CORTEZ – With the basketball season beginning its three-week sprint toward crowning its state champions across six classifications, district play officially signifies the business end of the campaign, as the state will shave down its three small-school classifications to 32 teams apiece by the conclusion of the weekend.

Dove Creek, Mancos, Dolores and Montezuma-Cortez all enter the weekend hoping their performances during action on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will solidify their positioning in their respective state tournament bracket, which will begin play in the first weekend in March.

The Panthers will play on a familiar floor in their district journey – one on which both programs have already enjoyed regular season success – when they visit Bayfield for their IML-heavy district action.

For the girls, M-CHS (10-9, 6-4 4A/3A IML) enters the fray as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, and will face No. 3 seed Ignacio (7-12, 3-7 4A/3A IML) for the third time this season, having already toppled the Bobcats twice in the regular season. While the Panthers assured themselves a spot in the field of 32 because of their No. 12 seed in the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index, M-CHS enters the tournament with the possibility of earning a host site in the regional round – if they’re able to win the district title.

Their path will require them to win on Friday night at 5 p.m. against the Bobcats, then face the winner of No. 1 Centauri or either No. 4 Crested Butte or No. 5 Bayfield in the title game on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The contest against Ignacio, as well as their next round matchup, will be broadcast on local radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ and krtzradio.com.

On the boys side, the No. 3 Panthers (7-12, 4-6 4A/3A IML) avoided the pigtail game courtesy of their regular season-capping win over Ignacio, which means that their path to a district title will pit them against an unfamiliar foe in the district semis – No. 2 Crested Butte (15-4, 6-1 3A/2A Southern Peaks). Their 6:30 p.m. clash on Friday will send the winner to face No. 1 Centauri, No. 4 Ignacio or No. 5 Bayfield in the district finals.

The Panthers enter the districts with a No. 25 billing in the 3A rankings, which bodes well for a regional appearance, even without a district title – but at least one win this weekend would make sure the Panthers are breathing easier when the 3A state tournament seedings are unveiled at the end of the weekend’s action. Much like the girls game, the boys contest will also be available for fans on 98.7 FM KRTZ and krtzradio.com.

For both the Bluejays, the formula for a top-eight seed in the 2A state tournament is almost identical. Both teams enter their respective tournament action in Telluride as the No. 1 seed, with the boys (15-4, 8-1 2A/1A SJBL) facing No. 4 Dolores (4-15, 0-9 2A/1A SJBL) in the semifinals on Friday night at 5:30 p.m., while the girls (14-5, 7-1 2A/1A SJBL) take on No. 4 Telluride (1-17, 1-7 2A/1A SJBL) at 4 p.m.

Both teams also have the chance – with a district title – to earn a spot as a regional host site in the following weekend’s tournament, thanks to both teams residing in the top 16 in the state rankings.

The winner of the Mancos-Dolores boys game will face either No. 2 Telluride or No. 3 Ridgway in the district final at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, while the girls final will pit the winner of Mancos-Telluride against either No. 2 Ridgway or No. 3 Dolores (3-16, 1-7 2A/1A SJBL).

Both Dolores squads, who sit well outside the top 32, recognize that their path to continue their season for another week will require them to win the district tournament title to nab the automatic bid that comes along as the primary prize.

The Bulldogs girls enter the district tournament with a clear goal in mind – sweep through action in Olathe and ensure more games at The Dawg House. As the district No. 1 seed (16-2, 6-0 2A/1A SJBL), Dove Creek – No. 7 in the state’s 1A standings – looks to continue their recent run of domination in district play as they face off against either No. 4 Caprock Academy (7-11, 2-8 2A/1A WSL) or No. 5 North Park (3-15, 2-6 2A/1A WSL) in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., with the winner taking on either No. 2 DeBeque or No. 3 Nucla in the district final on Saturday at noon

Meanwhile, the Bulldog boys (7-12, 4-4 2A/1A SJBL) visit Olathe as the No. 31 team in the 1A state standings, which means that their opening round matchup against Caprock Academy carries major significance toward their vision of ensuring a spot in the 1A state bracket. In the district tournament, the ‘Dogs are the No. 3 seed, and a win versus the No. 6 Eagles on Thursday night at 7 p.m. would earn Dove Creek the right to meet league rival No. 2 Nucla in the district semifinals on Friday night at 8 p.m.

DeBeque owns the top seed in the district, while No. 4 Ouray meets No. 5 North Park in the other half of the bracket. The district finals will be played on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. from Olathe High School. Action for all Dove Creek contests will be carried on either 98.7 FM KRTZ or 740 AM and 92.3 FM KVFC, also available on either krtzradio.com or kvfcradio.com.