DEKALB - It’s funny the path fate takes to bring two schools together on one basketball court, even if it takes almost two dozen years.

It’s not hard for fans of Newark High School basketball to remember 1986. In fact, it’s pretty hard to forget. That was supposed to be the year for the Norsemen, ranked as high as second and fifth in the final Class A poll of the regular season before taking a 29-0 record into the championship game of the Princeton Sectional. A spot in the supersectional at DeKalb was as big a lock as there was in IHSA basketball at the time.

Unfortunately, Brad Bickett and Lance Harris were among tiny Ohio High School’s 86 students, and Newark never made it to Chick Evans Fieldhouse.

Not many NHS fans recall, however, that the team could very well have ended up facing Annawan on its derailed trip to state. The Braves were good enough to hand Ohio its only two defeats prior to the state title game loss to Teutopolis, those coming in the old Indian Valley Conference regular season and tournament. They were rated 16th in the final poll and were 27-2 before losing to No. 7 ranked Kewanee in the Moline Supersectional.

They haven’t been back to a super since, nor has Newark been as close to one.

Had Ohio and Kewanee not intervened, the Norsemen and the Braves would have met in the late semifinal at the Assembly Hall in Champaign for the right to play T-Town for the title.

Instead, that fickle fate will attempt to make up for that painful twist now, 23 years later, by pitting Newark and Annawan in the Stillman Valley Class 1A Supersectional in DeKalb Tuesday at 6 p.m.

"The irony is that in ‘86, Newark got beat by a school that would have been 1A," Newark coach Rick Tollefson said with a laugh. "I think the kids are very much aware of the history of Newark basketball, how there have been so many great teams that won regionals. Even the ‘86 team had two Division I players (Larry Hilt, David Olson), maybe the only two ever to come out of Newark’s program. They reached the sectional championship, but wasn’t able to get it, so maybe metaphorically there’d been a cloud hanging over Newark.

"But now that’s done. These kids are proud to wear ‘Newark’ on the front of their jerseys to represent the community that’s supported us so well. They knew they had a chance to make some history of their own and made the most of it. Now we hope to add to that come Tuesday. It won’t be easy. Annawan is a very good team. I believe that if we play the solid, hard-nosed basketball we played Friday, we can play with anybody."

The Norsemen are on a roll, to be sure, due to their balanced scoring and strong defense. Friday night it was senior point guard Kurt Anderson’s chance to shine, though younger brother Kyle Anderson had a strong first half. It could be his turn this time, or Drew Tollefson’s, or Nick Slack’s, or John Avery’s, provided he’s up to speed after injuring his back at Somonauk. Balance is the beauty of Newark basketball.

The Braves are on a roll of their own, bouncing back from a 1-3 start to reach 24-8 in large part behind the play of Alex Coppejans. The 6-4 junior all-state candidate has been on fire early and often in Annawan games this season, but never more so than at last week’s River Ridge Sectional. In the semifinal against Polo, Coppejans popped in 18 points in the first 11 minutes of the game and ended up with 34 in a 66-56 over the Marcos.In Friday night’s championship clash, he collected 14 points in the first quarter on his way to a game-best 31 points in a surprisingly easy 82-57 victory over South Beloit.

He’s not alone as a threat. Sophomore guard Matt Dedecker contributed 14 and 10 points in those games, respectively, while 6-1 sophomore Mackenzie Chapman collected eight points and 12 rebounds against Polo and 6-4 senior Dylan Rakestraw chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds versus the SoBos.

But the man to stop, or at least try to contain, is Coppejans. Newark was touched by St. Anne’s Javonta Davis for 16 points in the Somonauk Sectional finale, and the Braves star seems to be every bit the versatile, athletic scorer he was.

Knowing Coppejans penchant for fast starts, don’t be surprised if the Norsemen start guarding him tight - really tight - as soon as he gets off the bus at Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center.

"I think he‘s been scoring about half their points. He‘s been hot, especially at the sectional," said Tollefson. "I think Kyle may be the only one athletic enough with size to stay with him, but everyone will help out.

"We just have to stay relaxed and play ball. Our kids were a little tight in the favorites role at the regional, but when no one expected us to do much at the sectional, we were relaxed and aggressive. We haven’t been mentioned in a poll more than once all year. Now someone told me there’s a poll where we’re 12th and there are only eight teams left in 1A. Annawan’s gotten more press around the state than we have, I guess, but that’s OK. We’ll be the underdog, do our best and see what happens."