STATE BOUND: Wildcats cruise to first sub-state title since 2017

The Louisburg boys basketball team hoists the Class 4A sub-state championship trophy Friday following its win over Iola.

A year ago, with its season on the line, the Louisburg boys basketball team came out slow against Iola and the Fillies ended the Wildcats’ season in the sub-state semifinals.

It was a heartbreaking loss to many on the team as the Wildcats rallied to score 32 points in the fourth quarter, only to fall in overtime.

Fast forward to the present and Louisburg had the opportunity to exact revenge against Iola – this time in the sub-state championship.

There was no slow start this time around. 

Louisburg’s defense frustrated Iola for much of the game as it held the Fillies to nine first half points and the Wildcats cruised to a 57-32 sub-state championship victory Friday in Louisburg.

“We needed no other motivation because we knew from last year that this was the game we wanted,” Louisburg junior Julian Margrave said. “Weston (Guetterman) and I were talking before the season started about wanting to see them again and we finally got it. We proved that we are a state team.”

The Wildcats, who are currently ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, earned their first state berth since 2017 and there are plenty of family connections between the two teams.

Ben and Isaac Guetterman’s brother, Sam, played on the 2017 squad, as did Michael Seuferling’s brother, Alex. The Guetterman’s and Seuferling’s are also distant cousins.

“Earning a state berth is great and I have always wanted to do this ever since I saw my brother (Sam) go in 2017,” Ben said. “I have waited four years for this and we have all put in a lot of hard work. To go to state and have a winning record like we do feels awesome. There are lots of memories being made right now.”

To go back even further in Wildcat lore, Konnor Vohs’ dad, Kevin, was the starting point guard for the 1999 state team. His uncle, Rob, was a starter on the Wildcats’ 1991 state team.

“It’s something else,” Konnor said. “He (Kevin) talks about it all the time and I need to live up to that I guess. I’m wearing No. 11, same as him, and it’s just huge and it’s sweet to be able to share something like that with him. It’s a pretty awesome feeling.”

The Wildcats (16-6) played like a family in the sub-state tournament as they defeated a good Paola team in the semifinals and then exacted revenged with a 25-point win Friday.

“Our kids really enjoy being around each other and we played our best by just playing unselfish basketball,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They’ve really bought into the defensive side of it  because that’s something that all five guys on the court have to buy into for you to be successful.”

Louisburg had no problem on that end of the floor as the Wildcats held Iola to just 32 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. Those Iola mistakes turned into 14 Louisburg points and were just one of the many reasons the Wildcats were successful.

The Wildcats held the Fillies to nine first half points and held them to single digits for three of the four quarters.

“We played great as a team and it carried over from our defensive performance the game before,” Weston Guetterman said. “To hold both Paola and Iola to single digits in the first half is a nice accomplishment. I feel like we did a good job defending their best offensive player and it was a good night.”

Their defense allowed them to get some rhythm offensively early on.

Louisburg scored 18 first quarter points, 11 of those coming from Margrave who scored the final seven of the quarter. Two of those points brought the crowd to its feet when Weston Guetterman threw an alley-oop to Margrave, who dunked it home.

“We’ve had that play in all season and we have been just been looking for the right time,” Weston said. “There was just a little time on the clock and just felt it was a good time to take a chance on it and it ended up working out. It gave everyone energy, the crowd went wild and we fed off that and it carried with us the rest of the game.”

The game was almost out of reach at halftime as the Wildcats took a 32-9 advantage. The Fillies cut the Louisburg lead to 20 on a couple different occasions, but could get no closer.

Margrave led Louisburg with a team-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Ben Guetterman also scored in double figures with 12 points, five boards and a team-high four steals.

Weston Guetterman nearly had a double-double with nine points and a team-high seven assists. Michael Seuferling had seven points and six rebounds.

“It’s been a quite awhile since we’ve been there (state) and being a senior and having some seasons where we didn’t get too many wins, this is huge,” Vohs said. “We have a hell of a team this year and we are ready for the next one.”

That next one for the Wildcats will be a tough test as they will host Parsons at 6 p.m. on Monday for the state quarterfinals. The Vikings have now qualified for the state tournament four years in a row.

“We just have to stay focused,” Margrave said. “Some people might go out and celebrate, but I’m not. I just want to stay humble and be ready to go for Monday. I know Parsons is a good team, but we have to be ready.”

As much as the Wildcats are happy to earn the school’s 13th state appearance, there is much more they want to accomplish.

A victory over Parsons would be just the third time in school history that the Wildcats would be guaranteed a place at state. Louisburg placed fourth in 1979 and third in 1948.

The Class 4A final four will be held on Friday and Saturday in Salina.

“Honestly, right now I am just excited for the next game,” Weston said. “We are not done here and we want to win the next one. We have bigger goals for ourselves. The feeling gets better and better every time we win.”

LOU 18 14 10 15 — 57

IOLA 5 4 14 9 — 32

LOUISBURG (16-6): Julian Margrave 5-11 3-4 16; Ben Guetterman 5-11 0-1 12; Weston Guetterman 3-5 3-3 9; Michael Seuferling 1-5 5-6 7; Maverick Rockers 1-3 2-2 5; Konnor Vohs 1-1 0-0 3; Andy Hupp 1-6 1-2 3; Dawson Barnes 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 18-48 14-18 57. 3-point field goals: 7, (Margrave 3, B. Guetterman 2, Rockers, Vohs)