Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Peetz High's Jordan Nelson reacts after the Bulldogs lost their consolation game on Friday in Loveland at the Colorado 1A State Tournament.
Peetz High's Cody Wilson looks to pass during Friday's game against Ouray at the Colorado 1A State Tournament in Loveland.
Peetz High's Casey Barrett eyes a teammate during Friday's state tournament game.
The Peetz High Bulldogs made it to the Colorado Class 1A state basketball tournament this season for the first time since 2008. Despite losing games against Sangre de Cristo and Ouray, the Bulldogs exceeded expectations and represented their team and school with pride.
Under the leadership of first-year head coach Jim Gardiner, Peetz was 15-11 on the season.
After Friday's 65-62 loss to Ouray, Gardiner reflected on the season and his players.
"They can't fault themselves one iota," he said.
The Bulldogs, a No. 8 seed, opened the state tournament last Thursday with a matchup against the top seed.
Gardiner said the grand stage at state was initially intimidating to some of his players who had never before participated in the post-season tournament.
"I really do think the big lights and the big show had an effect," he said. "I think maybe we were a little 'deer in the headlights' on Thursday."
Playing the until-then undefeated Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds was also daunting, he added.
"When you come out against the No. 1 seed, I think you are going to feel that way," Gardiner said. "And maybe it stunned us a little bit."
It's the nature of sports competitions that every game has a loser, he said. But that the Peetz team even made it to the state tournament is cause for celebration, Gardiner said he told his team.
"You've got to take some satisfaction for being here," he said.
On Friday, senior Garrett Roelle said he and his teammates left it all on the court.
"Coach kept telling us to play for pride," he said. "Our fans and everyone believed in us. We just didn't get it, but there's no doubt in our minds that we didn't play everything we had in us."
Entering the tournament as a low seed, he said the attitude was to play for the school and the community.
"It would have been better to get a win today," he said. "But knowing my team played their heart's out, I wouldn't take anything else – knowing we put everything we had out on that court today."
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