It’s now officially winter, but the Portal Panthers remain red-hot as they prepare to welcome in teams from around the region to their annual holiday tournament beginning this afternoon.
    Previous tournaments have featured rivals from Portal’s home in Region 3-A, but this season brings in some notable programs from larger classifications.
    For the Panthers (5-2), their three-game slate will consist of all higher-classified teams. Specifically, Portal will take a quick tour through Region 2-AA. The Panthers take on Long County tonight and will play Bryan County Saturday before lacing things up against Vidalia Monday night in the tournament finale.
    “It’s all about keeping our intensity high,” Portal coach Jeff Brannen said. “You’ve got school out and region games don’t start up again until the new year. It can be easy to slip a little without playing games. I’m one of those coaches who would much rather be playing games during the break than just practicing.”
    The fact that the Panthers’ tournament has started to draw the focus of larger schools will serve as a huge benefit this season.
    In Class A, state playoff participants are selected based on rankings in a statewide power poll. For each game against a school from a higher classification, a small bonus is added to a Class A school’s rating for that game. The bonus can continue to grow throughout the season as credit is given to Class A programs not only for their wins, but for the records of their opponents.
    Seeing as how Vidalia and Bryan County both rank in the top-5 in the current Class AA polls, the Panthers could stand to receive quite an extra bump. In fact, all but one of the Panthers’ non-region games this season will be played against teams from higher classifications.
    “There’s definitely some strategy to scheduling that way,” Brannen said. “But our main focus is to challenge ourselves. We want to push ourselves to be able to compete and win against good teams, no matter what level they play at. We’re really happy to have so many solid teams in this tournament to help us do that.”
    Portal won’t be the only county squad in action at the tournament as Southeast Bulloch will also join the party.
    The Yellow Jackets (4-7) will be playing in their second tournament in as many weekends.
    SEB stunned perennial state power Westover in its first game in Albany last weekend and gave the Class AAAAAA  squad from Lee County a big run for its money.
    While the Jackets’ overall record might not be intimidating, they have been holding their own in one of the toughest Class AAA regions in the state and have given a few scares to some teams that figure to be playing well into the postseason. They’ll have another chance to knock off a state power as they draw a 4:30 p.m. tipoff against Vidalia this afternoon.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9408.