55 - Right Down The Line

Sports Editor
Thursday, February 24, 1955
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

IT SEEMED AS THOUGH the entire crowd at Memorial Hall was waiting to see if history would repeat itself when the Strasburg Tigers and Tuscarawas Broncos collided.  Despite the fact that the Tigers took a big lead and held it all the way, the game was as tense and dramatic in the final canto as it was at the very outset.  The Bengals' attack which was power-packed last week against the Port Washington Purple Riders, was just as smooth against the Broncos last night with the ability of every player to score brought out during the course of the contest.

Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel was never better than he was last night and it was his effort in the 1st quarter that served to give the Tigers of Strasburg the big boost they needed to get into the driver's seat.  But then Senior Gene Hensel, Junior Jim Kuecher and Senior Jerry Haswell took turns in sparking Strasburg's attack in the 3 quarters and the die was cast.  Sophomore Jerry Froman turned in a good game in the rebounding department and Junior Will Rieger helped take up the slack during the 7 minutes the Tigers played without the services of Goose.

SENIOR TERRY DEEMS of Tusky once again showed why he is classed as one of the best players in the area as he connected from all around and time and again picked up the pace for the Broncos when it seemed as though they were sagging under the fast-breaking Bengal attack.  Except for that first quarter, the contest was a slam-bang donnybrook all the way, but that initial surge was enough to keep Strasburg, certainly one of the best balanced clubs to carry the Orange and Black banner in the past few seasons, in the driver's seat.

Last night's 3 games were a sample of the inspired play usually turned in during the tournaments.  Three games packed with action were served up to the capacity crowd and you can't hardly get that kind of crowds anymore.

ITS CERTAINLY A WONDER that at least a dozen fans didn't arbitrarily figure in a collapse with the lack of air.  Memorial Hall always is stuffy when it is crowded.  The players use up plenty of oxygen in a normal situation, let alone in a packed arena in a closely contested game.  The place was like a blast-furnace and there wasn't a bit of ventilation.  They wouldn't have needed any heat or furnace at all with the air as stale as it was last night.

Certainly, if no remodeling of Memorial Hall is feasible, then there should be something done about the ventilation in the place.  It isn't exactly the healthiest atmosphere in the world when there are as many people as there were last night.