Warrenton Head Coach Mike Uffmann said the nerves were easy to see. Too easy. The Warrenton boys basketball team won its first postseason game in nearly a decade and earned a meeting with No. 1 seed …
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Warrenton Head Coach Mike Uffmann said the nerves were easy to see.
Too easy.
The Warrenton boys basketball team won its first postseason game in nearly a decade and earned a meeting with No. 1 seed Kirskville Thursday in the Class 4, District 8 semifinals.
“Our eyeballs were huge tonight before the game, looking over at their guys,” he said. “We were nervous Monday night in the first game, too.”
Whether it was nerves, a talent discrepancy or a mixture of both, Warrenton’s season was ended with a 66-37 loss.
It was the final game for senior guard Braydan Chmiel, who was often called the baby sitter of the team by his younger teammates.
Five of the eight players in Warrenton’s rotation this season were underclassmen.
“I just told the guys that Coach Uffmann and I have been through a lot together, and it was nice to see us come together as a team,” Chmiel said. “Because I think we’ve lacked that in the past.”
Chmiel, who played three years for Uffmann, became the leader of the 2015-16 team early in the season as so many sophomores went through growing pains on the varsity level.
He hopes those lessons can be translated to wins next season and beyond.
“It was nice to finally get that monkey off our back and win a district game,” he said. “Next year, they will be more experienced, bigger, faster and stronger. Hopefully they will make it to the championship game, too.”
Chmiel started every game for the Warriors this season and averaged 8.6 points.
Junior forward Trevor Alberternst averaged 10 points, and sophomores Brenden Smith, Randy McRoberts and Caleb Strauss combined to score 28.8 points per game.
None of the players looked comfortable in the blowout loss to Kirksville, but Uffmann hopes that will change in the future.
“I think this game was really important for us,” Uffmann said. “Now we know what it’s like to win a district game. We played in the Hermann Tournament championship game for the first time in nearly a decade, too, so just being in those atmospheres is really going to help us down the road.”
Chmiel said the returning players will have to be regulars in the weight room in the offseason, and he hopes Alberternst and junior Clayton Schowe will become leaders next season.
“I told them to stay together and they’re going to be good,” Chmiel said. “We have some quality guys coming back that can step in to that leadership role, so it will be exciting to come back and watch them next year.”
Played three years on varsity levelTOUGH SHOT — Braydan Chmiel is surrounded by a pair of Kirksville defenders in the district semifinals March 3. Kirksville won, 66-37. Kory Carpenter photo.
