1990 HOME
THE YEAR
A Lot To Talk About
Armed & Dangerous
Pursuit Of Glory
The Journey
As Expected
Back to Back to Back
The Last Word

Wahoo had risen to #3 in the All Class rankng a the end of the regular season. Class C1 Sutton was the only other team above Class D1 with an undefeated record.

As Expected


just figured we were going

Randy Hoffman, Troy Johnston, Mike Dvorak and Scott Latham, might have approached the 1990 B-2 District Tournament with a somewhat nonchalant attitude. After all, in these seniors’ high school experience, the Warriors always played in March. They had followed the varsity team to state as freshmen in ‘87; Hoffman and Dvorak had been on the varsity bench in ‘88; and all four had been in varsity uniform the previous year. But 58 game win streaks, undefeated seasons, and state championships are not born of nonchalent attitudes. When it was all over, Hoffman would acknowledge how the District title was expected: “All season long, and all through the district we knew people expected, planned and just figured we were going to the state tournament.” But he also expressed the focus of his team: “We wanted to make it back. We worked hard to get back, but I think we took this a lot more seriously than our fans.”

Indeed, it might have been easy to not take the 1990 district tournament too seriously. After all, not only hadn’t they lost a game, the Warriors hadn’t been challenged all season. When the closest game has been 24 points, it might be hard to imagine any team actually defeating Wahoo. The Warriors were recognized as the clear favorite of Class B -- ranked #1 the entire season by both the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World Herald. The only other team above Class C2 to be undefeated was Class C1 Sutton. The World Herald recognized the preeminence of the Warriors, putting them in the #3 slot on the Top Ten at the end of the regular season.

The B2 District field didn’t do much to dissuade the citizens of Wahoo who had already locked in their vacation days in anticipation of the Warriors’ annual trip to Lincoln. The only other ranked team was the #2 seed, Raymond Central; and Wahoo had already vanquished the Mustangs twice. The #3 seed, Gretna was identified as a rankings “contender;” the #4 seed, Waverly had a 9 - 9 record coming into the tournament. The other four teams were all under .500 for the year. It was far from the toughest District in the state.

With all that, and a first round opponent of Ashland whom the Warriors had defeated by 76 points earlier, Wahoo might have walked into the District Tournament with less than the required focus. That was not the case. The mantra of “one game at a time,” the constant reminder of the goal -- “to get back ... to defend,” the persistent competition in practice, the background stress of the ever lengthening “streak; all these prepared the 1990 Warriors to once again face the pressure always inherent in the District Tournament -- lose and it’s over. While others might be in for a first round surprise, the Warriors would be ready to play. They didn’t “just figure we were going.”

Part 2 -- surprises
The 1990 Class B District 2 Tournament was played at home sites the first night and then at Bellevue West High School. Click on the bracket to enlarge it.

"There's more pressure trying to get there (state tournament) than after you get there." -- Coach Anderson

12/26/09