DES MOINES — The parallels were nearly impossible to ignore, and it all led to the most fitting conclusion possible for a legendary coach and his final senior class.

Over two decades ago, the St. Edmond boys were willed to victory in a state championship game to remember thanks in large part to the coaching of Adolph Kochendorfer and the play of Jack Brownlee.

On Friday evening, the Gaels duplicated that feat with an incredible rally that left Bellevue Marquette stunned and the Green and White at the top of the Class 1A world.

St. Edmond overcame a seven-point deficit to defeat the Defenders here inside a packed Casey’s Center and hoist the golden trophy after a 54-42 victory. Hunter Horn, captain of the all-tournament team, scored a game-high 21 points, including nine during a memorable 19-0 run that took the Gaels from shaky ground to the promised land.

“Surreal,” Horn said. “That’s really all I can say about how this feels. Amazing, incredible. It’s worth all the work to be able to call ourselves state champions.”

From the 2:17 mark of the third quarter until there was just 2:13 left in regulation, the Gaels (26-2 overall) did not allow a single point to Bellevue Marquette (25-3), which has now finished as a state runner-up three consecutive seasons.

Jakob Koopman, once again tasked with defending the top offensive threat, added nine points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist without a turnover in 28 minutes of action. Carson Bargfrede added 13 points and three rebounds.

Jack McElroy recorded five points with two steals, Grant Galles scored three points and had four rebounds, and Ty Mericle drained a 3-pointer off the bench.

But the defense will be remembered for years to come, much like that memorable night when Brownlee and company won it all.

“All I was thinking about (when St. Edmond was down) was how hard we had worked and that it couldn’t end like this,” Koopman said. “We had to fight back. We had to come back because we knew we were capable of it.

“We just locked in on defense like Coach (Kochendorfer) told us to do.”

Bargfrede’s father, Cory, was part of that 2000 title squad, alongside Brownlee.

“It feels great to do it again 26 years later,” Carson said. “We’ve all worked so hard for this. It just feels incredible.”

For the third consecutive game at state, the Gaels were tied with their opponent after the first period. But unlike the first two, Bellevue Marquette took a lead into the break.

St. Edmond shot just 11-for-25 from the field and missed five free throws in the opening 16 minutes, committing three turnovers during that span. In the second half, they were plus-six at the charity stripe compared to the Defenders and had only two turnovers.

The eventual momentum-shifting run in the fourth started late in the third when Horn began attacking the basket. The school’s career scoring leader, Horn got to the free throw line three consecutive times to end the quarter, taking it from a 39-32 Bellevue Marquette lead to just a three-point game.

Bargfrede started the fourth with a basket, and the Gael seniors were off and running. Koopman followed to put St. Edmond up, 40-39, and Horn proceeded to drain a 3-pointer.

McElroy had four of his five points on baskets in the lane during the run around another Horn field goal.

“I kind of just started asking for the basketball,” Horn said. “We weren’t getting much going against their zone, and we had to change that.”

Koopman added, “we knew if they couldn’t score, we’d be able to get back in it.”

“We just put all our effort into our defense,” Koopman said. “We are all best friends and so close that we didn’t point fingers or get down. We know what we are capable of and what we can do when we play together.”

Once the final horn sounded and the Gaels had received their trophy, Horn led a parade past the St. Edmond faithful that had helped will them to victory.

“That was just incredible,” said Horn, who looked towards the SEHS crowd to pump them up countless times down the stretch. “We have the best fans and they were right there with us all the way.”

Kochendorfer, the general for all six championship appearances, was honored for winning over 600 games in his career during halftime of the 2A title contest.

“It honestly hasn’t sunk in yet (that this was his final game coaching),” Kochendorfer said. “I’m sure over the next couple of days it definitely will, but I’m just so happy for these kids and our coaches. They’ve put in the work and given everything to each other to make this happen.

“We’ve had some great players and teams over the years, and these guys are part of all of that and will be forever.”

ST. EDMOND 54,

BELLEVUE MARQUETTE 42

St. Edmond — Jakob Koopman 4-12 1-2 9, Jack McElroy 2-4 1-4 5, Grant Galles 1-3 0-2 3, Hunter Horn 6-13 8-14 21, Carson Bargfrede 5-14 2-2 13, Ty Mericle 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 19-48 12-24 54.

Bellevue Marquette — Koen Roeder 3-7 2-2 10, Cameron Gerlach 1-1 0-0 2, Canden Weber 2-6 0-0 6, Justin Severson 4-4 0-0 8, Louis Gonner 0-2 0-0 0, Taegin Smith 2-7 0-0 6, Wyatt Gregorich 0-0 0-0 0, Tate Kueter 4-14 1-1 10. Totals: 16-41 3-3 42.

Quarter scores: Tied 14-14; Bellevue Marquette led 30-28, 39-36. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 4-12 (Koopman 0-1, McElroy 0-1, Galles 1-2, Horn 1-2, Bargfrede 1-4, Mericle 1-2), Bellevue Marquette 7-25 (Roeder 2-4, Weber 2-5, Gonner 0-2, Smith 2-7, Kueter 1-7). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 29, Bellevue Marquette 27. Assists: St. Edmond 6, Bellevue Marquette 8. Steals: St. Edmond 8, Bellevue Marquette 2. Turnovers: St. Edmond 5, Bellevue Marquette 16. Team fouls: St. Edmond 12, Bellevue Marquette 21.