Dustin Kirk left Tuesday's Class C1 Subdistrict 4 Tournament basketball game with an ankle injury with a little more than 5 minutes to go.
Then, with 4:08 remaining in Wahoo, every other Arlington boys basketball senior left the floor for the final time. The sadness on Isaac Foust's face was evident as he was the final Eagle to leave the floor between the lines.
The Eagles (8-15) lost their postseason opener to the Omaha World-Herald's third-ranked team, the host Warriors, 77-36.
“This is a special group of seniors,” AHS coach Tyler Spitser said. “Things did not fall our way this year, but they have definitely grown up to be better young men through high school athletics.”
Colby Grefe, Frankie Rosenbalm, Kirk, Logan Kaup, Nick Smith and Foust played in Tuesday's game, while senior Barrett Nielsen watched from the sidelines. After a 6-4 start to the season, their squad went just 2-11 over their last 13 games.
The Eagles' last against Wahoo wasn't in doubt long. The Warriors led 14-6 after one period and 36-12 after two, using their aggressiveness and superior length to force Arlington turnovers.
Grefe, a 6-foot-2 guard, however, found early success offensively for Spitser's squad. He scored all but one of his team's 12 first-half points.
First, Grefe pulled down an offensive rebound and scored the putback for a 2-2 tie. His lone 3-pointer then pulled AHS within eight points at the end of the first quarter.
Two more drives by the senior guard, and a putback reverse under the basket, came during the second.
“Colby knew he had to come out and play aggressive,” Spitser said. “He did just that and showed that he can play with some of the best of them. He has improved his game so much from just being a shooter to being a three-level scorer.”
Grefe's efforts weren't enough to keep Tuesday's game close, though. A running clock was instituted during the fourth period as Wahoo's lead grew.
Grefe finished with a team-high 16 points, while Smith had six and Kirk had five. Kaup scored three in his final Arlington game and Foust knocked down a free throw.
The Warriors, meanwhile, advanced during the C1-4 tourney with Anthony Simon scoring a game-high 19 points. Wahoo is 21-2 this season.
