Westminster’s Firchau notches No. 500
Westminster Christian boys basketball coach Bruce Firchau pointed to a common thread between his first game as head coach at Leland in 1975 and his 500th career victory Tuesday: pregame jitters.
“Butterflies the size of elephants,” Firchau said of his anxiety level before the second-seeded Warriors toppled No. 7 Faith Lutheran 65-25 in the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock regional opener.
Firchau said the nerves he experienced before the playoff opener were similar to those he felt back in ‘75, when he led Leland for the first time as a head coach in a road game at Ashton High School in LaSalle County. His team lost that game. Future teams would win plenty.
Thirty-seven years later (35 as a head coach) the man who also coached at Assumption, Plainfield (Ind.), Oswego, Harvard and Dundee-Crown gained entry to an elite club. The victory makes Firchau the 110th boys basketball coach in state history to breach the 500-win threshold. He owns a career .546 winning percentage (500-416).
“I feel a real sense of humility and honor,” Firchau said upon reaching the milestone. “I think it’s a real tribute to how hard my players have played for me over the years, and all the great assistant coaches I’ve had who have been so loyal and have helped me.
“But my biggest coach of all has been my wife, Mary Sue, and my family there to support me through the years, my daughter, Lauren, and my son, Mark.
“That’s what the ingredients were: hardworking players, great coaches and a family that was there for me.”
The victory advances Westminster Christian (16-12) to a regional semifinal against Mooseheart today at 8:10 p.m. Mooseheart defeated the Islamic Foundation 54-45 Tuesday. Westminster Christian won 2 of 3 meetings against Mooseheart during the regular season.
The Warriors forged a 24-11 halftime lead via Firchau’s trademark: relentless defense. Westminster pressure forced Faith Lutheran to commit 14 first-half turnovers.
Such defensive pressure led to an offensive explosion in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 24 points in the period, matching their first-half total and expanding their lead to 48-18
“The first half we were a little shaky, but we got our act together in the second half,” said Josh Beachler, who scored 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. “It was nice to play well for coach.”
The Warriors held the Saints to 9 field goals in only 27 attempts.
“Bruce is a great coach,” Faith Lutheran coach Andrew Ernst said. “He’s been around a long time and he does an excellent job. He keeps his guys disciplined. They play outstanding defense.”
Will Woodhouse inflicted damage from the outside by sinking six 3-pointers, including a second-half stretch in which he buried 4 bombs in 5 attempts. He led all scorers with 22 points. Aaron Wiewel scored 9 of his 15 points in the second half.
Firchau thanked his young, overachieving ballclub for helping him reach the milestone earlier than he thought was possible.
“I didn’t think we’d get to it this year,” Firchau said of 500. “We thought maybe sometime next yer, maybe Christmastime. Tough as I’ve been on them this year about not listening and other things, I guess I should step back for a moment and say, ‘You know what? They did a pretty good job.’”