53 - 31st Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament Stats

TOURNAMENT STANDINGS

1.  Midvale Blue Devils (Bob Singerman-1) 4-0 1.000 (TC) 6th Title
2.  Strasburg Tigers (Don Martin-5) 4-1 .800 (CC) 5th Title
3.  Gnadenhutten Indians (Fritz Jacobs-3) 2-1 .666 (TR-U)
4.  Port Washington Purple Riders (Bray Toot-7) 3-2 .600
5.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers (Ken Newlon-6) 2-2 .500
6.  Baltic Eagles (Doyle Shumaker-3) 1-2 .333
7.  Dundee (Woody Gephart-1) 1-2 .333
8.  Tuscarawas Broncos (Chuck Lorenz-3) 1-2 .333
9.  Bolivar Cardinals (Chuck Warren-1) 0-2 .000
10. Mineral City Tigers (Bob Heacock-1) 0-2 .000
11. Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (Bob Wise-1) 0-2 .000

TOURNAMENT SCORES

TUESDAY 2-10-53

Port 53 - Dundee 45
Midvale 60 - Bolivar 46
Tusky 71 - Mineral City 49

WEDNESDAY 2-11-53

Stone Creek 62 - Strasburg 53
Baltic 71 - Port 46

THURSDAY 2-12-53

Dundee 68 - Bolivar 60 (C)
Strasburg 58 - Mineral City 33 (C)
Midvale 70 - Sugarcreek 53

FRIDAY 2-13-53

Port 75 - Sugarcreek 74 (C)
Strasburg 62 - Dundee 56 (C)
Gnaden 65 - Tusky 56

THURSDAY 2-19-53

Port 67 - Tusky 65 (C)
Midvale 60 - Baltic 50
Gnaden 60 - Stone Creek 53

FRIDAY 2-20-53

Strasburg 61 - Baltic 43 (C)
Stone Creek 81 - Port 66 (C)

SATURDAY 2-21-53

Strasburg 76 - Stone Creek 62 (CC)
Midvale 71 - Gnaden 66 OT (TC)

SECTIONAL THURSDAY 2-26-53

Strasburg 75 - Gnaden 59

SECTIONAL FRIDAY 2-27-53

Midvale 63 - Killbuck 62

SECTIONAL SATURDAY 2-26-53

Strasburg 70 - Midvale 63 OT

DISTRICT WEDNESDAY 3-4-53

Strasburg 59 - Jewett 57

DISTRICT SATURDAY 3-7-53 (DC)

Strasburg 59 - Scio 55

REGIONAL FRIDAY 3-13-53

Strasburg 53 - Northwestern 43

REGIONAL SATURDAY 3-14-53

Canfield 60 - Strasburg 57

STATE TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES

1928 - StrasburgTigers
1932 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates
1935 - Strasburg Tigers
1937 - Midvale Blue Devils
1938 - Strasburg Tigers
1940 - Midvale Blue Devils
1941 - Midvale Blue Devils
1942 - Gnadenhutten Indians

MOST POINTS SINGLE GAME THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 32
2.  Ken Huston (P) 30
3.  Dick Tolloti (M) 28
4.  Dale Haut (BC) 27
5.  Don Graham (M) 23
6.  Jerry Haswell (S) 23
7.  Ken Huston (P) 23
8.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 23
9.  Jerry Gasser (SC) 22
10. Bill Jones (SC) 22

MOST FIELD GOALS SINGLE GAME THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Jum Lorenz (SC) 11
2.  Jerry Haswell (S) 10
3.  Bill Jones (SC) 10
4.  Dick Tolloti (M) 10
5.  Jim Weinmann (S) 10
6.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 9
7.  Del Haut (BC) 9
8.  Bob Gray (P) 9
9.  Ken Huston (P) 9
10. Ralph Vesco (T) 9

MOST FREE THROWS SINGLE GAME THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Ken Huston (P) 12
2.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 10
3.  Ed Minteer (G) 10
4.  Del Haut (BC) 9
5.  Jerry Gasser (SC) 8
6.  Bob Gray (P) 8
7.  Ken Huston (8) 8
8.  Ed Minteer (G) 8
9.  Max Miller (SS) 8
10. Dick Tolloti (M) 8

MOST POINTS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Ken Huston (P) 99
2.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 86
3.  Dick Tolloti (M) 73
4.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (S) 69
5.  Bill Jones (SC) 67
6.  Don Graham (M) 59
7.  Jerry Gasser (SC) 58
8.  Jim Weinmann (S) 56
9.  Bob Gray (P) 56
10. Don Tharp (T) 51

MOST FIELD GOALS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Ken Huston (P) 34
2.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 32
3.  Bill Jones (SC) 29
4.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (S) 28
5.  Dick Tolloti (M) 26
6.  Bob Gray (P) 23
7.  Jim Weinmann (S) 23
8.  Ralph Vesco (T) 23
9.  Don Graham (M) 22
10. 6 tied with 19

MOST FREE THROWS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Ken Huston (P) 31
2.  Jim Lorenz (SC) 23
3.  Ed Minteer (G) 22
4.  Dick Tolloti (M) 21
5.  Jerry Gasser (SC) 20
6.  Weldon Flynn (D) 15
7.  Don Graham (M) 15
8.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (S) 13
9.  Carl Grossenbacher (G) 13
10. Don Tharp (T) 13

ALL-TOURNAMENTS

1923-33 See 1933 Tournament
1934-46 See 1946 Tournament
1947 - Strasburg Tigers (11) (2) - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (4) (5)
1948 - Strasburg Tigers (12) (2) - Midvale Blue Devils (3) (5)
1949 - Midvale Blue Devils (4) (5) - Mineral City Tigers (0) (1)
1950 - Midvale Blue Devils (5) (5) - Bolivar Cardinals (2) (5)
1951 - Strasburg Tigers (13-2) - Midvale Blue Devils (5) (6)
1952 - Stone Creek Panthers (1) (0) - Baltic Eagles (0) (2)
1953 - Midvale Blue Devils (6) (6) - Gnadenhutten Indians (3) (4)

ALL-CONSOLATION DIVISION TOURNAMENTS

1934-46 See 1946 Consolation Division Tournament
1947- Tuscarawas Broncos (4) (0) - Bolivar Cardinals (1) (1)
1948 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (2) (2) - Dundee Bulldogs (0) (1)
1949 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (3) (2) - Gnaden Indians (2) (4)
1950 - Strasburg Tigers (4) (1) - Stone Creek Golden Panthers (0) (1)
1951 - Dundee Bulldogs (1) (1) - Tuscarawas Broncos (4) (1)
1952 - Tuscarawas Broncos (5) (1) - Dundee Bulldogs (1) (2)
1953 - Strasburg Tigers (5) (1) - Stone Creek Golden Panthers (0) (2)

TOTAL STANDINGS

1.  Strasburg Tigers (1923) 85-23 .843
2.  Midvale Blue Devils (1928) 58-27 .773
3.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (1927) 55-38 .591
4.  Gnadenhutten Indians (1923) 49-42 .538
5.  Bolivar Cardinals (1923) 47-43 .522
6.  Tuscarawas Broncos (1923) 42-40 .512
7.  Dundee Bulldogs (1923) 30-47 .390
8.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1933) 23-38 .377
9.  Baltic Eagles (1926) 27-47 .365
10. Port Washington Purple Riders (1927) 19-49 .279
11. Mineral City Tigers (1923) 12-47 .203

MOST POINTS SINGLE GAME ALL TOURNAMENTS

1.  Elmer Linard (P) (1946) 34
2.  Elmer Linard (P) (1945) 32
3.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1951) 32
4.  Jim Lorenz (SC) (1953) 32
5.  Fred Walton (T) (1946) 31
6.  Bill Jones (SC) (1952) 31
7.  Harland Stiffe (SS) (1927) 30
8.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951) 30
9.  Ken Huston (P) (1953) 30
10. 2 tied with 29

MOST FIELD GOALS SINGLE GAME ALL TOURNAMENTS

1.  Warren Klink (BC) (1943) 20
2.  Bill Lockett (G) (1943) 15
3.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1951) 15
4.  Harland Shiffe (SS) (1927) 14
5.  Bill Ridenour (SC) (1943) 14
6.  Max Regula (B) (1944) 14
7.  Elmer Linard (P) (1945) 14
8.  Elmer Linard (P) (1946) 14
9.  Fred Walton (T) (1946) 14
10. 7 tied with 13

MOST FREE THROWS SINGLE GAME ALL TOURNAMENTS

1.  Warren Klink (BC) (1943) 12
2.  Bill Ridenour (SC) (1943) 12
3.  Ken Huston (P) (1953) 12
4.  Lester Veigel (T) (1937) 11*
5.  Ernie Raber (SS) (1940) 11
6.  5 tied with 10

TOTAL POINTS

1.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1949-50-51-52) 256
2.  Clarence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 220
3.  Glen Zimmerman (SS) (1948-49-50-51) 218
4.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 199
5.  Warren Klink (BC) (1940-41-42-43) 188
6..  Jim Lindon (G) (1946-47-48-49) 183
7.  Jim Lorenz (SC) (1951-52-53) 183
8.  Frank Baumholtz (M) (1934-35-36-37) 177
9.  Jim Syler (B) (1950-51-52-53) 176
10. Jerry Rausch (T) (1950-51) 173

TOTAL FIELD GOALS

1.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1949-50-51-52) 112
2.  Glen Zimmerman (SS) (1948-49-50) 87
3.  Clarence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 81
4.  Warren Klink (BC) (1940-41-42-43) 79
5.  Jim Lindon (G) (1946-47-48-49) 79
6.  Jim Syler (B) (1950-51-52-53) 77
7.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 77
8.  Jerry Rausch (T) (1950-51) 75
9.  Tom Haswell (S) (1945-46-47-48) 70
10. Jim Lorenz (SC) (1951-52-53) 70

TOTAL FREE THROWS

1.  Charence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 58
2.  Jerry Gasser (SC) (1950-51-52-53) 48
3.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 45
4.  Frank Baumholtz (M) (1934-35-36) 41*
5.  Ken Huston (P) (1951-52-53) 40
6.  Verle Buchler (SC) (1946-47-48-49) 38
7.  Jack Ford (M) (1946-47-48-49) 38
8.  Paul Kate (D) (1946-47-48) 37
9.  3 tied with 33

TEAM HIGH GAME

102 - Tuscarawas Broncos (1946)
  92 - Tuscarawas Broncos (1947)
  85 - Port Washington Purple Riders (1946)
  82 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (1949)
  81 - Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1953)
  77 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (1944)
  77 - Baltic Eagles (1952)
  76 - Tuscarawas Broncos (1950)
  76 - Strasburg Tigers (1953)
  75 - Port Washington Purple Riders (1953)

1,000 CAREER POINT CLUB (League-Regular Season-All Tournaments)

John Studer- Strasburg Tigers (1934) 1,050
Frank Baumholtz - Midvale Blue Devils (1937) 997*
* Stats missing 1 game

53 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti
Monday, March 16, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio


HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL - In Tuscarawas County, high school basketball came to an end last Saturday night when the Strasburg Tigers (26-5) lost to the Canfield Cardinals (27-1) 60-57.  The record books are all filled out and ready to be put away and the swift climb of Head Coach Don Martin's youngsters into the State's top brackets is now a matter of history.  But even in defeat, the Tigers rate highly.  The County League Champions lost to a good ball club.  One that can go all the way, for who can say at this stage of the game that the Mahoning County speedsters won't be crowned State Champions next Saturday.

The defeat was far from humiliating for the Bengals, just as they have done all year, never conceded.  Canfield's fast break is the swiftest attack we have seen in high school ball in recent years.  While the Cardinals, who lost out in State Championship finals in 1940 and 1941, try to grab the highest basketball honors that exist, Strasburg will put away the equipment for another year.

RECORDS - The Martinmen, records will show, went farther than any other Strasburg team.  They will have the Tigers winning their 6th District Crown.  But the story of the comeback abililty of the 1952-53 Strasburg team can't be depicted by figures.  The famous remark by the late Francis Schmidt, Ohio State's football coach in the 30s, seemed to fit the Strasburg ability to stay in the game.  When asked if he feared a coming encounter with Michigan Schmidt retorted:  "They put their pants on same as we do, one leg at a time."

Strasburg's opponents down the tournament trail found out that the game has 32 minues and the team that is ahead at the end of those 32 minutes wins the game.  A team didn't get 2 chances to make mistakes, one was enough for the Tigers to step into the breach.  The Scio Panthers (24-2) and Midvale Blue Devils (20-7) had big leads on Strasburg during tournament play, but these disappeared in the stretch.  The Northwestern Huskies (30-2) lost out on 2 costly turnovers in the last 4 minues.  That was all the Tigers needed.

SATURDAY NIGHT - The Canfield Cardinals started a deliberate stall with a 14-point lead at the outset of the 3rd stanza.  But 4 minutes later that lead was down to 6 points and the Cardinals were forced to battle down the stretch instead of relaxing as they had planned.  There may have been better ball clubs in years past, but no Tiger fan will forget the 1952-53 combination.  In fact this year's team could be classed as the best all-around team in Tiger History.

Seniors, Jim Weinmann and Max Bonifant, will be missed next year.  Each played a tremendous part in the tournament stretch.  Weinmann's steady play and his ability to keep the opponent's defense loose with long push shots from out front was a factor in each of the victories.  Bonifant, who started perhaps only 3 times during the regular season, won a starting berth in the tournament and he proved to be instrumental in the victorious march.  Dale Helwick and Dean Roush, the only other 2 Seniors on the squad, played in only one tournament game after the county Class B Festival, but their help was there all during the regular season.

Sophomores, Jerry Haswell and Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel, both of whom were chosen on the All-County League Team, still lhave 2 more years of basketball to play, while Juniors, Fred Peters, John Shetler and Eldon (Zeke) Mullett will be back next season.  With a nucleus such as this, Strasburg can well look ahead and say, "Wait til next year."  But they won't find a harder team to beat than this year's outfit anywhere around in the Class B circles.

A team can look mighty tough on paper when it comes to figuring all around attributes, but it takes action  to back up the paper work and the Tigers had  it.  Tuscarawas County is mighty proud of the Bengals.  It'll take a lot of convincing to make county fans believe that Canfield wasn't mighty lucky to get out with a win.  It's been a highly successful season for Head Coach Don Martin and his men.  There were 26 victories and 5 defeats.  Canfield was rated number 3 in the State in the final Class B Associated Press polls.  The Waynesburg Mohawks (25-1) was in 2nd place.  From where we sit, that makes Strasburg rank pretty high.

JOHNNY ZION - Strasburg Elementary School Teacher, John Zion, is in for some exercise.  Zion, who lives in New Philadelphia, promised the basketball team that he would walk from his home to the school if the Tigers beat Northwestern.  There'll be a pair of barking dogs after that hike.

NOTE:  JOHNNY ZION COMPLETES PLEDGE

John Zion, who promised the Strasburg High School cagers he would walk from New Philadelphia into Strasburg if the Tigers whipped Northwestern last Friday, carried out his part of the bargain on Monday.  Whether it was because he didn't think he could make it or to just have a bit more time.  Zion started out from his home at 4:05 and arrived at the school at 6:10, with a stop over for a cup of coffee on the way.

That's quite a bit of walking and Zion, who thought so too, went into his classroom and grabbed a few winks of sleep before his pupils arrived bright eyed and ready for leaning.  Zion's dogs were quite weary and there'll probably be a shoe cobbler getting some business in the near future.  That's quite a bit of wear and tear on shoe leather.  Congratulations Johnny.  That should be enough exercise for a while.

53 - Strasburg Stumbles! 60-57 (3-14-53)

The 1953 Strasburg Tigers Cheerleaders.  Senior Georgean Haswell - Senior Joelene Seese - Senior Betty Shutt and Junior Kuecher.


CANTON - The Canfield Cardinals (27-1) staggered to a 60-57 victory over the Strasburg Tigers (9-2) (26-5) in the Canton Class B Eastern Regional Tournment on Saturday night and earned the right to move on to the State cage carnival in the Cincinnati Gardens, but the Mahoning Countians were on the ropes and reeling when the final buzzer sounded.  Head Coach Don Martin's Tigers roared from far behind and had the Red Birds cornered and ready for the knockout punch when the buzzer saved a victory for the Northern Ohio team.

Canfield literally flew into the lead at the close of the 1st quarter as they uncoiled a fast-break attack that swept the Tigers back.  But the Eastern Ohio Class B Champion Bengals never conceded the ball game and turned on the heat in the last 2 quarters with a comeback that had the crowd of 2,655 shaking the rafters with cheers.  A pressing defense, that had Strasburg fighting for room in which to maneuver, was the clamping factor that gave the Cardinals its early lead with its twin racers forwards, Rod and Ron Payne,  ripping through to grab the ball and knife into scoring position.

But that superiority faded in the 3rd stanza and the Tigers cracked down with guard Don Tate's jump shot the difference between the 2 ball clubs.  The Red Bird forwards poured 4 baskets through the nets to save their team from faltering completely.  The victors slowed down to a walk in the final canto as they took but 6 shots after bombarding the nets for 48 in the 1st three quarters.  Canfield went into a partial stall every time it had the ball in the last 2 periods as Head Coach Francis McLaughlin changed his tactics in an effort to stop the Bengal steamrollers that gained momentum with the waning minutes.

Strasburg trailed 37-23 going into the 3rd period.  The Cardinals picked off the ball and held it in an effort to pull the Tigers away from the bucket, but the Bengals bided their time, stole the sphere and shot into the opening while springing from the floor with a 7-point punch that floored the confident Red Birds.  With Strasburg threatening, Canfield took time out and after the rest, went into a sparring game.  Tate, who led the victors with 17 points, scored 9 of those markers in the 3rd stanza as he traded baskets with the Tigers and kept his mates in the driver's seat.

But with Senior forward Jim Weinmann and Sophomore guard Jerry Haswell hitting from out front, the Bengals clipped off 5 points and crashed into the final canto with a renewed vigor.  The Cardinals managed to hang on by means of a slick ball handling and dribbling on the part of the Payne twins as Strasburg couldn't get closer than 7 points until the last 3 minutes.  With the score 55-47, Junior guard Eldon (Zeke) Mullett cashed in on a layup shot and 30 seconds later Sophomore Jerry (Moose) Von Kaenel netted another to make the score 55-51 with 2 minutes and 28 seconds left to play.

At this point, with the Red Birds stalling the ball and wasting the clock, Ron Payne came through with an important basket as he dribbled toward the side and cut in through the keyhole for a layup shot that widened the gap to 57-51 and dashed cold water on the scorching ambitions of the Tigers.  But the Orange and Black got back into contention as Zeke canned 2 free throws to make the score 57-53 with 1:58 on the clock.  Once again Canfield went into a stall and missed 3 out of 4 free throw chances, scoring one at the 1:30 mark to make the score 58-53.

Seconds later, Ron Payne followed center Loren Less, who was ousted with 2 and a half minutes to go in the 3rd period, to the showers on personal fouls.  But Junior forward John Shetler missed the 2 tosses he was granted and Goose, who had missed but 2 out of 12 free throw shot attempts the entire game, missed one of 2 shots from the free throw line before Rod Payne ended the Cardinal scoring with 2 free throw shots to make the score 60-54 with a minute to go.  Zeke canned a brace of free throws at the 54 second mark and after the Red Birds stalled precious seconds away, Shetler threw in one of 2 tosses to make the score 60-57 with 23 seconds left.

Canfield grabbed the ball and stalled with Strasburg getting the sphere just 2 seconds before the game ended.  The Cardinals rushed to the lead at the outset of the game as Tate stole the ball and went all the way down to score and Rod Payne threw in a set shot.  But the Tigers battled back with Haswell, Zeke, Goose and Weinman all chipping in points to take the lead 7-6 and deadlock the count at 8-8 with 2 minutes and 31 seconds left in the 1st quarter.

 Less, Ron Payne and guard Keith West, took over at this point and with the press crowding the Bengals into the back court grabbed the ball and rattled the rims for 5 straight baskets before Strasburg could score again.  The same trio ran up the margin in the 2nd frame with only Goose's scoring efforts helping stem the tide.  The Red Birds had a 16-point lead 33-17 at one time in the 2nd frame and walked off the floor at halftime leading 37-23.

Canfield, a hard pressing defensive team, was assessed 23 personal fouls with the Tigers taking advantage of this and cashing in on 25 of 35 attempts at the charity line.  The Bengals actually missed but 7 chances to score from the free throw line, 6 of these coming in the last canto.  Strasburg was charged with but 7 misfactions and the Cardinals made 6 free throws on 12 attempts.  The Red Birds; however, had a shooting percentage of 50 from the field and made 27 of 54 attempts, while the Tigers scored 16 field goals in 41 attempts for a percentage of 39.2.

Don Tate, Ron Payne and Keith West picked up 17, 14 and 11 points for Canfield, while Goose, Haswell and Zeke led Strasburg with 19, 11 and 10 points.

CANFIELD CARDINALS - 60

Rod Payne F 3-3-9
Ron Payne F 7-0-14
Meyerhoefer F 0-0-0
Loren Less C 3-1-7
Keith West G 5-1-11
Don Tate G 8-1-17
Hull G 1-0-2

STRASBURG TIGERS - 57

Jim Weinmann F 3-1-7
Max Bonifant F 2-1-5
John Shetler F 2-1-5
Jerry (Moose) Von Kaenel C 4-11-19
Jerry Haswell G 4-3-11
Eldon (Zeke) Mullett G 1-8-10


Monday, March 16, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

THE REST OF THE STORY

At State...the Canfield Cardinals (27-1) went on to lose their 1st game to the Philo Electrics 51-49 in overtime.

53 - Tigers Eat Huskies 53-43 (3-13-53)

The Strasburg Defense as well as the sharp-shooting of Tiger Sophomores Forward Jerry Haswell (6-1) and Center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (6-3) dropped the Northwestern Huskies 53-43 out of the Regional Tournament.  Haswell's total at this point is 118 points in 9 games for an average of 13.1 points per game.  Goose has tallied 139 points in 10 games in tournament play for an average of 13.9 points per game.

Jerry Haswell (6-1) of the rampaging Strasburg Tigers goes high for a field goal against the Northwestern Huskies.

Junior Guard Eldon (Zeke) Mullett (6-1) ballet move stumps a Northwestern Huskies' defender.


CANTON - A sweeping 53-43 conquest shot the Strasburg Tigers (9-1) (26-4) into the Class B Regional Tournament finals in Canton tonight against a swift-moving Canfield Fighting Cardinals (26-1) aggregation that handed the Waynesdburg Mohawks (25-1) its 1st loss of the season 54-42.  Head Coach Don Martin's crew ripped the touted Northwestern Huskies (30-2) attack to shreds in the last 7 minutes last night as they hounded the Northwestern ball-handlers all around the Canton Fieldhouse hardwood and then grabbed the rebounds as quick as the ball caromed from the rims.

Tonight's contest will get underway at 8:00.  Tickets for the duel are available at the Houghlan Drug Store and the Strasburg High School at $1.50, $1.00 and 75 cents for Reserved Seats, general admission and student tickets, respectively.  The Tiger's mighty conquest was a team victory all the way as Strasburg out-shot, outfought and outplayed the highly favored Wayne County Champions throughout the entire ball game.

With only 5 men seeing action all the way, Sophomores, forward Jerry Haswell (6-1) and center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (6-3), paced the Tiger attack with 13 points each, but Senior forward Jim Weinmann (6-0) and Junior guard Eldon (Zeke) Mullett (6-1) each collected 11 markers, while Senior forward Max Bonifant (6-0) chipped in 5 important points, all in the 1st half.  The Bengals leaped out front swiftly into the lead 4-0 as Weinmann knifed through Huskie defenses at the outset of the contest and racked up 2 quick field goals.

Northwestern then came back snarling for their only overpowering exhibition of the entire game as they crashed into the limelight on the driving shots of Junior forward Chet Welty (5-11) and Senior center Dale Wegandt to ramble to a 9-4 advantage before Strasburg could stem the tide.  But the lead was short lived as the Tuscarawas County standard bearers slowly cut the margin down with Zeke deadlocking the count and Goose putting the Tigers ahead 13-11 with just one minute remaining in the quarter.  Junior guard Stan Totten (5-10) cashed in on a free throw to end the scoring.

Weygandt, who led both teams in scoring with 21 points and Welty, continued to shoulder the burden for the Huskies in the 2nd frame.  They slipped to a 16-13 advantage in the early minutes of the period with Welty throwing in 2 field goals.  Weygandt added 2 more a short time later as Northwestern assumed a 5-point lead once again this time by 20-15.  From this point on, it was the Bengals' ball game all the way except for a brief flurry that the Huskies managed to exhibit at the close of the 3rd stanza and into the 4th canto.

Haswell and Bonifant took over the offensive chores for the remainder of the 2nd period and gave Strasburg a 4-point lead at the half.  Haswell slithered through the Northwestern zone defense to lay one up and Bonifant followed with one of his special push shots to make the score 20-19...Huskies.  But Haswell gave a whirling dynamo exhibition and fired up the Tiger spark with 2 action shots as he drove into the basket and then followed with a free throw shot to make the score 24-20 before Junior forward Don Fasig (5-11) chimed in with his only field goal to narrow the margin down to 24-22.  Bonifant grabbed the sphere and drove in for a bucket shortly before the half ended and it was 26-23...Strasburg.

Goose and Zeke did all the scoring for the Tigers in the 3rd period as they began to take control of the boards from Northwestern.  But the Huskies stayed within range throughout the frame and slipped into the lead in the last 52 seconds as Welty sank a twisting jump shot to make the score 37-36...Northwestern.  The Tigers regained the edge at the outset of the 4th period 39-37 as Haswell knotted the count on a free throw and Goose continued his mastery under the boards with a tip in.

Wegandt made the last bid for the Huskies as he deadlocked the count 39-39 on a drive-in layup and from there on out it was all Strasburg as the Tigers ripped Northwestern's confidence and eased into the victory.  Haswell gave the lead back to the Bengals for keeps as the Tigers pulled a beautifully timed play down the center of the keyhole with Goose passing off to Haswell under the basket and the latter laying it up.

The strapping Sophomore added a free throw and then Goose reached up and tipped the ball in to give Strasburg a 44-39 lead and 3 and a half minutes left to play.  The Huskies' attack began to crumble at this point as the Tigers brought pressure to bear and then took lthe ball to Haswell finding an opening and driving it underneath from the side to all but clinch it...46-35.

Wegandt made the last bid for free throw shots at 2:02 and Strasburg went into a stall with Northwestern frantically grabbing for the ball.  Weinmann then made a pair of charity throws at 1:15 as the Huskies fumbled the ball in their anxiety to get back in the game and then fouled trying to get the sphere.  The Tigers roared to a 10-point lead with 45 seconds to go and then Weimann added a pair of free throws at the 19-second mark to climax the scoring.

The Bengals made 15 out of 20 free throws to clinch the victory, while Northwestern could manage but 5 of 13.  Both teams collected 19 field goals in the hard-fought contest with Strasburg hitting on 19 of 45 chances for a 42.2 average, while the Huskies made 19 of 62 attempts for a 30.6 mark.

STRASBURG TIGERS - 53

Jim Weinmann F 3-5-11
Max Bonifant F 2-1-5
Jerry (Moose) Von Kaenel C 6-1-13
Jerry Haswell G 5-3-13
Eldon (Zeke) Mullett G 3-5-11

NORTHWESTERN HUSKIES - 43

Chet Welty F 5-0-10
Don Fasig F 2-1-5
Dale Wegandt C 9-3-21
Don Howman G0-0-0
Bob Reinke G 0-0-0
Stan Totten G 3-1-7
Roger Fair G 0-0-0


Saturday, March 14, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

53 - Regional Showdown Between Northwestern and Strasburg

DOVER - With the tickets selling like the proverbial "hot cakes," a packed house is assured in the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse for the opening of the Class B Regional Tournament there tonight.  An aggregation of more than 1,500 fans from Tuscarawas County is expected to be in the stands when Head Coach Don Martin's Tigers take the floor against Northwestern's highly touted Huskies at 7:45 in the role of decided underdogs.

Strasburg, who has yet to experience a really effective night throughout 32 minutes of play in the tournaments, will be "shooting the works" in an effort to claw a victory from the snarling Huskies.  The Tiger cagers put the finishing touches on their defenses in the Fieldhouse yesterday as they worked on a method that will stop the sharp-shooting Wayne County Champions.

In the 2nd game of tonight's sure fire doubleheader, Waynesburg's undefeated Mohawks will hit the warpath against the Canfield Cardinals, a team which rolls into the tournament with a record of 25 victories and but one defeat.  Head Coach Roy Bates' Northwestern team, undefeated in the last 25 outings, has acquired the reputation of being the top shooting team in the tournament perhaps in the State.

While compiling a record of 30 victories and one defeat, Northwestern racked up a shooting percentage of 46, but topped that with a mark of 69 in county tournament play.  In the opening game of the Sectional Tournament, the red-hot Huskies ripped the nets for 65 percent and badly whipped an out classed Savannah team 88-36.  The Strasburg lineup, outreaching Northwestern in height, will have the following:

Jerry Haswell 6-1 Forward
Elden (Zeke) Mullett 6-1 Forward
Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel 6-3 Center
Jim Weinman 6-0 Guard
Max Bonifant 6-0 Guard

John Shetler 6-0, Fred Peters 5-8 and Dale Helwick 5-7, will be ready for substitute duty.

Reports from the Northwestern camp are that the Huskies' offensive tactics are in for a face-lifting and it could be that Head Coach Bates may switch to a fast-breaking attack with his small, swift ball handlers.  Northwestern rambled through Strasburg in a scrimmage before the opening of the season, and are coming into the contest with all feet on deck and are expected to insert some bite in the attack that so far has been publicized by much barking.

The Regional appearance for Strasburg will be the 1st since 1947, when the Tigers, with Tom Haswell and Clarence Yackey were leading the offensive punch, lost to the Lowellville Rockets 59-55 in the Regional Tournament at Kent State University.


Friday, March 13, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

53 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti
Thursday, March 12, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio


WEDNESDAY - On Wednesday morning we received a card from Gale McGrath, who while agreeing with our stand as to the basketball officiating, thought that the doors to Memorial Hall should have been opened sooner on Saturday night.  A Strasburg rooter, McGrath says "Even if we didn't agree with all the fouls etc. we think the boys did a grand job at all the Class B games at Memorial Hall."  This vote of confidence will be greatly appreciated by the officials in the area who have been beleaguered by second guessers.

As to the question of why the doors were not opened sooner at the Hall, there are several extenuating circumstances in the matter.  It all seems to start with the fact there are no reserved seats in Memorial Hall.  When the County Tournament was on there were at least 4 of the 7 nights when the SRO sign was out before the 1st game had barely started.  And in the group of people left out in the cold, on several occasions, were parents of the boys playing in the game.

SEATING - The question of seating was first come, first served with passes, students and in the adult general admission class.  As a result, many came very early and took all the available seats.  Those who got there later were just out of luck.  When the drawings were held for the District Tournament, the administrators and coaches of the schools in the tournament decided that one way of solving this problem would be to give each school a block of 200 adult tickets and 100 student tickets for advance sale.

These tickets were for the night that the school played only.  Since there were 2 schools playing each night, that would mean 600 would already be sold before the doors were opened and approximately 900 more adult tickets would be sold at the box office.

FURTHERMORE - To further insure that the team's followers would get seats, the officials decided to permit those who had purchased tickets earlier to come into the Hall by a separate entrance.  This door was opened at the same time the front doors were unlatched and the box office opened to sell tickets.  This gave the ticket holders from Strasburg, Jewett, Scio and Killbuck, a chance to get seats before the other fans and still permitted those fans who got to the front door early a chance to get a good seat.

If you happened to be one of those who waited at the front door until 7:00 Saturday, you have a legitimate gripe coming in that it was really cold and uncomfortable.  But then you can't blame the officials of the schools involved for trying to see that their townspeople get first chance at the seats.  Until they come up with a method for reserving seats at Memorial Hall, this may be quite a problem.  Had the tickets sold earlier been for reserved seats, there would have been no question about opening the doors sooner.

NOTE:  SIX STRASBURG CAGERS UNHURT IN ACCIDENT

Six of the Strasburg Tigers' Varsity Basketball Team escaped injury in New Philadelphia at 8:22PM last night (Wednesday, March 11) when the car in which they were riding struck the rear of another auto at East High Avernue.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel, Jerry Haswell, Jim Weinman, Elden (Zeke) Mullett and Dick Kurick were passengers in a car driven by Gale Huffman, 16, of 215 Third Street, Strasburg.

New Philadelphia police said the Huffman car struck the rear of one driven by Clarence E. Bruce, 27, of Akron, causing slight damage to both autos.  The Bruce car had passed Huffman's auto and then stopped to make a right turn into 6th Street N.E.

53 - Northwestern Huskies vs Strasburg Tigers

CANTON - In the 1st game of the night, Northwestern's sharp-shooting Huskies (30-1) will be rated top-heavy favorites to stop the march of the Strasburg Tigers (25-4) when the 2 teams collide in the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse at 7:45 on Friday night.  The Wayne County powerhouse has cut a wide swathe in the cage circles in its area and suffered only 1 loss at the hands of a touted Michigan Class A squad.

Head Coach Roy Bates' charges work from a deliberate attack with a bevy of uncanny marksmen now averaging 46 percent from the field for their 31 games up to the present time.  In the 2nd contest on tap in the Class B Regional Tournament, Waynesburg's undefeated Mohawks (25-0) will clash with a highly regarded Canfield Cardinals (25-1) aggregation that has lost but one game in 26 outings.  The 2 winners will meet Saturday at 8:00 for the right to continue on to the State finals in Cincinnati next week.

The Tigers were to workout on the Canton Fieldhouse hardwood for the 2nd time today in preparation for their attempt to knockoff the rampaging Huskies.  Head Coach Don Martin's crew will have an edge in height on the Northwestern aggregation which boasts two 6-1 cagers as the tallest men on the squad.  The only Senior in the 1st 7 men, Dale Weygandt and Junior Chet Welty are the 2 big men in their lineup.

Despite the fact that they have little height, the Huskies have averaged nearly 73 points per contests, while limiting the opposition to an average of 43.4 per game.  The tight defense used by Northwestern consists of both man-to-man and a zone.  The man-to-man defense has enabled the Huskies to slap a press on many of its opponents with an unusual amount of success.

Only 2 teams have pushed the Wayne County Champions to the limit and they were Lansing East of Michigan, the team which defeated them 38-35 and the Navarre Falcons, which lost a 48-47 decision in the recent Sectional Tournament.  Northwestern compiled a 24-0 record last year before losing 2 consecutive contests in the Wayne County Tournament after "flu" had riddled their ranks.  This year they started off with 5 straight tremendous wins, beating Nashville 90-34, Burbank 65-56, Homersville 93-35, the Sullivan Pirates 79-56 and Smithfield 68-29 before bowing to the Lansing East squad.

Since that time, Head Coach Bates' stalwarts have rambled through 25 straight games without a defeat with only Navarre offering any real resistance.  In the Sectional Tournament, the Huskies blasted Savannah 88-36, the Creston Bobcats 65-44 and Sterling 65-43.  The latter 2 teams had been victims of Northwestern twice before that, in the Wayne County Tournament and in regular season games.

The Huskies went on to nip Navarre 48-47 and whip the North Lima Zippers' touted aggregation 58-47 to win the Canton Regional Tournament berth.  Welty and Bob Reinke both 5-11, will probably start at the forwards with Weygandt getting the nod at center.  Two more Juniors, Don Fasig, 5-9 and Stan Totten, 5-10, will be at the guards with Roger Fair, 5-9 and Don Howman, 5-11, both Juniors, ready for relief duty at the guard posts.

The advance sale of tickets indicates a large following for the Strasburg Tigers with still other county fans ready to take their chances at the gate Friday night.


Thusday, March 12, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

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.

53 - The Amazing Strasburg Tigers Wins District Championship 59-53 (3-7-53)

Sophomores, Guard Jerry Haswell and Center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel, led the Mighty Strasburg Tigers to the District Championship 59-55 over the Scio Panthers.  Haswell and Goose have totals of 105 and 126 points in tournament play so far this year.  They average 12.1 in 8 games and 14.0 in 9 games for the Tigers.

A unidentified Panther Center barely reaches above the Tigers' Center Goose Von Kaenel in the District Championship game at Memorial Hall.


DOVER - With their 6th District Cage Crown safely tucked away, the Strasburg Tigers will go into the Canton Regional Tournament on Friday night with their claws in razor-sharp condition for a struggle with the powerful Northwestern Huskies (30-1).  The Tigers meet with the highly touted Wayne County combine as a result of the drawing held in Youngstown yesterday.  Game time is slated for 7:45 with the Canfield  Cardinals (25-1) and Waynesburg Mohawks (25-0) tangling in the nightcap at 9:15.

The winners in the 2 Friday games will collide at 8:00 Saturday for the right to go on to the Cincinnati State Finals next week.  More than 1,000 tickets will be placed on sale for this week's Regional Tournament to be played in the Canton Fieldhouse.  Strasburg officials announced today that 216 reserved seat tickets, selling for $1.50 each, 500 general admission tickets selling at $1.00 and 300 student ducats priced at 75 cents will go on sale at the Houglan Drug Store there and at the Strasburg High School.

Students will be able to get tickets at the school only since no student tickets will be sold at the gate on the night of the game.

Head Coach Don Martin's Strasburg Tigers (8-1) (25-4) came through with one of the greatest comeback finishes ever seen on the Memorial Hall hardwood Saturday night after they had fallen behind and seemed hopelessly out of the fray in the opening minutes of the contest.  But the Tigers roared into the stretch to catch the Scio Panthers (24-2) with less than 2 minutes left to play and then tagged the Harrison County kingpins with their 2nd defeat of the season and gave Martin his 1st District Tournament Championship in his 5 years at the Strasburg helm.

The Tigers came out at the beginning of the contest as tight as a fiddle string with the Panthers giving the jam-packed house an exhibition of ball that threatened to chase the Bengals right off the floor.  Head Coach Frank Samuels charges had an 11-1 lead in the early minutes of the game and then relaxed, but it was Scio who crumbled in the stretch, while Strasburg rambled to victory.

Senior forward Jim Weinman, who ignited the spark that carried the Panthers away like tumbleweed in a burning prairie fire, started off the 4th canto with his 5th long push shot from out front to narrow the margin down to 47-45.  But here guard Jim Robinson, the lad who carried Scio to victory over the Killbuck Bucks 60-59 on Thursday night, temporarily doused the fire as he racked up 5 points in short order to put the Panthers in the lead by 7 points with 6 minutes left in the game.

That was Robinson's entire output for the contest and it was Scio's last big splurge as the Tigers began stalking the Panthers for the kill.  Sophomore guard Jerry Haswell started the proceedings off with a layup after he had spotted an opening in the Scio defense and forward George Starkey cashed in on a free throw toss to make the count 53-47 at the 4:40 mark.  Sophomore center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel made a free throw and Junior forward John Shetler romped down the keyhole slot to swish a jump shot with guard Captain Dick (Colonel) Hugh climaxing the Panthers' effort for the evening with a push shot.

From here on out it was all Strasburg with Goose scoring from action on his favorite twisting jump shot and then tipping in another fielder a short time later as Scio lost the ball.  Haswell then put the Tigers into the lead for the 1st time in the ball game with a shot from the side as the crowd, sensing a kill, roared in approval and the panic was on with a minute and 55 seconds left to play.

Strasburg got the ball again on another turnover and went into a stall.  Haswell was fouled and after a time out failed to make either shot.  The Panthers got the ball and went all the way down, but forward Bob Rogers missed a layup shot and the Tigers latched on and held until the last 3 seconds,  With time running out and Scio desperately reaching for the sphere, the ball went into Junior guard Eldon (Zeke) Mullett who tried a layup, but was fouled going up.  He made the 1st shot, missed the 2nd and Goose tipped the ball in for insurance.

The Panthers had been in command for the entire ball game after roaring to the front with Hugh, Starkey and center Dick Spiker ripping the cords.  Goose and Haswell led Strasburg with 19 points each, while Weinmann dropped in another 10 points for those in double figures.  Hugh was high for Scio with 18 points as Starkey and Spiker followed up with 16 and 13 respectively.

STRASBURG TIGERS - 59

Jim Weinmann F 5-0-10
John Shetler F 1-0-2
Max Bonifant F 1-0-2
Jerry (Goose) Von Vaenel C 7-5-19
Eldon (Zeke) Mullett G 2-3-7
Jerry Haswell G 8-3-19

SCIO PANTHERS - 55

Bob Rogers F 1-1-3
George Starkey F 7-2-16
Dick Spiker C 5-3-13
Dick Hugh G 9-0-18
Jim Robinson G 2-1-5


Monday, March 9, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

53 - Strasburg Tigers vs Scio Panthers For District Title

DOVER - Last Thursday on February 5, the Scio Panthers (24-1) edged the Killbuck Bucks (21-3) 60-59 at Memorial Hall.  Tonight Head Coach Don Martin's Strasburg Tigers (24-4) will now shoot the works in an effort to annex the Class B District Tournament Championship and move on to the Canton Regional Tournament next Friday and Saturday.  The Tigers whose last appearance in the District joust was at Steubenville in 1950, have not met the Panthers since that time when they swamped Scio (24-1) 68-59 and went on to the finals.

Head Coach Framk Samuels' charges had run through 24 straight games without a defeat until that night when Tom Miller, Norm Couts, John Rieger, Jim Huffman, Don Gepfert and Dick Froman played a major role in drubbing the Harrison County crew.  Bob (Colonel) Hugh and Glenn Bower were the 2 big factors in the Panthers' attack at that time with Big Jerry Thompson giving them plenty of height.  But Scio was a victim of a red hot shooting Tiger team and watched a carefully boarded win streak go up in smoke.

Strasburg (22-6) was eliminated 52-42 in the District finals by the Yorkville Ductillites (24-4) two nights later as the Tigers lost their touch in the shooting department.  Coach Martin's crew had been upset that year by the Bolivar Cardinals 53-50 doing the trick in the opening round of the county tournament.

But Strasburg rebounded in the Consolation Division bracket and went on to Steubenville along with the Midvale Blue Devils (18-8), who had won both the League and Tournament crowns that season.

Scio again brings a 24-1 record into the battle tonight and the thought of revenge will be uppermost in the minds of Captain Dick Hugh and Company.  Hugh is a brother to Bob Hugh who last appeared in Scio High School cage togs against the Tigers at Steubenville in 1950.  Both Scio and Strasburg will be out to better the performances they gave in the preliminary tournament contests Wednesday and Thursday and win a berth in the Canton joust.

Game time is slated for 8:00 with the doors opening at 7:00.  Approximately 900 tickets will be sold at the box office, according to W.E. Laws...Tournament Manager.


Saturday, March 7, 1952
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

53 - Right Down The Line

OFFICIATING - This seems to be something that just about every basketball fan is versed on these days.  In fact, many times the fan knows more about the referee's business than the man in the striped shirt does.  Each and every official has his method of calling games and the pair that had the Class B Sectional Tournament really went over with the crowd because of their showmanship.

It wasn't really that they were better than the other referees because as far as we can see there is no sure measuring stick to use on officials who are considered capable enough to handle basketball tournaments.  We've seen quite a few games this year and we can't honestly remember a really "lousy" job by any official.  There have been many calls that we thought should have gone...the other way however.

THE FAN - There always will be cases when the fan may be in a better position to see something that the referee can't see, but in most cases the official will be on the job at all times.  Many of the calls come under the might of the "referee's decision."  In a charging case, the official is the one who judges whether the offensive player or defensive play is the one who charged.  His decision is final.  That's why he's being paid to call the game.

The biggest trouble on the matter is that many fans, those who know a few rules, don't always keep up with the changes and then think the referee made a mistake, just as everyone else does, and they'll be the 1st to admit it.  No 2 referees will be consistently able to work with a different partner every night.  As the season progresses, an official will work with perhaps 20 or 30 other referees in games and the 2 will have to watch each other and see how the other calls them before they can make a good team.

SOME REFEREES - At times, referees call them close.  Right by the book without deviation.  Others will let the players have a little freedom.  But whichever is the case, if the man were not capable, he wouldn't have a license to referee.  As for how the officials are chosen for tournament play, this is done long before the teams ever start down the home stretch.  Jim Galbraith of Jewett was put in to replace Gerald Trout of Cambridge for the Dover Class B District Tournament.

That was at the beginning of the season when Trout gave up refereeing because of poor health.  But we think that Galbraith did a bang-up job, despite the handicap, if any, under which he worked.  There is a certain burden that the official has in a game such as that.  When your own hometown team plays in a game that means so much, you have to watch it close because either way, there will be somebody on your back.

FRANK COX AND JORDAN BESSOZZI - These guys took a bad lacing at the New Concord meet, but they turned in a creditable job.  We've heard plenty of griping, but we don't think that any of the gripers could have done a better job.  There were calls that we agreed with and calls that we might have called another way.  There always will be in many instances.  But we don't think that any team was affected to the point that their game was upset.  Referees will always make mistakes.  When we get the perfect official who can call the rule book as it is written, then we will have a mastermind who has penetrating vision and belongs to a super race.

53 - Strasburg Clips Jewett 59-57 (3-4-53)

Sophomore Forward Jerry Haswell picked up his 86th point total  in 7 tournament games when he led his team with 19 points in another important win...this time over the Jewett Wildcats 59-57.  He averages 12.3 points per game.

A tense moment in the Strasburg Tigers-Jewett Wildcats game in a cat-fight at Memorial Hall won by the Tigers of Strasburg.


DOVER - The Jewett Wildcats bared their claws and put on a 4th canto rally that all but swept the Strasburg Tigers off their feet and had the packed house bringing the raffers down with noise, but Head Coach Don Martin's crew hung on and stalled out the last 30 seconds to pick-up a 59-57 victory in the opening game of the Class B Eastern District Tournament at Memorial Hall last night.  Head Coach Stan Straight's whirlwind's trailed throughout most of the ball game with the Tigers controlling the backboards and pushing the game their way after a brief flurry in the opening quarter.

But forward Larry Townsend and center Gary Thompson caught fire in the final quarter and started a blaze that threatened to envelop Strasburg and send them out of the tournament, but the Tigers once again proved equal to the task and raced right with the Wildcats, never relinquishing the lead after Jewett had deadlocked the count at 47-47 with 4:45 left to play.  Tonight's contest will send the Scio Panthers up against the Killbuck Bucks at 8:00 with the winner meeting Strasburg for a Regional Tournament berth Saturday night.  The Panthers have won 23 games thus far in the season with the only loss coming at the hands of the Wildcats in the finals of the Harrison County Tournament 2 weeks ago.

With Bill Spiker standing 6-6 and the rest of the Scio squad boasting height, the Panthers of Head Coach Frank Samuels will go into the contest with a heavy advantage over the Battling Bucks of Head Coach Gabe Lever.

The capacity crowd in Memorial Hall last night saw the Strasburg Tigers (7-1) (24-4) and the Jewett Wildcats (19-4) battle on even terms through half of the 1st quarter with the score tied 4 times...before the Tigers, with Sophomore forward Jerry Haswell leading the attack, broke into the lead and roared to the end of the stanza with a 20-14 edge.  Both clubs put on a ragged exhibition in the 2nd frame as the Tigers, still controlling both backboards, managed to add 2 more points to their lead and walk off the floor leading 32-24 at intermission.

The 3rd stanza was a repeat of the 2nd as neither team could get rolling.  The ball was turned over many times with the Wildcats gaining some control of the boards, even after big forward Gary Telfer was pulled out of the contest.  Coach Martin juggled his lineup in the 2nd and 3rd quarters in an effort to get the club rolling once again, but the spark that ignited the Bengal stretch drive came from Jewett's twin-scoring mechanism in the final 8 minutes.

With the Strasburg team leading 40-32 and appearing an easy victor in the sluggish contest, the Wildcats shook the crowd and the Tigers out of their complacency and brought the house down.  Forward Larry Townsend drove in under the basket for an easy layup shot and seconds later center Gary Thompson scored the 1st of his 6 last-quarter field goals to lock up the contest tighter than a bass drum, 40-40 with 6 minutes and 30 seconds remaining.

With the crowd going wild, the Bengals took time out to look over the situation and then came back with Big Sophomore center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel and Junior guard Eldon (Zeke) Mullett putting 2 baskets together for another 4-point lead.  Thompson was unstoppable; however, and the Jewett center threw in another of his twisting jump shots before Haswell connected on a drive-in jump shot and Goose Von Kaenel added a free throw to make the count 47-42 in favor of Strasburg.

But once more the 1-2 punch of the Wildcats roared into the breach and Thompson heaved in 2 more of his specialties sandwiching a free throw by Townsend to tie the game again, 47-47, with 4 minutes and 45 seconds left.  Mullett meshed a hook shot to put the Tigers back on top and the Bengals stayed there the rest of the way.  Gary Telfer made a free throw shot, but Haswell and Junior forward John Shetler scored from the field to give Strasburg another 5-point lead.

Townsend came in with a drive-in basket and Senior forward Max Bonifant connected on a free throw before Thompson pushed in a jump shot to make the score 54-52 in favor of the Tigers at the 3-minute mark.  But Haswell, whose long push shots kept the Bengals in control in those hectic minutes, added another 2 points from action with Townsend connecting on one of 2 free throw chances to make the score 56-53 at the 2:15 mark.

Von Kaenel scored on a layup and Thompson dunked one with his twisting jump shot and the score was 58-55 at 1:15.  That's when Strasburg started its stall with Jewett stretching for the ball.  The Wildcats, grabbed the ball and raced down court, but lost the sphere on a dribbling miscue and the Tigers brought it back up and went into the stall again with Shetler being fouled.  He made the 2nd shot and Jewett took the ball all the way down with Townsend scoring to narrow the score at 59-57 with 30 seconds left to play, but Strasburg stalled it out for the sweet victory.

Von Kaenel and Haswell were the big offensive punch for the Tigers with 17 and 19 points respectively.  Thompson was high for the Wildcats with 20, 12 of which were scored in the last canto.  Townsend, who entered the fracas in the 3rd period, scored one fielder in that frame and 10 more in the last quarter when the Wildcats threw in 29 markers, 22 by Thompson and Townsend.

Jewett outscored Strasburg from the field 22 to 21, but the Tigers tallied 17 of 29 free throw attempts, while the losers could mesh only 13 of 26 to account for the difference in the final score.

STRASBURG TIGERS - 59

Jim Weinmann F 0-2-2
John Shetler F 2-1-5
Max Bonifant F 3-1-7
Jerry (Moose) Von Kaenel C 6-5-17
Eldon (Zeke) Mullett G 2-5-9
Fred Peters G 0-0-0
Jerry Haswell G 8-9-19

JEWETT WILDCATS - 57

Cerett F 0-2-2
Larry Townsend F 5-2-12
Gary Telfer F 2-3-7
Coutts F 0-0-0
Gary Thompson C 9-2-20
O'Toole G 3-4-10
Schuman G 2-0-4
L. Telfer G 1-0-2


Thursday, March 5, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

53 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti
Monday, March 2, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

SCIO'S PANTHERS - The Panthers have lost but 1 game in 24 outings this year, but its a cinch that Head Coach Frank Samuels' charges will never experience quite the same feelings that they did in the Lafferty game Saturday night.  Head Coach Samuels was still smarting from the strategy of Lafferty's coach Sunday and its a sure thing that Lafferty won't find too many boosters in Scio.

Scio just about ran away with everything in Harrison County except for the final tournament game with the Jewett Wildcats.  Scio lost that one and decisively too and the Wildcats have been rolling with the speed of an express freight train since.

TWO HARRISON COUNTY TEAMS - Scio and Jewett are 2 rugged teams and there's not too much difference between them.  The Panthers hold 2 victories over the Dennison Railroaders, one over the Uhrichsville Tigers and one over the Newcomerstown Trojans to claim a complete mastery over Tuscarawas County .  Scio beat Dennison 50-45 early in the season, but then came back and whipped the Railroaders 58-40 the 2nd time.  The Tigers lost a 58-43 decision to the Panthers , while the Trojans were victimized 67-37.

But the Wildcats take no back seat to Scio.  Jewett finished 2nd in regular League play with defeats at Scio's hands 63-53 the 1st time out and 51-49 in the 2nd contest.

JEWETT - The Wildcats are the only team to have stopped Scio this year and that was no mean feat.  Jewett did it in very convincing fashion in the finals of the Harrison County Tournament at Cadiz a week or so ago by a 73-62 margin and they were ahead all the way.  That stopped a 21-game winning streak of the Panthers and ever since that time Jewett has been unstoppable with a couple of lads by the name of Gary going to town.  Telfer and Thompson, that is.

The Strasburg Tigers will face the stiffest test to date in tournament play Wednesday and its a tough time ahead for the Killbuck Bucks when they take on the Scio Panthers.  Stand by for more good basketball this week.

STONE CREEK'S GRADE SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM - These guys have lost only 1 game, lost that one to Baltic by 1 point.  The prospects at Baltic are also bright with the fledgling Eagles sporting a record of 13-1, while the Reserves had a season record of 15-2.  Watch for the Baltic Eagles to climb in the next few years.

STRASBURG TIGERS - The Bengals were a real free throw shooting team Saturday night.  Strasburg did all right from the field too, but the excellent foul-shooting exhibition was the big factor.  Fifth-Year Head Coach Don Martin's boys were keyed up and a bit tight, as were the Midvale players, but the Tigers missed only 5 attempts from  the free throw line and 3 of these were one-and-one shots that they made on the 2nd try.  So there were only 2 opportunities missed actually, to score from the charity line.  That's pretty fair shootin' we'd say!

FRIZZ MILLER - This guy was the culprit who kept referees down in the Memorial Hall Office too long during the intermission period of the Killbuck Bucks-Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves game.  The 2 teams were up and ready to play, but no referees and Al Senft, doing duty on the scoreboard and clocks, blasted them up on the playing floor.

Seems that Fizz, sitting down in the front row, kept looking at Referee Paul Whyte and muttering, "I've seen that guy somewhere."  It finally dawned on Fizz that he and Whyte had double-dated down at Ohio University.  Whyte was a Freshman when Fizz was a Senior.  They had a nice chat, but Senft was forced to break it up when the Bucks and Blue Waves decided they wanted to get started.