Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond teammates Carson Bargfrede (42) and Grant Galles celebrate the team’s Class 1A substate championship on Saturday night at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

DES MOINES — All year, the top-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys have carried the responsibility of lofty expectations.

On Saturday night from the Knapp Center on the campus of Drake University, the Gaels looked those expectations square in the eyes and met the challenge.

Hunter Horn scored 28 points with 10 rebounds, Jakob Koopman added 14 and 10, and St. Edmond punched a return trip to the state tournament with a resounding 71-54 victory over Riverside.

The Gaels (23-2 overall) will open play on Tuesday, March 10, at the Casey’s Center in the quarterfinals versus Woodbine (17-8). The Tigers knocked off defending state champion Madrid in the game prior here Saturday, 56-51.

“Ever since last year, we’ve had the same goal: to get back to state and prove ourselves again,” said Horn, who became the school’s career scoring leader earlier this year. “This is just another step in doing so.”

Riverside (14-11), a surprise to reach this round, made it tough on St. Edmond in the early going, exchanging buckets through the first quarter. The Bulldogs finished the night with 11 made 3-pointers, but could not contain Horn inside.

Horn scored nine in the first quarter and added nine more in the second, while Koopman finished the opening half with 11 points of his own.

The lead changed hands six times in the first five minutes before a 9-2 run by the Gaels that gave them control. Consecutive baskets by Grant Galles, Ty Mericle and Koopman sparked the rally, and St. Edmond would never trail again.

“We just had to improve our talking on defense,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “I didn’t think we were doing a very good job of that early on. Once we did, we switched and were able to make them take tougher shots.”

The Gaels continued to add to their lead, using a 20-7 run to take a 12-point advantage. Koopman answered a Riverside run with six consecutive points himself, and Carson Bargfrede put an exclamation point on the half with a putback slam to make it 45-28.

Bargfrede scored 11, Jack McElroy added nine points and nine assists, and Galles finished with seven. The Gaels held a plus-16 advantage in total rebounds and blocked four shots, including three by Horn.

“After the first quarter, we finally settled down and rebounded and switched on screens,” Koopman said. “We were also able to run the floor on offense like we have done all year.”

For Riverside, Owen Fenner drained five triples and had a team-high 19 points. Leading scorer Peyton Amdor was held to just nine points — eight below his average.

Both Horn and Koopman noted that this was just the first part of a quest that ends with a win in the state championship to match St. Edmond’s only title squad in 2000.

“We’ve just got to keep working to get better in the next week and prepare ourselves,” Horn said.

Koopman, who suffered an injury in the substate finals last year that limited his playing time at state, added, “We have to start preparing for the road ahead now.”

ST. EDMOND 71, RIVERSIDE 54

St. Edmond – Jakob Koopman 6 1-2 14, Jack McElroy 4 0-0 9, Grant Galles 3 0-1 7, Hunter Horn 13 2-7 28, Carson Bargfrede 4 2-4 11, Ty Mericle 1 0-0 2, Logan Hanson 0 0-0 0, Jackson Calvert 0 0-0 0, Jacob Nieland 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31 5-14 71.

Riverside – Dawson Henderson 4 0-0 11, Cole Jeppesen 2 0-1 4, Brody Henderson 3 0-0 9, Peyton Amdor 3 0-0 9, Owen Fenner 7 0-0 19, Grant Richardson 0 0-0 0, Paden Schechinger 0 0-0 0, Trig Drahota 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 3-5 54.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 21-17, 45-28, 54-38. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 4 (Koopman 1, McElroy 1, Galles 1, Bargfrede 1), Riverside 11 (Martens 5, D. Henderson 3, B. Henderson 3). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 31, Riverside 15. Steals: St. Edmond 5, Riverside 2. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 4, Riverside 1. Turnovers: St. Edmond 10, Riverside 9. Team fouls: St. Edmond 9, Riverside 12.