LINCOLN — Archangels Catholic used a stifling defense and took advantage of Wolfpack turnovers to claim the Class D2 State Championship trophy Saturday morning.
The Defenders used a 1-3-1 defense to throttle the Wolfpack and deny EPPJ their first state championship.
Despite the loss, Coach Matt Euse was proud of the team’s accomplishments this season. “Bringing back the first trophy and first banner for EPPJ. That’s pretty special,” he said.
On a day when the Wolfpack needed to turn in their best effort of the season, Archangels held them to single-digit scoring for close to three quarters, taking a 25-point lead.
EPPJ’s only lead in the game came early in the first quarter when senior Jarek Erickson made a trey. No one at Pinnacle Bank Arena would believe at that time in the game Erickson’s trey would be the only one the team would make for the entire game. Such was the Archangels defensive pressure that they would hold EPPJ to just one of 14 from behind the three-point arc.
Brenden Johannes, arguably the Defenders’ best player, would be a problem for the Wolfpack the entire game. Of his 15 points in the game, eight came in the first five minutes of the game.
Down 12 to five to start the second quarter, the Wolfpack were ready to make a move. But Archangels’ defense had other ideas. They limited the Wolfpack to just one point in the quarter, a free throw at the 3:56 mark by Michael Selting.
“We just couldn’t get anything going (against their defense),” Euse said.
The Defenders extended their lead in the third quarter, then the Wolfpack found a spark on offense. EPPJ found a way to get the ball inside to Henn and the sophomore delivered. Wolfpack fans rose to their feet when Karson Kallhoff dished the ball off to Henn for a dunk. He added four more points before the end of the quarter as EPPJ trailed by 19, 37 to 18, with one quarter to play.
The fourth quarter was anti-climactic. Forced to scramble defensively, EPPJ just couldn’t catch up. Of their 12 points in the quarter, eight came on free throws. “I don’t think there was anybody outside of our locker room that would have expected us to be playing on Saturday on the big stage,” Coach Euse said. “I knew this group was special and things worked out for us, they (the payers) worked extremely hard.”
EPPJ was led in scoring by Henn who finished with 16 points on five of 10 shooting and six of nine free throws. He was the only Wolfpack player to score in double figures.
Erickson led the team in rebounds with 11. Kallhoff topped the Wolfpack in assists (2) and steals (3).
EPPJ ends the season with a 25-4 record.
Archangels 50, EPPJ 30
Defenders………12 7 18 13 — 50
Wolfpack…………5 1 12 12 — 30
Wolfpack — Michael Selting 0-1 1-2 1, Karson Kallhoff 1-9 0-0 2, Evin Pelster 0-0 2-2 2, Jarek Erickson 2-8 4-4 9, Max Henn 5-10 6-9 16, Jayvin Erickson 0-2 0-0 0, Joseph McNally 0-0 0-0 0, Brayden Burenheide 0-0 0-0 0, Braedon Hinkle 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Preister 0-0 0-0 0, Justice Blecher 0-0 0-0 0. Team totals: 8-30 13-17 30. Three-point shots — Wolfpack 1-14 (Ja. Erickson 1).
Defenders — Gavin Geilenkirchen 6-16 0-5 12, Ethan Wieseler 0-6 1-4 1, Brenden Johannes 6-12 1-2 15, Kellan Mundil 3-5 2-2 8, Tucker Czarnick 3-8 3-3 9, Gage Braun 1-2 0-2 2, Tanner Classen 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Keller 0-0 0-0 0, Tate Wietfeld 0-0 0-0 0, Cade Wietfeld 1-1 0-0 3, Jeff Reichmuth 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Freudenburg 0-0 0-0 0. Team totals: 20-51 7-18 50. Three-point shots — Defenders 3-13 (Johannes 2, C. Wietfeld 1).
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 24 (Ja. Erickson 11), Defenders 37 (Wieseler 13). Assists — Wolfpack 4 (Kallhoff 2), Defenders 6 (Geilenkirchen 3). Steals — Wolfpack 6 (Kallhoff 3), Defenders 18 (Czarnick 8). Turnovers — Wolfpack 23, Defenders 15.
