Courtesy of Alpha Media USA Lincoln.A file photo of Paul Forch in his early days of coaching. The longtime Lincoln East boys basketball coach and science teacher passed away on Dec. 13, 2024 at the age of 90. Photo courtesy of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame. LINCOLN–(KFOR Dec. 17)–Paul Forch, the first boys basketball coach in Lincoln East High School history that built the Spartans into a city and state powerhouse through the 1970s and 1980s, passed away on Dec. 13 in Lincoln.  He was 90-years-old. Forch, a native of Stratton, Nebraska and a hall of fame athlete at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, coached basketball and taught science at East from when the school opened in the fall of 1967 until his retirement in 1995.  He started his coaching career at Kearney in 1958 before moving to McCook, where he helped lead the Bison to a state runner-up finish in the 1965 Class B state tournament. Forch came to Lincoln in 1967 to be the new boys basketball coach and science teacher at East High School.  Within the first four seasons, Forch led the Spartans to the 1971 Class A State Championship and that led to an incredible run of post-season appearances for East.  He coached the Spartans to state runner-up finishes in 1972 and 1974, before East won the Class A title in 1978.  The Spartans were also runner-up 1980 and 1985. Forch’s teams also captured several city, conference and district titles in his 28 seasons.  The ’78 East team that won the Class A state championship was the first wildcard or at-large bid to capture the state crown. Several players Forch coached include former Nebraska basketball players Roger Leitner (McCook), Kent Reckewey, Curt Hedberg and Jed Bargen (all from East).  A few others played at other major schools, including Derek Sailors (New Mexico State), Alex Stivrins (Creighton and Colorado), and Mike Bargen (Marquette). Sailors, who teamed with Stivrins and former Nebraska Wesleyan center/forward Paul Baker on East’s ’78 state championship squad, told KFOR Sports Forch had an impact on his life. “I think we all have had our favorite instructors growing up and going into high school and he was mine,” Sailors said.  “Just a great role model.” During East’s run to the Class A title that year, the Spartans suffered a district tournament final loss to Lincoln Southeast but managed to have enough points under the wildcard system in its second year at the time to qualify for State.  East defeated Millard (now Millard South) and Omaha Central to reach the Class A final and a rematch with Southeast.  The Spartans won 66-49 over the Knights, which then began a 19-game win streak that carried over into the next season and all signs pointed to East repeating as Class A champ. East was upset in the 1979 district semifinals by Southeast, 55-54, at a game played at the old Pershing Auditorium.  Like the previous season, East qualified for State via the wildcard.  But the Spartans fell to eventual state champ Omaha Northwest 60-58 in the Class A quarterfinals.  Sailors said it was a disappointment they couldn’t win back-to-back state titles, but they were fun times. “We were the talk of the town for quite a while,” Sailors said.  “Had a good squad there. Came up short unfortunately but still nothing but the best memories in the world.” East’s road to the top began in 1971, when the Spartans qualified for the Class A State Tournament and won three straight thrilling games, including the title game.  With a tied game at 72 against Papillion (now Papillion-LaVista High), East inbounded the ball with about five seconds left in the game, full-length of the court. Jack Ball’s toss went sailing toward the right down the court, but was rescued by sophomore forward Rick Samuelson and Scott Copple came down the court, caught the ball and lobbed it 25 feet into the basket on a line-drive shot to give the Spartans their first state title. Video of that particular play was revisited by KFOR’s media partner, 10/11 News, in a retrospective done in March 1980.  Link to that footage is below. Miracle on Vine Street East’s explosiveness on the basketball scene came during a time that many consider to be Lincoln’s golden-age of high school basketball from the 1960s into the 1980s, which saw the Spartans competing with Lincoln Northeast, Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln High in many city contests that drew large crowds.  Many of those games were played at Pershing Auditorium before capacity crowds.  The coaching fraternity at the time featured Forch, Hall of Fame coaches Ed Johnson (Northeast), Wally McNaught (Southeast) and Aldie Johnson (Lincoln High). Forch was later inducted into the Lincoln East, Nebraska High School Sports, University of Nebraska-Kearney and the National High School Sports Halls of Fame.  Sailors, Stivrins, and Mike Bargen are among Forch’s former players to go on and play professionally in Europe.  Stivrins was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA in 1985 and played one season with the Phoenix Suns in the early 1990s, while also winning a Continental Basketball Association title with the Omaha Racers in 1993. Like many that played for or had him as a science teacher at East, Sailors says Coach Forch will be missed. “He was a very special man,” Sailors concluded. A celebration of life will be held for Paul Forch sometime after the first of the year. Click the link below to the interview KFOR’s Jeff Motz had with Sailors. Remembering Lincoln East boys basketball coach Paul Forch