MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Perfection!
The De Pere Redbirds capped an undefeated season with the WIAA Division 1 State Championship Saturday night at the Kohl Center in Madison, defeating Hartland Arrowhead 69-49. It’s the second title in school history, the first since the 1934 squad won the Class B championship. The victory caps arguably the greatest single season in High School basketball, certainly in the Green Bay metro area if not the state, becoming the first ever to reach 30 wins in a single season.
It didn’t come easy until midway through the second half. Both teams brought their defensive best early with the Warhawks jumping out in front 8-2 but De Pere recovered with senior Gabe Herman hitting back to back three’s helping the Birds to a 22-20 lead at the break. An 8-2 burst to start the second half pushed the lead to 20 but UW Green Bay recruit Mac Wrecke went to work, scoring five straight points helping Arrowhead close to within 36-34 at the 11:32 mark.
A dunk by Will Hornseth followed by a steal and layup from John Kinziger pushed the lead back to 7 and after struggling at the line making only 8 of their first 17 attempts, De Pere knocked down 11 straight to stretch the lead even wider. It was too much to overcome as De Pere outscored Arrowhead by 18 in the second half for the final 20 point margin.
John Kinziger, named co-winner of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Mr. Basketball award, led De Pere with 24 points, his younger brother Zach finished with 19, going 10 for 10 from the line. Hornseth added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Arrowhead was paced by Wrecke’s 18 points with Bennett Basich adding 11. They finished 27-3, the most wins in school history.
But the Redbirds were able to run the table, a remarkable feat at any level and after the game, Head Coach Brian Winchester along with John and Zack Kinziger talked about how special the 30-0, state championship season turned out to be, considering they were ranked number one before the season ever began, and never let go of it.
Covered a lot of high school hoops over the years and the De Pere Redbirds almost certainly left everyone with the impression the 2022-23 edition might be the best there ever was.
