By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

In Eastern Class A, they’re moving from the Mecca to the Capital. In Western Class B, they’re moving from the Capital to the Old Port.

This weekend, basketball fans in central and southern Maine will finally see first-hand the pros and cons of the geographic shift undertaken by the Maine Principals’ Association, which has moved the Eastern A tournament from the Bangor Auditorium to the Augusta Civic Center and the Western B bracket from the ACC to the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Fans may not be able to decide whether they like the changes or not until they’ve fully absorbed the basketball atmosphere in each arena, but coaches, whether their teams benefit geographically from the venue switches or not, are embracing them.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey said. “It’s obviously a lot closer. It’s a better facility. I’m 110 percent in favor of playing down there.”

Mountain Valley coach Dave Gerrish, who will accompany his top-seeded Falcons on the two-hour bus trip to Portland, played at the CCCC shortly after it opened as a member of Rumford High’s back-to-back state championship squads in 1976 and 1977.

“I enjoyed playing there,” Gerrish said. “It’s like playing on a stage.”

All together, 32 teams will be taking the stage in Eastern A and Western B, C and D starting tonight. Here’s a glance at each region:

Class A

Last year’s Eastern A bracket was chock full of upsets and this year’s seems to following suit already with 13th-seeded Cony knocking out the hottest team entering the tournament, No. 4 Edward Little, in the prelims. No. 7 Bangor may have last year on its mind when it meets No. 2 Hampden Academy in the quarterfinals. The Broncos, a ninth seed then, knocked out the Rams in the quarterfinals when the latter was the top seed playing its last tournament in its home town.

Hampden went on to win the state championship and, with 6-foot-10 University of Maine-bound center Jordan Cook back patrolling the paint, is well-equipped to repeat. Top-seeded Brunswick is one of the teams looking to dethrone the Broncos, but the Dragons will have their hands full in the quarterfinals, too, with No. 8 Morse, which dominated them in last week’s season finale, 67-51. The Shipbuilders made a solid case for being this year’s Hampden with consecutive wins over Gardiner and Brunswick to end the regular season.

Gardiner, the No. 3 seed, has drawn No. 6 Mt. Blue in the first meeting this season between KVAC South and North powers. The Cougars don’t have anyone with the size to match up with the Tigers talented 6-foot-7 center Sean McNally, but they boast a very athletic frontcourt led by Noah Paytas and Adam Gilbert that will test Gardiner’s speed and stamina.

Class B

Has an undefeated regular season in the Class C-laden Mountain Valley Conference prepared Mountain Valley for the Class B tournament? Fairly or unfairly, the question continues to follow the Falcons, regardless of the change in venue.

Unlike previous years, when they were usually a No. 3 or No. 4 seed, the Falcons have the advantage of being the top seed this year. With versatile center Andy Shorey, rugged power forward Travis Fergola, and scrappy guards D.J. Gerrish, Byron Glaus and Marcus Palmer, they’re balanced at both ends of the floor, and no team will work harder at the defensive end in the tournament.

In the quarterfinals, the Falcons will meet No. 8 Lincoln Academy, the only Western Maine representative from what was a very deep and competitive KVAC this year.

The rest of the field is made up of Western Maine Conference teams. Notably absent among them is Gorham, which won five of the last six regionals before moving up to Class A this year. Is another WMC team the heir apparent?

Cape Elizabeth won the WMC championship this year and is a formidable No. 2 seed with an athletic nucleus led by 6-foot-7 center Joe Geoghegan. The Capers probably won’t be able to intimidate their quarterfinal foe, Poland, however, because the Knights have a 6-foot-7 post presence of their own in Jon Lecznar and actually split their two regular-season meetings with Cape.

Third-seeded Falmouth boasts the WMC’s top scorer in Bryant Barr (27.7 ppg) and its top rebounder in Ryan Gipson.

In Eastern Class B, Maranacook is the top seed. The 17-1 Black Bears had to take some comfort in the knowledge that the only team to beat them this year, Camden Hills, was knocked out of the region in the prelims.

The bad news is, the team that knocked the reigning Class B champions out, No. 8 Mattanawcook, awaits them in the quarterfinals.

Class C

The top two seeds this year are no surprise. Boothbay and Winthrop were both young teams on the rise last year and hope to take the next step this year. Junior Pat Norton and sophomore Kris Noonan give Boothbay the best frontcourt tandem in the region. Winthrop doesn’t have as much size up front, but has plenty of speed and quickness with Tyler Smithgall, brother Mike and Tim Gingras and point guard Sam Leclerc.

Middle seeds Dirigo and North Yarmouth Academy should challenge the top dogs, but both will have to survive some intriguing match-ups in the quarterfinals. Dirigo has perhaps the most balanced team in the tournament, led by Spencer Berry and Mike Holmquist, and hopes head coach Gavin Kane’s success with the Cougar girls at the Augusta Civic Center rubs off. They’ll be tested by an athletic No. 6 seed in Traip that won’t mind going up and down the floor with them.

NYA, led by perhaps the best all-around player in the bracket, 1,000-career-point scorer Brian Chin, takes on No. 5 Telstar and their 1,000-point scorer Sean Caddigan.

Class D

Valley of Bingham looks to extend its record with a ninth consecutive regional title, but the Cavaliers may face a tougher road than ever. No. 2 Richmond handed Valley its first East-West Conference loss since 1997 back on Opening Day. No. 3 Rangeley, led by Justin Gallant and David Jensen, boasts one of its deepest squads in years.

The Lakers will meet No. 6 Buckfield, which is led by Jeff Bennett and Jamie Henderson.