54 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
Monday, February 22, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

GNADENHUTTEN'S strategy may have failed Saturday night, but it certainly brought home to the Strasburg Tigers(2-0) (23-0) the fact that they are and will be the team on the spot the rest of the way out.  Head Coach Fritz Jacobs had a full week in which to get his charges ready for the strategy they pulled against the Tigers.  The Indians (0-1) (11-12) appeared well rehearsed to their assignments, too.

Probably the one big reason for the failure of the plan was the fact that the Bengals were also well rehearsed as to how they should combat just such a plan.  The Millersburg Knights tried the same strategy during the regular season and Strasburg came away with a 42-22 victory.  Saturday night saw the Tigers take a 9-3 first-quarter lead, while at Millersburg they led 9-4 at the same rest stop.

IT WAS A 20-POINT 2nd frame that sent the Bengals on their way to a victory over the Knights and Saturday night this same accuracy that has made Strasburg a winning club paid off again.  The Tigers got the ball 6 times in the 1st period and they scored on 5 of those occasions.  Once they got the lead it was just a matter of letting the Tribe play with the ball.

The ability to score when in possession of the ball is the key to breaking ukp such tactics as Gnaden used.  Coach Jacobs' plan was a sound one.  He has in Senior forward Carl Gilmore the top scorer in the county and probably the most accurate shooter.  Offensively, the Indians were in a good position to employ the ball control technique, but with the Bengals' height under the boards looming so large, Strasburg could figure to match the Tribe point-for-point.

THE TURNING POINT came in the 1st three minutes of the game when 2 costly turnovers gave the Tigers the ball and a 4-point lead before Coach Jacobs could get his charges back in the groove again.  Had the Bengals not shot out ahead too early in the game, Gnadenhutten might have been able to hold the ball throughout the entire 1st quarter and take a chance on Strasburg's abililty to score when they got the ball.

But that lead, even though it was slim, gave that initial edge to the Tigers and robbed Gnaden fans of the edge it had in the psychological department.  Now that 2 hurdles have been cleared, it will be interesting to see what Head Coach Bray Toot has in mind when his Port Washington Purple Riders (1-0) (12-7) take on Strasburg Thursday night.

After last Wednesday's win over the Mineral City Tigers (0-2) (6-11) 64-57, Coach Toot remarked that his charges hadn't played the kind of game of which they were capable.  "You can bet they'll play better ball the next time out," he added.

ONE OF THE ODDITIES of this year's tournament is the fact that there were no upsets in the 1st four nights of play.  Personally, we can't remember a year when there wasn't at least one or 2 upsets in the 1st week of play.  This year seems to be different.  Look at the semi-finals bracket and you'll see the No. 2 team playing one of the 2 third place squads, while down in the lower bracket the No. 1 team will meet the other third place quintet.