Zone tournament should be tough, even with smaller field

Missouri's eastern zone tournament is down to five teams this year, but don't let the smaller field fool you — this is one tough bunch.

Defending state champion Festus (20-3) heads up a solid field that sets out on the three-day schedule Friday. All games are at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.

This year's field — minus Perryville, which disbanded midway through the season — will play first-round games Friday, followed by one game Saturday and two Sunday, including the championship.

Behind Festus, Eureka (33-6) returns as a district champion after it finished second to Festus in last year's zone championship. Cape Girardeau (37-11) and Dunklin County (37-8) advanced from district 14, and American Veterans Post 67 advanced from its metro St. Louis district.

Friday's games feature Dunklin County vs. AmVets at 2 p.m., Cape Girardeau vs. Eureka at 5, and Festus vs. the Dunklin County-AmVets winner at 8.

Saturday features games at 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Sunday's games start at 2, followed by the championship at 5. A final if-necessary tie-breaker game could be played Monday.

Zone winners move on to the state championship in Sedalia next weekend.