WESTERN CLASS A

FAVORITES: A favorite is hard, if not impossible, to find in this tournament. Deering finished No. 1 but was beaten twice by No. 2 Portland, the second time when the Rams scored only 22 points. All of this weekend’s four quarterfinal round games could go either way. “I haven’t seen 1 through 8 parity like this in about 20 years,” said Portland Coach Joe Russo. Having said that, Russo still feels the top four seeds have the best chance of winning the regional title. “There are going to be a lot of close games,” he said.

WATCH OUT FOR: Everyone else. No. 6 Marshwood could be tough to beat. The Hawks have height, scorers and strong guards. Their quarterfinal-round opponent, Bonny Eagle, made it to last year’s regional final before losing to Cheverus. Cheverus struggled late in the season but could bounce back and be the tournament team of recent years.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bobby Cote, senior, guard, Biddeford (22.5 ppg); Peter Donato, senior, forward, Portland (8.1 rpg); Louie DiStasio, senior, guard, Cheverus (16.8 ppg); Dustin Cole, sophomore, guard, Bonny Eagle (17.0 ppg); Matt Crosby, senior, forward, Marshwood (16.2 ppg); Cole Libby, sophomore. guard, Bonny Eagle (15.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg)

DID YOU KNOW: There are three veteran coaches in the tournament who coached players who are coaches with teams in the regional tournament. Bob Brown of Cheverus coached Mike Zamarchi of Marshwood at USM; Joe Russo of Portland coached Deering Coach Dan LeGage at Portland; and Mike Fecteau of Biddeford coached Phil Bourassa of Bonny Eagle at Biddeford.

WESTERN CLASS B

FAVORITES: At 18-0, Falmouth has to be the favorite, but it could be a tenuous role. “I guess we would be the favorite but I feel it’s wide open,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. The Yachtsmen won three overtime games in the regular season and had three other close games. They survived the close ones, but can they continue to do it?

WATCH OUT FOR: Several in the field are capable of winning it. “I see it as wide open,” said Leavitt Coach Mike Hathaway. Leavitt, Lincoln Academy and Spruce Mountain are three teams the Western Maine Conference is unfamiliar with, although the Leavitt and York quarterfinal matchup is a repeat of last year. York is deep and athletic. Wells enters the quarterfinals with a prelim win over Cape Elizabeth. Yarmouth is a scrappy team. Poland has standout Jake Littlefield back.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Matt Packard, senior, guard, Falmouth (15.3 ppg); Josh Britten, senior, guard, Yarmouth (21.8 ppg), Jordan Hersom, senior, forward, Leavitt (18.0 ppg, 16 reb. ppg); Jake Moody, sophomore, guard, Wells (18.4 ppg); Aaron Todd, junior, center, York (10.9 ppg)

DID YOU KNOW: Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan has coached one father-and-son combination in his 25-year tenure with the Yachtsmen. In his first season, Halligan coached Scott Lydick, whose son, Jeremy, is a senior forward for the Yachtsmen. Scott Lydick served as assistant principal briefly before entering the family business.

WESTERN CLASS C

FAVORITES: Top-ranked Dirigo (17-1) gets the nod, but the rest of the field, particularly the teams right after the Cougars, are closely bunched, “I feel it’s a pretty wide open tournament,” said Old Orchard Beach Coach John Regan. “Dirigo has to be favored but the rest of us are pretty even, Anything could happen.” Dirigo has four players back from last year’s regional championship.

WATCH OUT FOR: No. 2 Waynflete, which played a strong schedule with some Class B schools, has a balanced offense with seven players averaging six points or more. No. 3 Boothbay Region has tradition and its quarterfinal opponent, No. 6 Old Orchard Beach, looked good in the prelim game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Cody St. Germain, senior, center, Dirigo (20.2 ppg); Ben Holmes, senior, forward, Dirigo (10.7 ppg); Anthony DiMauro, junior, guard, Boothbay Region (14.0 ppg); Quincy Grace, junior, center, Old Orchard Beach (12.5 ppg); Serge Nyirikamba, sophomore, forward, Waynflete, (10.0 ppg); Austin Kane, junior, forward, Madison (14.0 ppg)

DID YOU KNOW: Waynflete Coach Rich Henry and Maine Public Broadcasting tourney coverage man Bim Gibson were in the same French class at the University of Maine in 1985.

WESTERN CLASS D

FAVORITES: Top-ranked Hyde is the favorite but after that it’s pretty wide open. The East-West Conference was about as even as it has been. No. 2 Forest Hills, No. 3 Valley, No. 4 Greenville and No. 5 Vinalhaven beat each other during the season. “On any given night, any one of us could win,” said Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero.

WATCH OUT FOR: Forest Hills and Valley. Valley lost twice to Hyde in good games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Evan Worster, junior, forward, Forest Hills (25.0 ppg); Carrington Miller, junior, forward, Valley (20.5 ppg): Steven Osgood, senior, guard, Vinalhaven (13.0)

DID YOU KNOW: With three freshmen starters, Forest Hills enters the tournament with an 11-game winning streak.