When looking back at the success of the Wahoo basketball program it is easy to overlook the District Tournament Championships. Those achievements are often washed out by the glare of the impressive string of wins and State Championships. But those District Championships were outstanding in their own right. From 1987 until 1996, Wahoo would win ten consecutive District Championships. These were the days before the “wild card” ticket to Lincoln -- no matter how successful during the season, one loss at District and the team would not appear in Lincoln. The 1988 Warriors approached the tournament with the assurance that they had faced such pressure on the basketball court a year before and had prevailed. But some of them, most notably Steve Carmer and Troy Glock, would also remember the experience of 1986 when the Warriors fell short in the District Championship.
In 1988 the Nebraska State Activities Association divided basketball teams into six classes (A, B, C1, C2, D1, D2) with the 32 largest schools being in Class A, while the next 64 were in Class B, etc. During the 1980’s Wahoo had been classified C1, but changing enrollments put the school into Class B in 1987 - 88. Needless to say, Wahoo was one of the smaller schools in Class B. Their B2 District included Waverly, Ashland, Gretna, Raymond Central, Platteview, Plattsmouth, and Omaha St. Joseph. There was one small advantage to being in Class B. The District had the option of playing first round games at home. So, with Wahoo’s 17 - 1 record, they claimed the number one seed and got a home game.
And of course with the #1 seed came the privilege of playing the #8 seed, in this case Plattsmouth, who brought a record the opposite of Wahoo’s into the game, 0 - 17. The game went pretty much as expected with Wahoo dominating and bench players getting considerable court time. Five of the nonstarters scored and Shawn Liliedahl put up 11 points. Plattsmouth coach, Steve Daniell, who had moved to Plattsmouth from his Yutan position that year, tried to slow the game down, but to no avail. Wahoo used its trapping 1-3-1 zone to create steals and easy scoring opportunities. After taking a 35 - 10 half time lead, the Warriors didn’t even miss Dan Bartek who departed in the second half to attend his sister’s wedding. With its 79 - 26 win, the Warriors advanced to the semifinals.
Get Back, Pt. 2 -- survival
View details of the game against Plattsmouth |
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| Wahoo demonstrates its precision play. Kevin Jeppson connects with Steve Carmer on a lob play in the game against Plattsmouth. |
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"They're running that (1-3-1) really well. They're starting to get that Elkhorn Mount Michael look. They're so quick." -- Steve Daniell, Plattsmouth Head Coach
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| On tying the school record for wins (17): "I think it will mean a lot once the season is over. . . We know we're going to have to play much better on Monday and Tuesday nights." -- Coach Anderson |
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