It's high school basketball tournament time. With no Dorchester teams in action, we're recounting the powerhouse days of Dorchester boys basketball.Thirty-six years this month -- March 12, 1987 to be exact -- was the start of the Nebraska Boys High School State Basketball Tournament.
To this day, many fans say the 1986-87 Longhorns should have been there; of those, many say DHS would have won the state title that season.
By a 5-1 vote, the Times' staff believes that 1986-87 DHS team is the best boys basketball team to play for Dorchester to date.
The Longhorns' starting lineup that season featured Bob Zoubek (Sr., 6'3), Steve Conner (Sr., 6'0), Cory Roth (So., 6'8), Matt Bolton (So., 6'5) and Doug Frahm (Jr., 6'3). Frahm was considered the Larry Bird of Dorchester basketball. Moreover, DHS had a deep bench with able players such as John Weber, Lenny Gish, Greg Kotas, and Ken Uher ready to step in as needed.
Playing in Class C-2 under Coach Scott Pohl, the Longhorns were ranked near the top of the standings by both major newspapers -- from the pre-season to the sub-district finals.
DHS routinely crushed larger schools most of the season, beating teams like Friend (88-53), Henderson (65-51), Milford (62-45), Wilber-Clatonia (70-46), McCool (86-53), and Wymore (85-53).
To this day, many fans say the 1986-87 Longhorns should have been there; of those, many say DHS would have won the state title that season.
By a 5-1 vote, the Times' staff believes that 1986-87 DHS team is the best boys basketball team to play for Dorchester to date.
The Longhorns' starting lineup that season featured Bob Zoubek (Sr., 6'3), Steve Conner (Sr., 6'0), Cory Roth (So., 6'8), Matt Bolton (So., 6'5) and Doug Frahm (Jr., 6'3). Frahm was considered the Larry Bird of Dorchester basketball. Moreover, DHS had a deep bench with able players such as John Weber, Lenny Gish, Greg Kotas, and Ken Uher ready to step in as needed.
Playing in Class C-2 under Coach Scott Pohl, the Longhorns were ranked near the top of the standings by both major newspapers -- from the pre-season to the sub-district finals.
DHS routinely crushed larger schools most of the season, beating teams like Friend (88-53), Henderson (65-51), Milford (62-45), Wilber-Clatonia (70-46), McCool (86-53), and Wymore (85-53).
The only team to trip up the Longhorns during the regular season was a mediocre Odell squad, which caught DHS on an off night and sent them packing early from the MUDECAS tournament in Beatrice. It was Dorchester's only loss of the regular season.
During the mid- to late-1980s, no team was a bigger foe of the Longhorns than Lincoln Christian. Known for their recruited talent -- and sometimes dirty play -- Christian was an emerging Class C power. In the '86-'87 season, DHS faced Christian twice, beating them 79-65 early in the season and then again in the first round of sub-districts.
Heading into the 1987 sub-districts, DHS was 17-1 and ranked No. 4 in the state, but Lincoln Christian was peaking.
We recently found an article by The Lincoln Star's Ryly Jane Hambleton who covered the March 5, 1987 DHS-Christian sub-district contest. She wrote: "Doug Frahm got the green light and you could almost hear the tires squeal. The 6-foot-3 junior was perfect from the field and the free throw line in the second half as Dorchester rallied to earn a 68-61 victory over Lincoln Christian at Southeast Community College in Milford."
The lead in that game changed hands eight times and the score was tied four times. A Lincoln Christian player fouled out with a minute left and the score 59-55, and then proceeded to get two technical fouls. (Another reason Lincoln Christian had a reputation in the 1980s.) Frahm made all four technical foul shots, sealing Christian's fate.
That big victory sent DHS to the district tourney, where the Longhorns would face a much weaker opponent in Nemaha Valley. Fans we spoke with for this story recalled looking ahead to the state tournament. Many knew that DHS would have a good chance of reaching the state championship once the boys dusted up Nemaha Valley.
But that's where the story ends.
During the mid- to late-1980s, no team was a bigger foe of the Longhorns than Lincoln Christian. Known for their recruited talent -- and sometimes dirty play -- Christian was an emerging Class C power. In the '86-'87 season, DHS faced Christian twice, beating them 79-65 early in the season and then again in the first round of sub-districts.Heading into the 1987 sub-districts, DHS was 17-1 and ranked No. 4 in the state, but Lincoln Christian was peaking.
We recently found an article by The Lincoln Star's Ryly Jane Hambleton who covered the March 5, 1987 DHS-Christian sub-district contest. She wrote: "Doug Frahm got the green light and you could almost hear the tires squeal. The 6-foot-3 junior was perfect from the field and the free throw line in the second half as Dorchester rallied to earn a 68-61 victory over Lincoln Christian at Southeast Community College in Milford."
The lead in that game changed hands eight times and the score was tied four times. A Lincoln Christian player fouled out with a minute left and the score 59-55, and then proceeded to get two technical fouls. (Another reason Lincoln Christian had a reputation in the 1980s.) Frahm made all four technical foul shots, sealing Christian's fate.
That big victory sent DHS to the district tourney, where the Longhorns would face a much weaker opponent in Nemaha Valley. Fans we spoke with for this story recalled looking ahead to the state tournament. Many knew that DHS would have a good chance of reaching the state championship once the boys dusted up Nemaha Valley.
But that's where the story ends. Nemaha Valley would use a half-court stall game -- now prohibited under the rules of the Nebraska School Activities Association -- to hold the Longhorns to just 41 points, roughly 25 points below DHS' season average. The upset shocked DHS fans and everyone else in Nebraska who followed Class C basketball.
The loss stung -- so much that the 1987 DHS yearbook doesn't even have a story recap of the season, just the season's scores, a few photos, and a quote from Coach Pohl.
Some in the community blamed coaching, as is typical in high school sports. Others blamed DHS' younger players. But it was a learning moment, one that prepared those Longhorns for a much bigger stage known as real life. Even the great ones occasionally fall.
The loss stung -- so much that the 1987 DHS yearbook doesn't even have a story recap of the season, just the season's scores, a few photos, and a quote from Coach Pohl.
Some in the community blamed coaching, as is typical in high school sports. Others blamed DHS' younger players. But it was a learning moment, one that prepared those Longhorns for a much bigger stage known as real life. Even the great ones occasionally fall.
Looking back more than a third of a century, we can be proud that Dorchester -- with caring coaches, loyal Dorchester supporters, and involved parents -- was producing incredibly good talent and strong participation in that era. That can be, and should be, the standard today.
Meanwhile, we have no state tourney trophy by which to remember that 1986-87 team -- just some great memories.
Meanwhile, we have no state tourney trophy by which to remember that 1986-87 team -- just some great memories.
“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”
ReplyDelete― John Greenleaf Whittier
I remember watching the boys play Lincoln Christian and, yes, unfortunately, they were dirty players. This team played with everything they had and I loved watching them. I don't think there has ever been another team close to this group of guys. And its nice to note that these young men have turned out to be fine adults, too!! Proud to say I am a Longhorn alum!!!
ReplyDeleteHow about the teams that did qualify for the state tournament?
ReplyDelete