Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: The St. Edmond boys basketball squad poses after winning a Class 1A substate title at the Knapp Center in Des Moines.

DES MOINES — The St. Edmond boys have carried the weight of expectations on their collective shoulders throughout the season.

That will not change this week when the Gaels begin play in the Class 1A state tournament.

St. Edmond (23-2 overall) enters as the No. 1 ranked team and the top seed, drawing Woodbine (17-8) in a quarterfinal rematch at the Casey’s Center on Tuesday. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Last year, the Gaels knocked off the Tigers before falling to Madrid in the semifinals. Woodbine advanced to state for a third straight season with a win over Madrid in the substate final on the same court at the Knapp Center that saw St. Edmond punch its second state ticket in a row.

“It’s been both a privilege and pressure, being No. 1,” Horn said. “We all realized going into each game that we were going to get everyone else’s best effort, so we had to come ready to play night in and night out.

“After making it to state last year, it definitely seemed like an expectation this season. We all had the same goal to get back here and we knew we had to work even harder to achieve it.”

Adolph Kochendorfer, who has led the program to its only championship in 2000 alongside four runner-up finishes, announced plans to retire after the conclusion of this season. Kochendorfer has won over 500 games with the Green and White in more than 30 years at the helm.

“In order to be successful, you have to learn to play hard every single game,” Kochendorfer said. “That is a valuable lesson that these kids have taken on. Everybody tells you how great you are, how you are ranked No. 1; but you are only good if you go out, play hard, use the talent you have and are mentally tough.

“The kids really expected to have success. Which they earned that expectation. But they have still had to prove it. They worked hard over the summer and played a lot of basketball to get ready.”

Senior Hunter Horn, who became the school’s career scoring leader last month, is a returning all-stater averaging 26.2 points per game on 57 percent shooting from the field. He also averages 9.3 rebounds a game and has blocked 47 shots.

Carson Bargfrede, another senior, adds almost 13 points a game, while classmate Jakob Koopman contributes 9.4 points with 8.4 rebounds.

Jack McElroy and Grant Galles are also senior starters. McElroy leads the team with 6.5 assists per contest and 4.5 rebounds. Galles has found his shooting touch since the start of postseason play, adding nearly nine points a night.

Ty Mericle, a junior, is the first player off the bench. He ranks third on the team with 23 made 3-pointers. Logan Hanson, a freshman, has played in 23 games this year and has 45 points and 59 rebounds.

The Gaels are just one of two North Central Conference teams to ever cut down the nets, having claimed their title in 2000. Iowa Falls-Alden, with future Kansas and NBA star Nick Collison, went back-to-back in 1998 and 1999 for gold.

“Our conference is great in preparing us for the grind of postseason basketball,” Kochendorfer said. “Being the smallest team in it, we’ve got to figure out how to compete with the likes of Clear Lake, Algona and Humboldt.

“Even when the score might look one-sided, we’ve had to really battle to make that happen.”

St. Edmond’s title group 26 years ago was also the last one to earn a win over a defending state champion, as they knocked off the Cadets that year. This past season, the Gaels avenged their loss to Madrid, 47-38, and shared for the NCC title for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.

“After losing last year (at state), it was awful,” Horn said. “I personally never want to feel that way again. I know a lot of us on the team share the same (sentiments), and are going do whatever it takes for that not to happen.

“Our starting five has a saying: ‘remember that feeling.’ We always say it when we need some extra motivation.”