After 18 years, Goessel boys travel to state tournament years ago
By DELBERT PETERS
Contributing writer
The last Bluebird fan leaving Goessel should remember to turn out the lights, because almost the entire town will be following the Goessel High School boys to the Class 1A State basketball tournament at Hays.
The community was beyond ready for this road trip to state. It's the first trip to the big hoop hoe-down for the Bluebirds in 18 years. The six seniors on this year's team were one year-olds when the Bluebirds last made a trip to a state basketball tournament.
They earned a trip to the tournament by winning the sub-state tournament Saturday in El Dorado.
And now, like a scene from the movie Hoosiers, there'll be a caravan of Bluebird fans making the trek to Hays for Thursday's first-round game.
Goessel (22-3) will be the fifth seed in the eight-team bracket and will play their first game at 4:45 p.m. Thursday on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Winners on Thursday will play Friday and Saturday.
"When you get to state, every team is tough, so the records really mean very little," said head coach Justin Coup. Here's how the boys got there:
Sub-state Semifinals
Goessel 60, Norwich 52
Eight three-pointers (six for Goessel and two for Norwich) dominated the first half of play Friday as the Goessel Bluebirds defeated the Norwich Eagles, 60-52, in the semifinals in the 1A sub-state tournament.
Brett Goerzen hit two three-pointers to get the Bluebird scoring started, but for every Bluebird score, the Eagles matched the basket with the inside play of 6-5 sophomore Mason Hewitt.
Jordan Voth ended the first quarter with seven of his nine points and the Bluebirds maintained an 18-16 lead at the break. Norwich pulled ahead by five points in the second quarter, but the Bluebirds worked hard and took a 32-30 lead into the locker room at half time.
In the third quarter Goessel collapsed on the Eagle's big center and the Bluebirds seemed to score after every Norwich turnover which allowed them to pull ahead 42-33. But then, Clay Terhune, Norwich's senior guard canned three three-pointers and suddenly the game was tied 42-42.
Goessel called a time-out with 7:18 to play in the game. A Brett Goerzen three-pointer gave Goessel a 50-46 lead and a Nathan Amstutz jumper boosted the lead to six points. Sheldon Goerzen's 10-foot jumper matched a Norwich basket. Two Garrett Hiebert free throws kept the lead at six points.
With every missed Eagle shot, the Bluebirds began to run time off the clock and Norwich had to foul to try to stop the clock.
Travis Buller gave the Bluebirds a six-point lead with seconds to play by hitting a free throw, and the ensuing game of "keep away" allowed Garrett Hiebert to get wide open under the basket for a lay-up.
Norwich out-rebounded the Blue
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birds 22-17, but the Bluebirds' defense forced 22 turnovers.
Scoring for the Bluebirds were Travis Buller 13; Garrett Hiebert 13; Jordan Voth 9; Brett Goerzen,9; Nathan Ensz 7; Nathan Amstutz,5; Sheldon Goerzen 2; and Austin Unruh 2.
Substate Finals
Goessel 46, Waverly 37
Waverly's offense sputtered in the first quarter and Goessel's offense purred along as the Bluebirds took a 13-2 lead into the break at the end of the first quarter.
Travis Buller hit two three-pointers in the first half, but it became quite apparent that the shorter Waverly team would have trouble with the height of Nathan Ensz and the rebounding prowess of Garrett Hiebert.
The Bluebirds kept increasing their lead during the second quarter and went into halftime ahead 28-13.
Brett Goerzen knocked down a three-pointer to begin the scoring in the third period. After a Hiebert free throw and an Ensz basket, Goessel led 34-15 with 4:06 to play in the third quarter.
Waverly must have decided to get more aggressive during the time-out, and the Bulldogs outscored Goessel 6-1 the rest of the quarter.
The Goessel fans got nervous as they witnessed the lead shrink even further in the fourth quarter. Physical play on every rebound and tough defense against the Bluebirds resulted in several intercepted passes which went for Bulldog scores.
Goessel called a time-out with 2:53 to play in the game and a 42-34 lead. Waverly hit a three-pointer on their next possession, cutting the deficit to five points. The Bluebirds attempted to run time off the clock, but Waverly needed to get the ball back in order to score, and so the defense became more intense and the crowd for both teams became more vocal.
B. Goerzen went to the free-throw line and calmly sank two free throws. Waverly missed a shot and the Bluebirds broke the defensive pressure. Jordan Voth maneuvered into the lane for a two-pointer.
The Bulldogs missed several shots and Hiebert was fouled on the rebound with 40 seconds to play. The Bluebirds maintained a nine-point lead and survived several desperate shots from Waverly during the last seconds as Goessel prevailed for a 46-37 win.
Scoring for the Bluebirds in Saturday's game were Ensz 11; Hiebert 11; Buller 8; B. Goerzen 8; Amstutz 4; Sheldon Goerzen 2; and Voth 2.
Reflections from the team
"This is a team, you never know who will step up," said a relieved and pleased head coach Justin Coup.
On Friday it was the outside shooting that responded and on Saturday it was the inside game that kept the Bluebirds ahead.
"The defense of the other team affected our three-point shooting on Saturday, so we knew we would have to go inside to score," said senior guard Travis Buller. "We just take one game at a time. Man this is FUN," he continued.
"Coach has a way of settling us down during a time out," reflected senior Nathan Amstutz, "so we didn't get killed at the end of the game. This is an incredible feeling."
When Garrett Hiebert was asked about the physical aspect of the game, his response was, "We've had a few other games like this, but we got our share of rebounds tonight." (Goessel out rebounded Waverly 32-17).
"I try to use my quickness to offset my lack of height," commented Brett Goerzen, "This was an awesome crowd at the last two games."
Goessel was the only school that brought a pep band. Hundreds of fans; parents, grandparents and former players all added to the exuberant tournament atmosphere.
The seniors were impressed with the chaos in the locker room after the win.
"We just did not want this to end. Everyone wanted to go on. This is awesome to go to state," said Jordan Voth.
"We were just not satisfied ending the season here," added senior Sheldon Goerzen, "I suppose we will use the practices this week to polish up and get ready for state."
Goessel will be the fifth seed in the eight-team bracket and will play their first game at 4:45 p.m. Thursday on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Winners on Thursday will play Friday and Saturday.
Delbert Peters Snapshot of leaders on Goessel's Team:
Scoring Leaders (points per game): Garrett Hiebert 16.9, Travis Buller 9.3, Jordan Voth 8.9, Brett Goerzen 6.8, Nathan Amstutz 6.2, and Nathan Ensz 6.2 TEAM 59.5
Leaders Field Goal Percentage: Garrett Hiebert 63.3, Austin Unruh 62.7, Nathan Amstutz 47.9, Brett Goerzen 44.3, and Nathan Ensz 44.0. TEAM 44.8 percent
Leaders Assists per Game: Brett Goerzen 3.4, Travis Buller 3.0, and Garrett Hiebert 2.6. TEAM 14.0
Leaders Rebounds per Game: Garrett Hiebert 9.6, Nathan Ensz 5.1, Nathan Amstutz 4.6. TEAM 27.1
Leaders Steals Total: Garrett Hiebert 73, Brett Goerzen 55, Nathan Amstutz 38, Travis Buller 37, Jordan Voth 37. TEAM 299
Leaders Three-Point Percent: Brett Goerzen 44.0, Travis Buller 33.3, Jordan Voth 24.2 and Sheldon Goerzen 21.4. TEAM 30.1 percent
Leaders Free-Throw Percent: Garrett Hiebert 80.0, Travis Buller 75.0, Brett Goerzen 72.7, Sheldon Goerzen 66.7, Nathan Amstutz 65.9. TEAM 67.1 percent
