Goessel Epiphany
Goessel Guys Basketball – @ Goessel v. Peabody Burns Warriors Tuesday January 6, 2026
Epiphany can be defined as a sudden flash or realization and Goessel’s guys exhibited the ability to stay present, to be resilient, and perform under pressure in an early January tilt v. cross county rival Peabody Burns. The Bluebirds were never behind in this entertaining contest, which saw each team win two quarters. Goessel led by as many as 7 but could not put the game away until the final minute. Senior Trey Gaddis played tonight like it was his last time ever to see a basketball court, putting everything on the floor. Gaddis put up a huge 22 including all 10 of Goessel’s points in the final stanza. The Bluebirds were able to contain the Warriors’ Junior Jameson Miles to 9 points, mainly due to excellent defensive coverage from Freshman Tanner Unruh. Rival fans made this contest out to be more than it really was, perhaps, but that’s small town basketball. Goessel emerged the winner out of the volatile final minute 37-29.
ESPN was able to highlight one of the nicest head fake/inside back door feeds ever to start as Kreed Smith notched yet another perfect sliding 67 bounce to Brayton Base. This play has instantly become a textbook illustration for point guard play. Three minutes in, Unruh bounced off the left hip to Base again for another near perfect execution play. Gaddis went strong to the hoop twice to go up 8-2. Peabody was sectional 6 man football champion this fall and their BPC (Beards Per Capita) quotient was significant, with some linebacker moves on the basketball floor. With four minutes left, Base lofted a lovely 10 footer to lead 10-4 and with 50 ticks Smith put up a runner off the glass that jiggled in to lead 12-5 after one.
Freshman Unruh fought hard underneath tonight, putting back his own miss to go up 14-7. Aydelott from Peabody hit the only outside shot on the night to close to 14-10. Miles had to sit after a hard fall and Goessel called time at 3:28. Without him on the floor, the Bluebirds were able to extend to 19-12 on a huge trey from Gaddis and very lovely inbounds set from Unruh to Base underneath. At half time, fans saw the huge Bluebird flag carried end to end.
In the 8-10 third, Peabody was able to execute and put up four field goals (only one field goal in first and second quarters) to pull within three. At 3:09 Gaddis slathered one in from somewhere near the mid-field mark of Chet Roberts Field, then went coast to coast to lead 24-18. Smith put a sumptuous perfect three up from east of Citizens State Bank to go up 27-21 and it was 27-22 after three. Before the fourth quarter, Goessel shot 0/4 from the line and Peabody was 9/18. At the end of the third, the cheer team led in “Let’s Get Fired Up” and the giant flag again went end to end.
Fan fever struck in the 4th. It was 27-23 when Coach Guhr called time at 3:52. “Up Up on Your Feet” and the roller coaster came alive for the Bluebird student section. Kudos to the Goessel band for again keeping the fan spirit alive! At 3:12 tensions rose even higher at 27-25. Gaddis gritted his teeth and went hard to the hoop for a huge bucket to lead 29-25. Fouls stood at Goessel 2, Peabody 5. Partridge hit 2 FTs to close to 29-27, but Gaddis answered at the stripe 30-27. Goessel was able to shut down the Warrior attack and kept sending Gaddis to the hoop. At 1:09 it was 31-27. Peabody got an inside roll to fall 31-29 and called time at :55. Gaddis was everywhere showing over the top hustle. Gaddis buried a runner 33-29. Goessel called time at :32 and the cheer team again led in “Go Big Blue.” Out of the timeout, Goessel tried an unusual inbounds to Gaddis and he streaked the distance for his signature tornado lay in; 35-29. Free throws in the 4th were Bluebirds 4/12 and Peabody 3/4. On yet another hustle move, #3 stole the inbounds pass, was fouled and sealed this one at the line going 2/4 for a final score of 37-29. Goessel had won both the 1st and 4th quarters tonight.
Trey Gaddis had a career night, leading the Blue with 22 and Brayton Base put up 8. Smith scored 5 and Unruh added 2 . Also on the floor for Goessel were Anthony Boden, Levi Schrag and Ezekiel Guhr.
