woe is us

With Coach Anderson poised to make his last run at a district championship as coach of the Warriors, perhaps it was reasonable to find him a bit lugubrious.  The nine day layoff before the first district game was a legitimate concern.  The coach noted that not only could the layoff produced by the bye “affect a teams play,” but it could also potentially affect the seeding in the state tournament.  At the time, seeding was based solely on won / loss records and one less win could result in a lower seed.  Coach Anderson had always been consistent in his assessment of district play being a new season in which previous performance meant little.  With the announcement of his retirement, the coach was probably feeling even more anxious.

Added to the usual coach anxiety in 1994 was a feeling of perplexity over the plight of the lower classes.  Class A had had a wildcard birth for the state tournament for a number of years, but the lower classes still had to win their district to make the state tournament field.  Coach Anderson:  “We have to prove ourselves one more time before we get back to Lincoln.  In Class A, the big boys get pampered.  We have a system that rewards Class A, but does nothing for Class B on down.”

As others assessed the Warriors’ position, they might not have had much sympathy.  The “woe is us” outlook would get a roll of the eyes from most other coaches who would have loved to take a top seed in the district and would have seen the bye as one easy step toward the ultimate goal.  While the Warriors might have seen a state tournament bid as something they were due given their season record, others saw the district tournament as a last opportunity to make state even though their record might not be too impressive.

Coach Anderson did acknowledge that the Warriors’ position was not unique:  “We’re not the lone Joe in this.  Norris is looking at that.  GICC is looking at it.  Hastings Adams Central is looking at it.”  A survey of the season end rankings reflected the coach’s reasoning.  Norris was ranked #2 with a perfect 21 – 0 record and would face an eighth ranked Fairbury team in its district.  Hastings Adam Central at 18 - 1 and Grand Island Central Catholic at 17 - 2 were in the same district.  In the end, Norris would be the only one of the three to qualify as both Adams Central and GICC would lose to McCook.  Those upset losses corroborate Coach Anderson’s apprehension about district play.

Some might have looked at Wahoo’s district opponents and concluded that Wahoo didn’t have anything to cry about.  They certainly had it easier than Adams Central or GICC.  The only credible threat to Wahoo’s return to state seemed to be Omaha Roncalli with a record of 13 – 9.  But the Crimson Pride was ranked #7 for a reason.  They had lost some games early, but won 13 of their final 14 regular season games.  When Elkhorn won its first round game and became Wahoo’s opponent in the semi-finals, Coach Anderson pointed out that one of Roncalli’s losses was to Elkhorn.

While others were penciling in Wahoo for an eighth consecutive trip to the state tournament, the Wahoo coach was presenting the Warriors as the team with no game, a downtrodden victim with an uphill battle ahead.  For the most part, the “woe is us” refrain fell on deaf ears.  But when Elkhorn held the potent Warriors to only 6 points through the first three and a half minutes of the semifinal game, and led 8 – 6, some began to think the Wahoo mentor might have had a point.