"We should have played Saturday. Being the number one rated team in the district, I think they penalize the good team by not letting you play in the first round." -- Coach Anderson

YEAR opponent margin
1988
Plattsmouth
53
1989
Ashland
50
1990
Ashland
57
1991
Ashland
52
1992
Omaha Cathedral
62
1993
Gretna
49
First round games had not proven to be much of a problem for the Warriors in the past and in 1994, Coach Anderson wanted to play one.

"We have to prove ourselves one more time before we get back to Lincoln." -- Coach Anderson
NO GAME

The 1994 Warriors had “no game.”  That phrase is sometimes used to indicate that a player or team was substandard, but in this case, when Wahoo entered district play, the more literal meaning would apply.   The Warriors had completed another extremely successful season and found themselves in the familiar role as the top seed in the District Tournament.  But this year there was one major difference.  Normally the top seed gets a fairly easy game in the first round as they face off against the poorest team in the district.  In 1994, the Warriors drew the easiest of opponents – “bye.”  Many would see this as a good thing; a no risk victory that moved the team into the semifinals with only two games to win to make the state tournament.  But Wahoo coach, Mick Anderson saw it differently.  The first round of the tournament was on Saturday, February 26th with the winners playing the semifinals on Monday, February 28th.  Wahoo’s last regular season game, the 93 – 77 win over GICC, had been on Saturday, February 19th.   Coach Anderson saw the nine days between games as a disadvantage for Wahoo:  “It’s just too long of a layoff between games at this time of the year.”  Many would quickly point out that the other side of that coin was avoiding the possibility of an upset loss.  Coach Anderson himself had said many times that come district tournament, “anything can happen.”  But history showed that during Wahoo’s seven year run at the state tournament, the Warriors had easily dominated first round opponents, winning by an average margin of 54 points, the closest game being the 82 – 33 win over Gretna in 1993.  With his #1 ranked Warriors sitting on the sidelines as the other six teams got their feet wet in district play, Coach Anderson feared that his team may not be as “sharp” as they could be.  He was right.  The Warriors had no game, and it was a problem.