Ed-Co hopes to keep it rolling

EDGEWOOD — It has been a record-breaking season for the Edgewood-Colesburg boys' basketball team. Almost.

The Vikings enter the postseason with a 15-6 record. They are the top seed in Class 1A, Substate 7.

To put this success into a little perspective, Ed-Co was 3-20 in 2012-13 and 1-21 the following season. It went winless in 2008-09.

The school record for victories in a season is 17. That came way, way back in 1964-65.

Ed-Co has a first-round playoff bye, but is heavily favored to win its opener Thursday night against either East Buchanan (2-19) or West Central (1-18). It then would play either Postville or Elkader Central, which it is a combined 2-0 against this season.

Reaching a substate final would give the Vikings the record.

'Our JV team was 17-4 last season, and I think we should have gone 20-1,' Ed-Co Coach Justin Olind said. 'So I mean, we went into this season knowing we had young kids who could play. That's even though we had seven seniors who departed.

'These kids are always hanging out. They just have that chemistry, whether it's playing basketball or whiffleball at someone's house. They are just that group. They are that cohesive.'

As Olind mentioned, Ed-Co is young. There are only three seniors: guard Dakota Funke and forwards Elliott Meyer and Travis Kelchen.

Meyer averages 12.2 points per game, one of two double-figures scorers. The other is sophomore guard Ethan Streicher (13.2).

But all five starters average between 8.4 and 13.2 points. And each of those five starters — which includes 6-5 junior center Jacob Wessel, Funke and sophomore guard Preston Rochford — has surpassed 20 points and led Ed-Co in scoring at least once in a game this season.

'Not many teams can say that,' Olind said.

Funke has tied the school record for 3-pointers in a season (51) but is only three ahead of Streicher. It'll be curious to see who ends up with that mark by season's end.

Ed-Co's signature win came against MFL MarMac, a very good 2A team that won the Upper Iowa Conference's big-school division. The Vikings also played Dyersville Beckman (ranked fifth in 2A) to an eight-point game.

Ed-Co won 10 of its last 12 games.

'We're just very balanced,' Olind said. 'We've got two nice post players, and they are surrounded by nice guards. We play so unselfish from night to night. Everybody averages between eight and 13 points, there's not one guy who gets a boatload every game.'

The postseason begins Monday night with a few 'pigtail' district games in Class 1A and first-round district games in Class 2A.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com