BRUNSWICK

All the I’s have been dotted and all the T’s have been crossed, and it is time for the second season of high school basketball to begin.

Now comes the biggest challenges of the year, where the venues change to bigger settings and the nerves often serve to unsettle even the strongest of teams.

Beginning this weekend, the quarterfinals get underway at the Portland Expo, Augusta Civic Center and Cross Arena in Bangor.

Where do your Midcoast teams stack up?

Here is a capsule look at the eight area squads hoping for a long run to the Gold Ball:

Class A South girls

Betting odds had the athletes from Brunswick and Greely vying for the top spot in the region, and the Dragons and Rangers sure didn’t disappoint.

Sam Farrell’s Brunswick squad, the defending Class A South regional champions, went undefeated and earned the top seed. In many of their games, the Dragons ran away early and were never threatened.

However, there were three games — close wins over Lawrence and Edward Little, along with a buzzer-beating thriller over the Rangers — that challenged the Dragons for 32 minutes.

“The close games we’ve had really strengthened and focused our team,” said Farrell, whose squad takes on No. 9 Falmouth (58-54 preliminary winner over Morse) at the Portland Expo on Monday at 7:30 p.m. “Those games show how important preparations are and that every possession is important.”

Brunswick’s side of the bracket features the Yachtsmen, who the Dragons defeated 54-27 on Dec. 15, along with No. 4 York (10-8) and No. 5 Kennebunk (10-8), teams Brunswick didn’t face during the regular season.

The other bracket has No. 2 Greely (16-2), No. 3 Marshwood ( 17- 1), No. 6 Lincoln Academy (9-9) and No. 7 Leavitt (9-9).

“The A South tourney is packed with talented teams,” Farrell said. “Falmouth is much better than its record. They have a lot of weapons that we have to prepare for. Greely is still the class of the league and maybe has the best player in the state (Anna DeWolfe). Marshwood had an amazing year, and York and Kennebunk are on our side of the bracket and they bring talent and experience to the tourney.”

Still, Farrell has confidence in his team, a Dragons squad that averaged nearly 67 points (66.8) and allowed a tad over 32 (32.1) a contest.

“The biggest factor for us this year is that the whole team works extremely hard in practice,” said Farrell. “Whether they’re a starter or not, all the girls push so hard in practice. They have extremely high standards for themselves and their teammates, which has allowed us to have outstanding practices every day. Every kid is so important to the team. We’ve seen that in games where you never know who is going to step up, but we’ve seen that in each practice.

“The team has truly bought into what we do as a team. They understand that you can’t take off plays on defense, and they compete offensively and defensively on every possession. Also, they don’t care about who gets the credit. All they care about is that they win or lose as a team. If the team is successful, then all the players are successful.”

Class A South boys

Todd Hanson’s Brunswick boys are the No. 7 seed and face second-seeded Biddeford Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. inside the Portland Expo.

The teams met once, with the visiting Tigers earning a 67-58 victory on Feb. 1. In the rematch, Hanson hopes his Dragons have learned enough since to contend.

“Probably the biggest takeaway was that we can’t take any possessions off. We do not want to get into an ‘up and down’ game with them, and expect to trade threes. We need to control tempo, and have great possessions on both ends of the floor every time down,” said the coach.

Hanson began the season looking to replace several players lost to graduation, and injuries to key players hurt. However, a 4-0 start helped to get the Dragons off to a good beginning, and a five-game winning streak during the midseason, and a season-closing 68-38 win over rival Mt. Ararat, kept Brunswick away from a prelim game.

“We have had success when we’ve been patient offensively,” Hanson said. “We’ve got a couple of knockdown shooters in Dawson (Hebert) and Noah (Cox), and when we go ‘inside out’ with our post (Colby Bucknam) we seem to get a much better look than if we simply take the first available shot. Defensively our guys have worked extremely hard. We are not a full-court pressure type team, but do a pretty good job with our defensive sets.

“Also, having Sam Sharpe and Colby Bucknam on the floor at the same time has been a bonus for us. Due to injuries, they have only played three full games out of a total of 18 games together. I’m hopeful that we can get those two back on the court at the same time.”

The prohibitive favorite in the region is undefeated Greely, with dangerous teams Westbrook (12-6, No. 3) and Falmouth (9-9, No. 4) lurking. No. 5. York (11-7) and No. 6 Kennebunk (11-7) look to pull off an upset an two.

Class B South girls

Mike Hart’s Freeport Falcons had a shot at the top seed, but a regular-season closing 52-43 loss to defend- ing State Class B champion Gray-New Gloucester knocked the Falcons down to the No. 3 spot.

Freeport faces sixth-seeded Wells (10-8) on Tuesday (10 a.m.) in the quarters.

Hart feels that the Warriors will be a tough out.

“They are a well-rounded, well-coached team that can go inside and play scrappy and aggressive,” said Hart of the Warriors, a team his Falcons defeated, 60-41, late in the regular season. “This is the second season and everyone has a chance. Playing at the Expo gives you a different setting, a different backdrop, so we are going to approach it as a road game.”

Freeport went 14-4 during the regular season, featuring a strong starting five and a deep bench.

“We’ve had so many contributors this year, from sophomores to seniors who have each stepped up,” Hart said. “Our practices are intense, and that has prepared us well for games.”

The top-seeded Patriots (14-4) face No. 8 Spruce Mountain (10-9), while No. 2 Poland (14-4) takes on No. 7 Mountain Valley (11-7), and fourth-seeded Lake Region (13-5) meets No. 5 Oak Hill (14-4) in the other quarterfinals.

Class B South boys

Freeport is off to the Expo for the first time in more than a decade and will face top-seeded Wells in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Falcons are familiar with the Warriors, having knocked them off on the road, 52-37, during a key late-season three-game winning streak. Freeport defeated No. 9 Lisbon, 66-44, in the prelims on Tuesday.

Freeport is among the teams in an open region, where all eight squads can make an argument that they can head to the state final. Cape Elizabeth (11-7) is seeded second, followed by Yarmouth (12-6), Spruce Mountain (13-5), Gray-New Gloucester (11-7), Maranacook (13-5) and Mountain Valley (11-7).

Class C South boys

Richmond coach Phil Houdlette began the season knowing that his new schedule was going to provide challenges for his squad.

Houdlette was right on after his Bobcats, playing in the Mountain Valley Conference this season, faced stern tests night after night on the way to a solid 13-5 mark and the No. 5 seed.

“There weren’t many games on the schedule where you could say, ‘I know this is a win,’” said Houdlette. “Every night it was a grind, which I hope translates into being prepared for the tournament. The kids embraced the challenge, knowing night in and out that the games would be tight and execution of what we do would be our path to victory.”

Richmond faces No. 4 Dirigo at the Augusta Civic Center in the quarterfinals on Monday (7 p.m.), a team the Bobcats defeated, 68-62 on Jan. 10 in Richmond.

This region looks to be wide open, with Hall-Dale the top seed after a stellar 17- 1 season, its only loss coming at the hands of Dirigo. The Bulldogs face Traip Academy in the quarters, while No. 2 Winthrop faces MVC rival Madison, along with third-seeded Waynflete facing No. 6 Boothbay.

For Houdlette, it is about his unit avoiding the pitfalls that often doom teams in Augusta.

“We need to stay out of foul trouble, play east and west defense, and keep teams off the offensive glass,” said the coach. “Dirigo is well-coached and has somewhat of the same things to prove after last year as we do. It will take a team effort to achieve our goal of moving on. We are more than capable of attaining this goal, but it won’t be easy.”

Class C South girls

Mike Ladner’s Bobcats faced the same MVC challenges this year, with tough games on most nights.

Richmond earned the sixth-seed and downed Waynflete, 49-25 in a prelim on Tuesday. The Bobcats face No. 3 Old Orchard Beach in a rematch of last year’s semifinal, won by the Seagulls, 38-24, on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in Augusta.

Just like the Richmond boys, the Bobcats will need to avoid foul trouble, especially senior standout Sydney Underhill-Tilton, who averaged a double-double this season.

Also, Richmond will look to compliment Underhill- Tilton’s inside work with solid outside shooting.

“When we have struggled, we have had difficulty making that big outside shot,” said Ladner.

Boothbay is the No. 1 seed after a dominating 18-0 regular season and will face No. 9 Traip Academy (9-10) in the quarters. Other quarterfinal matchups are No. 2 Monmouth (17-1) vs. No. 10 St. Dom’s (11-8); and No. 4 Madison (16-3) vs. No. 12 Mt. Abram (11-8).

Class D South

Both the Pine Tree Academy boys and girls have advanced to the Class D South quarterfinals at the Augusta Civic Center and will play on Monday — the boys at 10 a.m. vs. AR Gould (14-4) of Portland and the girls vs. Rangeley (16-2) at 11:30 a.m.

The Breaker boys faced AR Gould twice during the season, falling 56-49 and 57- 53. PTA is seeded sixth after a 9-9 season, while third-seeded AR Gould is 14-4.

Greenville (16-2) is the top seed in the region and meets No. 8 Rangeley (9-9) on Saturday. Second-seeded Valley (13-5) takes on No. 7 Temple (9-9), and No. 4 Forest Hills (13-5) faces fifth-seeded Seacoast Christian (11-7).

The PTA girls struggled throughout the season, finishing 5-13 for the No. 7 seed.

The two meetings with Rangeley came within a 24- hour period, with the Lakers rolling 49-10 at Central Maine Community College in Auburn and winning the next day in Freeport, 29-19.

Defending State Class D champ Vinalhaven is the No. 1 seed after a perfect regular season. The Vikings face No. 8 Valley (6-12). No. 3 Temple (11-7) meets No. 6 Islesboro (4-9), and No. 4 Greenville (9- 9) faces fifth-seeded Seacoast Christian (9-9) in the other quarterfinals.