The brackets for the upcoming District One Class AAAA and AAA tournaments have been announced, following this morning's meeting at Council Rock South High School. Ten Delco teams made the cut. Have a look:

District One Class AAAA
First Round - Feb. 17
No. 32 Downingtown West at No. 1 Chester
No. 17 Springfield at No. 16 Methacton
No. 25 Kennett at No. 8 Pennsbury
No. 24 Ridley at No. 9 Norristown
No. 29 West Chester East at No. 4 Central Bucks West
No. 20 Upper Dublin at No. 13 Cheltenham
No. 28 Glen Mills at No. 5 Wissahickon
No. 21 Upper Darby at No. 12 Bensalem
No. 31 Penncrest at No. 2 Lower Merion
No. 18 Plymouth Whitemarsh at No. 15 Conestoga
No. 26 Central Bucks South at No. 7 Council Rock North
No. 23 West Chester Henderson at No. 10 Souderton
No. 30 Harry S Truman at No. 3 Coatesville
No. 19 Spring-Ford at No. 14 Penn Wood
No. 27 Interboro at No. 6 Great Valley
No. 22 Marple Newtown at No. 11 Abington
Second Round: Feb. 21
Quarterfinals: Feb. 24
Semifinals: Feb. 28 at Temple University
Championship: March 2 at Villanova University
NOTE: Nine (9) teams qualify for the PIAA tournament.

District One Class AAA
First Round - Feb. 22
No. 1 Holy Ghost Prep, by
No. 9 Phoenixville at No. 8 Upper Moreland
No. 4 Pottstown, bye
No. 12 Sun Valley at No. 5 Pope John Paul II
No. 2 Octorara, bye
No. 10 Upper Merion at No. 7 Harriton
No. 3 Lower Moreland, bye
No. 11 Bishop Shanahan at No. 6 Pottsgrove
Quarterfinals: Feb. 25
Semifinals: Feb. 29 at Plymouth Whitemarsh HS
Championship: March 3 at Haverford College
NOTE: Three (3) teams qualify for the PIAA tournament.

The District One brackets are announced Sunday, after closed-door morning meetings at Council Rock South High School.

We'll know where all of Delco's top teams are seeded -- or not, for those who don't make the cut -- thus opening the door for prognosticators and playoff pickers, alike.

So without seeing the bracket, who do you like?

Who's got the best shot to win it all?

Who's the underdog who will earn a state-playoff berth?

We can assume Chester is the No. 1 and Lower Merion is No. 2. But let's hear your thoughts on how the bracket will shake out.

Well, it's official ... sort of.

While District One officials contend they have until Monday at noon to fix any last-second mathematical oversights, the Class AAAA and AAA brackets were announced Sunday, following a meeting at Council Rock South High School in Bucks County.

Nine Delco teams made the cut in Class AAAA and Sun Valley earned the second-to-last berth into the Class AAA field. All-Delco Mo Nelson (pictured) and Chester earned the top spot in Class AAAA.

For the complete brackets, check below. For more on the tournaments, pick up Monday's edition of the Daily Times.

District One Class AAAA
First Round
Friday, Feb. 18
(32) Perkiomen Valley at (1) Chester
(17) Springfield at (16) Cheltenham
(25) Upper Dublin at (8) North Penn
(24) Strath Haven at (9) Bensalem
(29) Kennett at (4) Upper Darby
(20) Methacton at (13) Lower Merion
(7) Central Bucks East at (5) Neshaminy
(8) Central Bucks West at (12) Glen Mills
(31) Great Valley at (2) Council Rock North
(18) Spring-Ford at (15) Wissahickon
(26) Ridley at (7) Norristown
(23) Souderton at (10) Coatesville
(30) Interboro (3) Plymouth Whitemarsh
(19) West Chester Henderson at (14) Pennridge
(27) Penncrest at (6) West Chester Rustin
(22) Conestoga at (11) Penn Wood
Second Round: Feb. 22
Quarterfinals: Feb. 25
Semifinals: March 1, at Villanova, 6/7:30
Championship: March 4, at Villanova, 9
NOTE: Nine (9) teams advance to PIAA playoffs. All games through quarterfinals played at the site of the higher seed.

District One Class AAA
First Round
Feb. 23
(1) Octorara, bye
(9) Phoenixville at (8) Upper Merion
(4) Pope John Paul, bye
(5) Pottstown, bye
(2) Holy Ghost Prep, bye
(10) Sun Valley at (7) Harriton
(3) Lower Moreland, bye
(11) Upper Moreland at (6) Bishop Shanahan
Quarterfinals: Feb. 26
Semifinals: March 2, at Council Rock South, 6/7:30
Championship: March 5, at Villanova, 8
NOTE: Three (3) teams advance to PIAA playoffs. All games through quarterfinals played at the site of the higher seed.

Folks, this is the final week of the regular season ... before teams either bow out of the hunt or make their final push for the District One playoffs.

Here's a quick hit on the three teams that need big showings this week:

Springfield: The Cougars have picked a poor time to go on only their second losing streak of the season. With winnable games against Central League goes Garnet Valley and Radnor, Springfield could move up a few spots, to the high teens, in the Class AAAA bracket. That means the Cougars wouldn't be saddled with a second-round matchup with one of the district's top five seeds.

Penncrest: The reigning Central League champions might be on the outside looking in on the Class AAAA field without wins against Haverford and Marple Newtown this week. Going 2-0 down the stretch could give the Lions one of the final seeds.

Ridley: Above and below the Green Raiders go ... in relation to the .500 mark, that is. Ridley, like Penncrest, is flirting with one of the final spots in the Class AAAA tournament. A two-win week could go a long way toward making that happen.

Yes, Springfield lost the District One Class AAA championship game Saturday. Yes, it was within reach. Yes, the Cougars have won only two district titles since 1945.

But, hey - why hang your head about a five-point loss to top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep? There's still the PIAA playoffs. It's new life for these Cougars.

"Maybe in a day or two, we can start talking about it and getting ready for it," said junior forward Adam Washington, who scored 15 points. "This was the game we wanted to win. We just didn't do it."

Junior guard Zack DeVito was so stung by the loss that, on two occasions in post-game interviews, he forgot the questions he was trying to answer.

"This one hurts because this was a goal of ours from the beginning of the season," said senior forward Wally Rutecki. "It didn't happen for us, but we can focus on states now."

Springfield (18-8) begins its PIAA journey Friday.

And just like that, Springfield's district-title aspirations were dashed.

The Cougars dropped a back-and-forth District One Class AAA title tilt to Holy Ghost Prep, 47-42, Saturday night at Villanova's Pavilion.

Adam Washington scored 15 points (on 6-for-10 scoring), Dave Carpenter had eight and Zack DeVito and Wally Rutecki had six apiece for Springfield (18-8), which faces District 12's Murrell Dobbins in the first round of the PIAA playoffs next week.

More to come...

The locations and times for upcoming District One boys basketball playoff games have been announced. If you're a fan of a team in Class AAAA, you're staying close to home. If you follow Springfield, you better gas up.

Here's what you're looking at:
Tuesday - Class AAAA
Semifinal: Penn Wood vs. Souderton, Villanova, 6 p.m.
Fifth-place playback: Penncrest vs. Pennsbury, Norristown, 6 p.m.
Fifth-place playback: Chester vs. Neshaminy, Norristown, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday - Class AAA
Semifinal: Springfield vs. Octorara, West Chester East, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday's win was big for Marple Newtown. How big? After taking down Harriton, 71-61, a throng of Marple fans - who wouldn't stop screaming throughout the game's duration - emptied the stands and occupied space on the floor.

But it's not over yet. The No. 8 Tigers (11-12) have a huge test looming Saturday in the quarterfinals of the District One Class AAA tournament, in top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep.

Here's what those around Marple's program had to say about their upcoming opponent:
Head coach Gerry Doemling: "They know what's coming up. We'll be ready. We know how good Holy Ghost is, but we also know that when we're playing our best, we can play with anyone. Other than St. Joe's Prep, we've been in every game this year.

Senior forward Ryan Hanley: "We've just got to keep playing hard. We have Holy Ghost next. People were predicted us to play for the championship. We knew we'd have to play them at some point. Might as well get it out of the way.

Senior guard Soutiri Sapnas (pictured): "They're the next team on the schedule. It's as simple as that."

Sapnas might have seemed like a man of few words, but that's only because he doesn't usually talk about upcoming opponents. He lets his play do the talking. And against Harriton, Sapnas dropped in 36. He'll need another game like that Saturday if the Tigers expect to beat the Firebirds.

You want 'em, you've got 'em. Here are the District One Class AAAA and AAA playoff brackets. (Analysis from your favorite boys basketball beat writer soon to follow):

District One Class AAAA Playoffs
(Higher seeds host in first two rounds)
First Round – Feb. 19
(32) West Chester East at (1) Plymouth Whitemarsh
(17) Upper Dublin at (16) Spring-Ford
(25) Owen J Roberts at (8) Penncrest
(24) Downingtown West at (9) Lower Merion
(29) Hatboro Horsham at (4) West Chester Rustin
(20) North Penn at (13) Pennsbury
(28) Cheltenham at (5) Coatesville
(21) Boyertown at (12) Norristown
(31) Oxford at (2) Penn Wood
(18) West Chester Henderson at (15) Bensalem
(26) Abington at (7) Neshaminy
(23) Central Bucks West at (10) Wissahickon
(30) Glen Mills at (3) Souderton
(19) Ridley at (14) Central Bucks South
(27) Quakertown at (6) Council Rock North
(22) Conestoga at (11) Chester
Second Round: Feb. 23
Quarterfinals: Feb. 26
Semifinals: March 2, at Villanova
Championship: March 6, at Villanova
NOTE: Nine (9) teams qualify for the PIAA tournament.

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District One Class AAA Playoffs
(Higher seeds host in first two rounds)
First Round – Feb. 24
(9)Harriton at (8) Marple Newtowna
(12) Upper Merion at (5) Upper Perkiomen
(10) Pottstown at (7) Lower Moreland
(11) Phoenixville at (6) Strath Haven
Quarterfinals – Feb. 27
Harriton/Marple Newtown winner at (1) Holy Ghost Prep
Upper Merion/Upper Perkiomen winner at (4) Pottsgrove
Pottstown/Lower Moreland winner at (2) Octorara
Phoenixville/Strath Haven winner at (3) Springfield
Semifinals: March 3
Championship: March 6, at Villanova
NOTE: Three (3) teams qualify for the PIAA tournament.