Here are some leftover notes/observations to steer us toward a busy sports weekend . . .

*Friday night (Feb. 1) signals the regular-season finales for boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, with sectionals set for next week. Pairings are expected to be released by the start of the day on Monday (Feb. 4).

*Soccer quarterfinals for boys and girls are up on Saturday (Feb. 2). All start at 2 p.m., with the exception of sites that have both boys and girls. In that case, the girls’ match would start at noon. Those sites doubling up are Phoenix Desert Vista, Gilbert Campo Verde and Tucson Palo Verde.

*Some of the top boys’ matchups are: Chandler Hamilton at Phoenix Brophy Prep and Tolleson at Phoenix Carl Hayden (both Division I), Buckeye Verrado at Tucson Salpointe Catholic and Glendale Apollo at Campo Verde (both Division II), and Phoenix Northwest Christian at Phoenix Cortez (Division III).

Some of the top girls’ matchups are: Anthem Boulder Creek at Gilbert Highland (Division I), Tucson Ironwood Ridge at Tucson Catalina Foothills and Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep at Flagstaff (Division II), and Glendale Cactus at Tucson Palo Verde (Division III).

I had an official who worked the Flagstaff-Bullhead City Mohave girls’ first-round match earlier this week in Flagstaff tell me that the Flagstaff-Notre Dame match might just be the best of the bunch. And an FYI for fans heading up north . . . the temperature for the Flagstaff-Mohave match was 27, so bundle up and put plenty of java or cocoa in your thermos. And above all, drive safely.

*It will be interesting to see how soccer officials handle matches between the more physical teams and the quicker ones. Which style will win out? Let’s hope it remains balanced. The green shirts have done a good job with a thankless job.

*If you think that some schools are ho-hum about their prospects after moving to lower divisions, think again. They are ecstatic about having more of a chance to succeed against schools of similar enrollment.

I covered two soccer matches at Phoenix Carl Hayden recently and one of the football players was assigned to track down the balls that go out of bounds. He hustled after every one and did a fine job. He saw that I represent the Arizona Interscholastic Association and asked when the new football schedules will be coming out. It likely will be sometime in the spring.

The Carl Hayden program languished in Division I for many years, and we began to see signs of a turnaround the last few years.

Next fall, the Falcons will be in Division II, Section I with Laveen Betty H. Fairfax, Phoenix Camelback, Glendale Copper Canyon, Avondale La Joya, Phoenix St. Mary’s, Phoenix Sunnyslope, Tolleson and Phoenix Trevor Browne. Good luck to all.

*Since it’s winter, we give a tip of the wool cap/hoodie to Phoenix Country Day School assistant athletic director Bob Kosower, longtime educator and athletic official in the Valley who also has served in several capacities for the AIA.

There was a shortage of manpower to chase down soccer balls out of bounds in a girls’ tournament match against Glendale Cactus at Buckeye Verrado, so Kosower spent the afternoon retrieving the shots on his team’s side. He was a real trouper, indeed.

“If we were younger, we would be able to get to them a lot faster,’’ he said, laughing.

I hear you, Bob.