

(1) JF Ross vs (8) Orangeville
Season Series:  JFR 2-0 (W 81-50, W 59-36)
Mark's Pick:  JFR by 28
Don't know if I can ever recall an upset in a "1 vs. 8 game" in the D10 league.  Of course, that would be a monumental upset since there's only 8 teams in the league.  Look for the Royals to win comfortably here.

(2) St. James vs. (7) Bishop Mac
Season Series:  STJ 2-0 (W 48-34, W 54-33)
Mark's Pick:  STJ by 17
Look for the Lions to get closer to their goal of a D10 championship with a win over the pesky Bishop Mac Celtics.  The Celts have kept St. James' star Ryan Higgins "relatively in check" during their first two meetings so we'll see if that trend continues today.

(3) Centennial vs. (6) Guelph CVI
Season Series:  CCVI 2-0 (W 62-51, W 64-47)
Mark's Pick:  CCVI by 15
The improving Spartans have put themselves in position to advance to CWOSSA; they can clinch a "AAAA" berth officially with a win, a JF Ross win (expected) and a Lourdes win over CWDHS (toss up).  I'll tab them to at least hold up their end of that bargain with a home win over GCVI.

(4) Lourdes vs. (5) Centre Wellington
Season Series:  OLOL 2-0 (W 60-56, W 52-49)
Mark's Pick:  Lourdes by 5
I see no reason to go against the trend of close games between these clubs, though I expect the intensity to ratchet up even more now that we're into playoff time.  The Falcons have yet to give up a 20+ effort in either of the two league meetings, which is quite a feat considering the star scoring power (Mike Finoro, Sharieff Peru, etc.) that Lourdes presents.

I'll take the Crusaders in a close one at home.

Junior

I think there is even less chance of a lower seed advancing in the junior ranks, where none of the 6, 7, and 8 teams came within 20 points of their opponents during league play.  Centre Wellington should also pull a win against Guelph CVI (2-0 season series, wins of 7 and 9 points) in a game that is additionally intriguing because the winner will likely grab an "AAAA" CWOSSA berth.

(1) Bishop Mac vs. (8) Orangeville
Season Series:  BMAC 2-0 (W 84-50, W 72-30)
Mark's Pick:  Bishop Mac by 38

(2) JF Ross vs. (7) Lourdes
Season Series:  JFR 2-0 (W 57-35, W 68-41)
Mark's Pick:  JF Ross by 22

(3) St. James vs. (6) Centennial
Season Series:  STJ 2-0 (W 62-37, W 41-20)
Mark's Pick:  St. James by 25

(4) Centre Wellington vs. (5) GCVI
Season Series:  CWDHS 2-0 (W 49-41, W 48-41)
Mark's Pick:  CWDHS by 10