Greg Canales believed long ago that this year’s Emporia High boys basketball team could become something special.
When Canales played games with his teammates this past summer, he didn’t quite know why, but the sophomore got the sense that this season’s Spartans would be a team capable of reaching the State Tournament, and once there, would be a team to be reckoned with.
“I had a feeling that we might have a shot,” Canales said. “Just from playing with these guys during the summer, I thought we could be something special.”
That feeling Canales had long before the season began has now become a reality.
The Emporia High boys have made good on at least part of Canales’ preseason prognosticating, as the Spartans reached the Class 5A State Tournament with two victories last week in Sub-State. They are one of the eight remaining 5A teams still standing, and at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the No. 7-seeded EHS boys will open State play against second-seeded McPherson at the Topeka Expocentre looking to make the cut into the final four.
“It just seems like everything’s falling into place here late in the season,” Canales said. “I think we can compete with anybody.”
The Spartans (13-9) certainly are not at a loss for confidence.
They played with a chip on their shoulder in their two blowout victories in Sub-State over Wichita West and Arkansas City, partly because their coach, Rick Bloomquist, was suspended for the West game, and also because they were the top seed in what was considered — and for good reason — to be the weakest Sub-State bracket in Class 5A (EHS was the No. 1 seed with an 11-9 record when Sub-State began).
All along, though, the Spartans believed they bel onged in the State Tournament, and they now welcome the opportunity to prove it.
“I know we’re a good team,” senior guard Caydrick Bloomquist said. “I think we’re prepared going in. Mentally, we’re prepared, and we definitely are physically prepared.
“There are different styles of ball all across Kansas, but I feel that the Centennial League is the top league in Kansas, and I feel that we can play with anybody. I think we’re going to go out there and play our best and play our game, and hopefully we come out on top.”
Emporia’s first-round matchup with McPherson (19-3) is a chance for both teams to rekindle an old rivalry that has been dormant the last two seasons. For years, Emporia traveled to compete in McPherson’s home tournament, and the Spartans and the Bullpups produced some epic battles along the way. Only recently did that stop, however, as Emporia has competed in the Ralph Miller Classic in Chanute the past two seasons in place of making the trip to McPherson.
Nevertheless, the matchup still holds weight for many in Emporia and McPherson.
“It’s a good rivalry,” coach Rick Bloomquist said. “Even though we haven’t seen each other the last two years, I have a great amount of respect for McPherson. We both respect each other’s programs enough to know that our kids are going to play hard.”
The game itself presents an intriguing battle of opposing styles, as the normally run-and-shoot Spartans will face a McPherson squad intent on forcing turnovers with its pressure defense in order to jumpstart its offense.
While the edge in guard play would appear to favor the Spartans, who boast the dangerous duo of three-point sniper Caydrick Bloomquist and the speedy Taylor Euler, the edge in the post might lean toward the Bullpups and their star, 6-foot-6 center Tanner Hawkinson, who already has signed to play football at the University of Kansas next year.
“I think we’re really even,” Rick Bloomquist said. “I think there are a lot of similarities, and it’s going to be a classic State game in the first round.”
The key for the Spartans’ chances against McPherson might come down to senior forward Brandon Childs, who has been as active as he’s been all season on the offensive and defensive ends in recent weeks.
“The way he’s been playing really gives me a lot of confidence,” Rick Bloomquist said, “because we’ve needed that.”
But if nothing else, the Emporia players don’t want to waste what they see as the perfect opportunity to be exactly what Canales thought they’d be: special.
“This is the last week of basketball, and we can’t take that for granted,” Caydrick Bloomquist said. “I think we have a really good team and we have a good chance of actually going pretty far in this tournament.”