Bluebirds at Rural Vista
Goessel Guys Basketball – @ Hope v. Rural Vista Heat Tuesday February 17, 2026
Goessel would face Rural Vista in the Hope Dome with the contest billed as a David v Goliath event. The Heat comes in with 8 Seniors and an endless roster of 5’10” players, a bench deep enough that there is nearly the same talent on the floor at all times. Rural Vista’s 13-7 record belies the fact that most of their losses have been by very small margins to bigger schools. Goessel kept it tight for two thirds of a quarter before the RV bigs finally came out of their holding pattern and broke things open. This one finished 33-63.
Tanner Unruh led things off for Goessel, knotting it at 2-2 with an excellent finish off the glass from 5 feet. Brayton Base fed Kreed Smith on a perfect cut to go up 4-2, the only Bluebird lead of the night. Moments later, Base found a streaking Levi Schrag to keep the visiting fans on their feet 6-6. The home-standing Heat turned on the defensive burner and it was soon 6-16. Smith hit a fine runner at the buzzer to finish the first quarter at 8-16.
Goessel’s cheer team did “Here We Go Bluebirds” -- with Rosi perched on the shoulders, she looked nearly halfway to the top of the Hope Dome. Unruh got a great stop on the Heat, but the home team ran it to 8-23. Smith fed Schrag who ran baseline and, looking very much like Garrett Hiebert in his baseline prime, executed a reverse baseline lay up just like any NBA 6’-8” guy. Trey Gaddis salted in a nice finish, then AJ Hagewood got 2/2 from the charity stripe. 14-27. Frustrations built through the quarter, culminating in a called intentional foul midway through the quarter. 14-40. Smith went hard to the hoop and got a final FG before the buzzer. It was 16-40 at the half.
Off a spectacular bounce feed to start, Gaddis dropped in a finish. Unruh converted a steal/takeaway to the hoop and it was 20-46. At the end of the quarter, Unruh hit the front end of two, but the frustrations continued against the endless sea of Heat trees and it was 21-55 after three.
The Heat put subs in; Gaddis hit a lovely trey from somewhere near Herington Lake. At 5:15 all subs were in. Kylan Stephens hit one of two from the line, then Noah Johnson found the range from beyond the violin section of the RV band, Unruh converted inside, and Xavier Garcia took his turn from beyond the arc, getting nothing but net from the Gridiron Café on Main Street. He caught a surprised Larry Lindeman mid-bite in his Lion Burger. Goessel won the final quarter 12-8 with three treys. The contest ended 33-63.
Sub-state pairings will be announced shortly. Goessel goes to 4-15 on the year. Gaddis led the Bluebirds tonight with 9, Tanner Unruh put up 7, and Kreed Smith scored 4. Noah Johnson, Xavier Garcia each tallied 3 and Brayton Base, Levi Schrag, and AJ Hagewood each finished with 2. Kalan Stephens added 1 point for Goessel. Also contributing valuable minutes for the Blue were Anthony Boden, Ezekial Guhr and Aiden Duerksen.
-Karl Brubaker
