53 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti
Wednesday, March 11, 1953
Dover, Ohio

THE QUESTION - Perhaps the question in county sports circles this week is this.  Is Strasburg really outclassed in the Regional Tournament?  On the face of the situation, this would appear to be the case.  The Northwestern Huskies are possessors of a record that would place them in the favorite's role by some 15 points or more.

Disregarding the fact that Head Coach Roy Bates brought his charges to Strasburg before the season started and that the Huskies walked away from the Tigers, we can turn to comparative scores for more proof.  The 2 teams played the Dalton Bulldogs and Navarre Rams with Strasburg defeating Dalton 70-63 and Northwestern whipped the Bulldogs 81-39 and 89-43.  Navarre trampled the Tigers 73-54.  The Huskies nipped the Rams 48-47.

ADD TO THIS - Let's add the fact that Northwestern has an average of 46 percent in shots from the field all season.  It lost but one game to Lansing East in a barnstorming trip.  The Michigan combination won 38-35.  The Class A team, located in the Capital City of the Wolverine State, is regarded as one of the powers in that area and they barely best the Huskies, even with the rules changed a little.

Northwestern doesn't look like much of a ball club, but the Huskies have it.  They have averaged more than 72 points in 31 games.  That is cage wizardry of the 1st order in any man's book.  All this points to a hopeless case for Head Coach Don Martin's Strasburg Tigers.  In the face of these statistics, the Bengals might as well stay home instead of making the trip.

BUT LET'S DIG - Digging into the matter a little deeper and seeing just what Strasburg has that just might offset all the items in favor of a Northwestern victory on Friday night.  The Tigers weren't given much chance to really move this year at the outset of the season when they were badly beaten by the Huskies in a scrimmage at the basketball rules clinic in the Bengal gym.

Strasburg didn't show too much at the start of the season except one thing.  They edged the Pirates of Beach City 61-58, nipped the Pirates of Sugarcreek-Shanesville 41-39 in an overtime and then shaved a victory from the Blue Devils of Midvale 63-62.  These victories indicate the ability to stay in there and play ball right up to the final buzzer.  There were no folding qualities in the Tiger attack.  They lost 4 games, one to the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates on a complete relaxation.

THE SUGARCREEK-SHANESVILLE PIRATES - The Bucs took advantage of the above and roared to a 50-36 win.  Midvale nipped the Tigers 47-45 and this defeat was no disgrace.  The close one at Dalton can be accounted for partially by the fact that Sophomore center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel and Junior guard Fred Peters were not in the lineup.  Navarre's victory indicated another letdown after the Tigers had cinched the County League title 4 days earlier.

Since that time, the Bengals have had to fight all the way for each and every victory.  They were tripped up by the Stone Creek Golden Panthers and then were shoved into the Consolation Division bracket by these same Panthers 62-53 on the following Wednesday.  This defeat was a bitter one for Strasburg, but they tightened their courage and battled their way past the Dundee Bulldogs 62-56, Baltic Eagles 61-43 and the Golden Panthers 76-62, winning the game in an overtime in the latter meeting, after easing past the Mineral City Tigers 58-33.

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT - After qualifying for the Sectional Tournament, the Tigers of Strasburg after a comparatively east win over the Gnadenhutten Indians 75-59, the Bengals once again showed their recuperative powers by defeating Midvale 70-63 in overtime.  Coach Martin's crew trailed by 12 points at one time in this battle.  On to the District Tournament meet where once again that stick-it-out method won a 2-point victory over the Jewett Wildcats 59-57 and then, after a jittery start against the Scio Panthers, Strasburg came from far behind and kayoed the Panthers 59-55.

Northwestern presents the next target.  On paper the Huskies have a red-hot ball club.  The Wayne County squad has lost only 3 games, while winning 54 since Chester, West Salem and Congress Consolidated into one school.  There's no doubt that Northwestern will be top-heavy favorites in the contest.  All the facts and figures seem to point to that.  But the Tigers have not won ball games by facts and figures.

STRASBURG - The Tigers haven't really had a good night of basketball since the tournament started.  There has been one quarter in every game that has caused Coach martin's charges no end of grief.  But they have battled back to win the District Championship.  This rates a 21-gun salute for never giving up.  Evidently that old axiom about the team that won't be beaten still holds true in the majority of the cases.

The Bengals weren't supposed to do much this year.  But there they are.  District Champs and still classed as underdogs.  Even if they don't upend Northwestern and no one can say that they won't, the season has already been a tremendous success.  It's not over yet!

REPRESENTATIVE PAT DUNN OF STRASBURG - Representative Dunn has introduced a resolution into the Ohio General Assembly "Extending felicitations and congratulations to the Strasburg High School Basketball Team on its outstanding 1953 record."  The resolution, numbered 78, read in part:  "Whereas, the fighting Warriors from Strasburg under the able direction and leadership of their Head Coach, Don Martin, have already won the County League, Sectional Championship, including victory in the Consolation game and are headed straight-away for laurels in the District Tournament."

Part of the resolution stated that the Superintendent, Principal, Coach and each player of the Strasburg Team was to receive a "properly authenticated copy" of the document.