Which playoff regions provided the most bang for the buck?

[caption id="attachment_21280" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Artie Guerrero Photo by Artie Guerrero[/caption] The state semifinals loom across the state, giving us a chance to look back at the most exciting Regions from each classification. Class 6A – DII Region I The high school playoffs started with a bang, and that bang came in the form of an upset victory by Southlake Carroll over two-time defending state champion Cedar Hill. The next week, Southlake Carroll was knocked off by Denton Guyer. Eventually, Mansfield claimed the championship by knocking off Denton Guyer. Mansfield beat Arlington Lamar to reach the Regionals. Class 5A – DII Region II Ennis lost in the first round and Frisco Lone Star cruised to the regional championship, just like we all predicted, right? Ennis was another defending champion to fall in the first round, dropping a one-point game to Hallsville. There were so many good games in this Region. Eventually, Marshall and Lone Star emerged in the top-half of the bracket, but Lone Star was too much. The team from Frisco beat Lancaster to capture the crown. Class 4A – DI Region III Well, hi there, Carthage, it is nice to see you again. The Bulldogs didn’t win district, but they did win their region after upsetting defending state champion Navasota in the regional semifinals before closing the deal with a win over a very good Silsbee team. That Silsbee team reached the finals with wins over Chapel Hill, Sealy and El Campo. Class 3A – DI Region II Mineola, a defending state champion, went undefeated through the regular season for the first time since 1966. It was expected, however, that teams would push Mineola for the Region III championship in Class 3A DI. It wasn’t an easy trip back to the state semifinals for Mineola, but it was definitely entertaining. Mineola scratched past Whitesboro, winning 21-15. This region was also home to a solid run by White Oak, which beat Pottsboro. Class 2A – DI Region IV It wasn’t that Refugio emerged, once again, as the champion of Region IV. It was how Refugio dispatched of the group that was so impressive. It started in the bi-district round with a 42-7 victory over a Mason program ranked as one of the best in the state throughout the year. In its quest to reign over Region IV once again, Refugio was unmatched until a tough contest in the finals against a great Shiner team. Refugio came out on top and advanced to another state semifinal.