Southern Arizona schools were nearly absent from the top four seeds in the six Division I-III state boys and girls soccer tournaments that opened mid-week with first-round matches.

That section of the state, however, remains well-represented Saturday afternoon in quarterfinal matches around the state -- particularly Tucson schools.

Division II is the hotbed with boys teams from Nogales (#8), Salpointe (#5) and Catalina Foothills (#6) and girls squads from Catalina Foothills (#3), Ironwood Ridge (#6) and Sabino (#15) still alive. Division III boasts Palo Verde boys (#13) , Palo Verde girls (#1) and Douglas boys (#7). Catalina Foothills is a defending champion for boys and girls (4A-I last year).

Tucson schools were very successful in the opening rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, winning seven of 10 matches. By virtue of seed on Saturday, Tucson schools are the lower seed in four of the six quarterfinal matches.

It's a good bet strong Southern Arizona representation will follow for next week's semifinals as well.