55 - Gnaden Upsets Baltic 57-52 (2-16-55)

The Gnadenhutten Indians cheering section jumps for joy as the Indians clinch the decision over the Baltic Eagles in the last few seconds of the game. (The Daily Reporter Photo)

Sophomore Eldon Miller of the Gnadenhutten Indians has a shot blocked by Senior Jim Wallace of the Baltic Eagles in first-game action as Senior Fritz Syler of the Eagles joins the play.  (The Daily Reporter Photo)

The Gnadenhutten Indians Glen Hines.  Glen dropped in 18 points to lead the upset victory over the hot Baltic Eagles 57-52 in his 1st tournament game of the 1954-55 season.


DOVER - An almost unbelievable reversal of form led to the Baltic Eagles (0-1) (15-6) (31-49) defeat in the opener last night as the Gnadenhutten Indians (1-0) (11-11) (50-44), playing without regular Senior Dave Williams, rose up and clipped the Eagles at the wire.  The Flyers, with 6-3 Errol Jacobs connecting for 21 points in the 1st two periods, managed to pull ahead of Gnaden in the 2nd frame by a 35-27 margin.

The contest was nip-and-tuck in the opening quarter as the Indians fought the favored Baltic crew to a standstill and led for most of the way until Jacobs began to hit for the Eagles.  Jacobs carried over his eye in the 2nd period and after Flyers had fallen behind 25-24 midway in the period, began to sweep the advantage over to Baltic with his accurate shooting.

The All-League performer dropped in 7 straight points before the Tribe scored again and his 13 markers was almost all of the Eagles' 2nd quarter offense.  Gnadenhutten came back in the 3rd stanza and slapped on a tight clamp and the Flyers hit rock bottom as they came up with but 4 points and lost their lead just as the quarter ended with Freshman Tom Roth of Gnaden canning a layup shot that gave the Indians a 40-39 advantage.

The Indians lost the services of their Junior center Lloyd Porter in that period, while Baltic had Senior Jim Wallace and Jacobs sit out parts of the 3rd period.  Jacobs went scoreless during the time he was in the game in the 3rd stanza and he picked up 3 quick fouls that hampered his play.  The Eagles lost Senior Fritz Syler on fouls just after the last canto opened and the Tribe got their smoke signals roaring into a blaze as they hit the warpath and took the lead to hold it the rest of the way.

Despite the fact that Gnadenhutten lost their 2 tallest regulars, Juniors, Lloyd Porter and Chuck Albaugh, less than 25 seconds apart and with still half of the final quarter left to play, Gnaden swept into the victory column with Junior Glen Hines, Freshman Ed Shull and Sophomore Jim Meek carrying the load.  The Indians led by as much as 5 points in the last period, but the Flyers shaved that advantage to one point, 53-52 with less than a minute and a half of play remaining.

Glen Hines missed 2 free throw shots for the Tribe at that point and then dribbled almost the length of the floor to drop in an insurance basket and seconds later clinched the win on a fast-break layup.  Jacobs returned to action for Baltic in the 4th canto, but went out on 5 personal fouls with 2 minutes and 20 seconds left and his team trailing by 2 points.

The tall Baltic center tallied 24 points in all, 3 coming on free throws in the fading minutes of the 4th quarter for the only points he got in that last half.  Hines had 18 to lead Gnadenhutten, but the little guard had plenty of help from his mates as Gnaden connected for 27 free throw attempts, while the Eagles hit for only 10 of 29 chances.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS - 57

Ed Shull 0-8-8
Glen Hines 6-6-18
Eldon Miller 2-5-9
Larry Hines 0-0-0
Lloyd Porter 4-0-8
Chuck Albaugh 1-8-10
Tom Roth 2-0-4

BALTIC EAGLES - 52

Glen Reidenbach 4-0-8
Paul Armbrusst 0-0-0
George Regula 2-0-4
Jim Wallace 3-0-6
Fritz Syler 3-2-8
Jim Uher 0-2-2
Errol Jacobs 9-6-24

GNADEN  17-27-40-57
BALTIC     18-35-39-52



Thursday, February 17, 1955
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

55 - Midvale Handles Sugarcreek-Shanesville 62-46 (2-15-55)

Senior Bill Pfister of the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates is shown going up after one of his drives  toward the basket.  Two Midvale Blue Devil defenders are trying to stop the shot with Junior Ted Brown of the Pirates and Senior Ron Weaver are at the right.  (Photo by The Daily Reporter Photographer Ralph McFee. (Photo The Daily Reporter)

The Midvale Blue Devils Ron Weaver.  Ron lead the Blue Devils to a 62-46 win over the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates at Memorial Hall last night in the Diablos' 1st tournament game with 18 points.



DOVER - In one of the quietest opening nights in many years, the Tucarawas County Class B Basketball Carnival got underway at  Memorial Hall last night with everything running true to form except the size of the crowd.  A slim turnout for opening night was on hand to witness the Stone Creek Golden Panthers measure the Bolivar Cardinals 77-66, while the Port Washington Purple Riders thumped the Dundee Bulldogs 66-47 and the Midvale Blue Devils moved past the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 62-46.

The Tuscarawas defending champion Broncos gallop onto the scene tonight when they take on Stone Creek in the nightcap of a scheduled 2 game card with the Baltic Eagles and Gnadenhutten Indians slated to tangle in the opener at 7:30.

The Sugaracreek-Shanesville Pirates (0-1) (10-10) (57-41) staged an attempted raiding party on the Championship hopes of the Midvale Blue Devils (1-0) (15-6) (61-29) in the nightcap of the opening schedule, but the Blue Devils had the firepower to withstand the attack and drove off the Pirates in the 2nd half.  The Bucs whipped into a 5-0 lead in the 1st minute of the game and the air was filled with tension, but the Devils soon exploded and went ahead 6-5.  The contest settled down to a slam-bang affair through the 1st quarter before the Diablos took a 20-17 lead and then held at 20-19 at the rest stop.

Sophomore Dick Leggett and Junior Larry Swinderman connected for 7 straight points to start off the 2nd frame and the Corsairs could never quite get back in the contest after that point.  Senior Bill Pfister who with Senior Al Craigo, had led the Midvale charge in the opening quarter, kept Sugarcreek-Shanesville hopes alive in the 2nd period, but after Sophomore Lonnie Wolf connected on a long throw in to give the pin-striped Blue Devils a 38-28 halftime advantage, the losers never threatened.


Senior Bob Zontini took up the "stoking" post for the Devils in the 3rd stanza and the guard chipped in 7 of the Diablos' 12 points to aid the victors to a 50-33 edge at the far turn as Midvale completed their swing into the victor's chair.  Senior Ron Weaver, whose all-around play off the boards was a high-point in the tilt, was the Blue Devils' top scorer as he totaled 18 markers with Swinderman getting 17 and Zonitini collecting 15.  Pfister and Junior Ted Brown were high for the Pirates

MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 62

Dick Leggett 3-1-7
Lonnie Wolf 1-0-2
Bob Zontini 5-5-15
Ron Weaver 6-6-18
Gary Haney 0-0-0
Larry Swinderman 7-3-17
John Beans 1-0-2
Chuck Seldenwright 0-1-1

SUGARCREEK-SHANESVILLE PIRATES - 46

Ted Brown 5-2-12
Reno Stevanus 0-0-0
Jim Troyer 0-5-5
Bill PLfister 4-4-12
Al Craigo 2-5-9
Keith Gerber 3-2-8

MIDVALE...................................20-38-50-62
SUGARCREEK-SHANESVILLE...19-28-33-46



Wednesday, February 16, 1955
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

55 - Port Checks Dundee 66-47 (2-15-55)

Junior Don Levengood of the Dundee Bulldogs lets go with a jump shot as he moves past the Port Washington Purple Riders' Senior Gary Dichler at left, while Sophomore Ed Bates and Senior Paul Frank of the Purple Riders get set under the basket for a possible rebound.


DOVER - The Dundee Bulldogs (0-1) (4-16) (31-50) were hard to handle in the opening quarter and they matched the Port Washington Purple Riders (1-0) (15-6) (22-51) point for point in that first 8 minutes as the period ended in a 12-12 deadlock.  Sophomore Ed Bates, whose driving jump shot kept the Purple Riders in the saddle in the opening stanza, spurred Port onto a rally in the 2nd frame and 9th-Year Head Coach Bray Toot's charges gradually pulled away from the Bulldogs to amass a 38-22 advantage at intermission.

Senior Paul Frank and Junior Tom Jones of the Riders helped out in that period, while they also came in for a little aid in the 3rd stanza when both teams battled on almost even terms.  Senior Bob Baker and Junior Don Levengood led the Pups' bid to get back into the contest, but Port held a 51-33 lead going into the stretch.  The 2 teams again battled evenly in the final canto, but the lapse in the 2nd period cost Dundee any hopes it harbored for an upset victory.

The Bulldogs were cold from the field through most of the game except for a brief time in the 2nd quarter when Baker posted 4 field goals to account for 8 of the Pups' 10 points in that period.  The little guard (Baker) led Dundee's attack with 16 markers, while Levengood had 15 and Junior Gary Slemmer added 10.  Bates posted 20 points for Port Washington, Jones collected 19 and Frank added 16.

PORT WASHINGTON PURPLE RIDERS - 66

Paul Frank 7-2-16
Bill McConnell 0-2-2
Vernon Glazer 0-0-0
Tom Jones 6-7-19
Ed Bates 9-2-20
BobWelsch 1-3-5
Nick Frank 0-0-0
Gary Dichler 1-2-4

DUNDEE BULLDOGS - 47

Wil Slemmer 0-0-0
Gary Slemmer 4-2-10
Bob Walters 0-0-0
Bob Baker 8-0-16
Don Levengood 7-1-15
Duane Burrell 3-0-6

PORT WASHINGTON...12-38-51-66
DUNDEE........................12-22-33-47



Wednesday, February 16, 1955
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

55 - Stone Creek Drops Bolivar 77-66 (2-15-55)

The Bolivar Cardinals 1955 Cheerleaders.  Joy Whitmer, Frank Leighley and Marlene Harvey are caught as they lead the Cardinal Rooters in a cheer.  (Photo by The Daily Reporter Photographer Ralph McKee)

Sophomore Ron Deibel of the Stone Creek Golden Panthers fires a shot at the basket as an unidentified Bolivar Cardinals' defender fails to stop the attempt.  Sophomore Reuben Lorenz (77) of the Golden Panthers, Sophomore Ken Hauester (13) of the Cardinals and Sophomore Don Poland (55), also of the Panthers moves in.  Photo by The Daily Reporter Photographer Ralph McKee)

The Stone Creek Golden Panthers Bill Jones.  Bill scored 20 points in leading his team to a 77-66 triumph over the Bolivar Cardinals last night in the Golden Panthers 1st tournament game.



DOVER - The Bolivar Cardinals (0-1) (3-16) (47-46) finished their game like a "house-fire," but the rally in the final canto came too late to head off the high-scoring antics of the Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1-0) (14-8) (25-40), who zoomed into the lead in the opening seconds and were never headed.  The Golden Panthers zipped to a 28-11 1st-quarter lead with a fired up attack that all but rushed the Cardinals off the floor. .The Red Birds didn't fold; however, as they came back strong in the 2nd frame to make the game a little more interesting.

The 3rd stanza was a repetition of the 1st quarter as Stone Creek moved back out ahead by a wide margin, claiming a 64-40 advantage going into the final 8 minutes.  First-year Head Coach Ray Low's Bolivar crew caught fire early in the 4th period and after 1st-year Head Coach Leo Gower had pulled most of his starting lineup, charged to within 10 points of the Golden Panthers.

The Panthers' front line was moved back into the tilt, but the Cardinals were not to be cooled off and the contest settled down to a see-saw battle down through the fading minutes with the Panthers too far out in front to be overhauled.  Stone Creek displayed a well-balanced attack with 4 players hitting double figures, while the Red Birds had 3 in the two-figure columns.

Sophomore Ron Deibel, who sat out much of the 3rd and 4th periods, led the Golden Panthers with 19 points, while Senior Bill Jones had 20, Sophomore Don Poland collected 15 and Freshman Rod Reinhart posted 12 markers..  Junior Bob Numbers was the kingpin in the Bolivar attack as his driving play and accurate shooting in the final quarter led the Cardinals bid for victory.  Numbers tallied 18 to head the list with Senior Jack Renner getting 15 and Junior Don Mason hitting for 14.

STONE CREEK GOLDEN PANTHERS - 77

Rod Reinhart 4-4-12
Stan Phillippi 2-1-5
Don Poland 3-9-15
Ron Deibel 6-7-19
Bill Jones 8-4-20
Larry Sherrets 1-0-2
Melvin MacAfee 2-0-4
Ben Wherley 0-0-0
Dave Wherley 0-0-0
Reuben Lorenz 0-0-0

BOLIVAR CARDINALS - 66

Frank Ferren 1-2-4
Bob Numbers 7-4-18
Dave Wolf 3-0-6
John Geers 0-0-0
Wayne Rouf 3-0-6
Jack Renner 5-5-15
Ken Haueter 1-1-3
Don Mason 6-2-14
Harry Hennis 0-0-0

STONE CREEK..28 -44-64-77
BOLIVAR............11-31-40-66



Wednesday, February 16, 1955
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

55 - 1955 All-Star Team

DOVER - Seven schools were represented on the 1955 Coaches All-County League Basketball Team with the Strasburg Tigers, Tuscarawas Broncos and Stone Creek Golden Panthers with each placing 2 men on the "Dream Team."  A total of 29 players were nominated by the coaches of the 11 schools and the mentors then chose the 10 top players with 4 others rating Honorable Mention.

Seniors, Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel and Jerry Haswell, of the Tigers and  Errol Jacobs of the Baltic Eagles, are repeaters from the 1954 All-Star selection made by the coaches.  The 2 Bengal players were both on the 1953 aggregation as well.  Goose was the top vote getter in the polling with Senior Terry Deems of the Broncos, a lad who wasn't even mentioned last season, ranking 2nd in the opinion of the coaches.

Seven Seniors, 2 Juniors and a Sophomore were named to the Top Ten by the professors of basketball with 2 Seniors and 2 Juniors included on the Honorable Mention List.  The Golden Panthers' Sophomore Ron Deibel, who broke into the lineup of the Panther Varsity as a Freshman, was chosen to the group.  The carrot-topped Stone Creek Ace is the 1st Sophomore honored on the team since both Haswell and Goose were named in 1953.

The Golden Panthers also had Senior Bill Jones on the honor squad.  Jones, who was a standout as a Freshman when he fired the Panthers to their only title in the 1952 County Tournament, has been mentioned each year since he was a Frosh, but makes his 1st appearance in the All-League Lineup.  Named to the team from Tusky along with Deems was the "half-pint" of the Broncos' "Mutt and Jeff" combination, Senior Dick Davis, who played his 1st season as a regular starter.  Davis is the smallest member of the squad.

The Gnadenhutten Indians' high-scoring guard Junior Glen Hines and the Mineral City Tigers' pitchin' Junior Paul Lindsey, both of whom have been peppering the nets with regularity all season, were the 2 others to break into the Top Ten.  Rounding out the All-League choices was Senior Paul Frank of the Port Washington Purple Riders for the past 3 years is labeled as one of the League's steadiest players.

On the Honorable Mention List were the Midvale Blue Devils' 2 driving guards, Senior Bob Zontini and Junior Larry Swinderman respectively, along with Junior Jim Kuecher of Strasburg and Senior Bob Baker of the Dundee Bulldogs.  The Midvale Blue Devils duo give the Blue Devils a dangerous offensive punch, while Kuecher has been tagged by many observers as a key player in the Strasburg success this past season.

Baker, a mite-sized set-shot artist was one of the key performers of the Bulldogs.  An accident which resulted in the loss of part of a finger sidelined the Pup star for a brief interlude in the season and is said to have impaired his shooting ability during the latter part of the campaign.  The Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates and Bolivar Cardinals were the only 2 schools which were not represented on the team.  Players were nominated by each coach land then all of the 11 mentors voted on the entire list.

The Ten Players named to the All-League Squad will each receive an individual Trophy with his name and "All-League 1955" engraved on it.  The trophies presented by The Daily Reporter, which also donates the Trophy for the tournament winner, will be given to the players when they are presented to the crowd on the night of the meet finals at Memorial Hall.


ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (Strasburg) 6-4 Senior
Terry Deems (Tuscarawas) 6-4 Senior
Jerry Haswell (Strasburg) 6-1 Senior
Errol Jacobs (Baltic) 6-1 Senior
Bill Jones (Stone Creek) 6-1 Senior
Dick Davis (Tuscarawas) 5-6 Senior
Glen Hines (Gnadenhutten) 5-3 Junior
Paul Lindsey (Mineral City) 6-0 Junior
Paul Frank (Port Washington) 6-0 Senior
Ron Deibel (Stone Creek) 5-10 Sophomore

*In order of the number of votes.

HONORABLE MENTION

Bob Baker (Dundee) Senior
Jim Kuecher (Strasburg) Junior
Larry Swinderman (Midvale) Junior
Bob Zontini (Midvale) Senior

*Alphabetical


Monday, February 14, 1955
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

55 - The 33rd Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament

DOVER - A full slate of 3 games will open the 33rd Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament at Memorial Hall here Tuesday night with the Strasburg Tigers, Midvale Blue Devils and Tuscarawas Broncos going into the meet as the top-favored teams, while the Port Washington Purple Riders, Stone Creek Golden Panthers and Baltic Eagles are tagged as "Darkhorses."  The Broncos, defending Champions in the tournament, will not see action on the 1st night, but Tusky will have an interest in the opening game since they are scheduled to meet the winner on Wednesday night.

The Golden Panthers and the Bolivar Cardinals will get the tournament started at 6:30.  Tuesday night when they tangle for the 2nd time this season.  The Panthers defeated the Cardinals 70-60 in that meeting, but were forced to hustle by an improving Red Bird club later on.  

The Purple Riders, rated as the "hottest" team in the circuit during the 1955 portion of the campaign, will meet the Dundee Bulldogs in the 2nd game on opening night.  The Riders defeated the Bulldogs 63-44 in a regular-season game.  Port lost to Stone Creek 71-70 and lost to Tuscarawas 55-54 just recently.  

The 3rd contest on tap Tuesday night has the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates colliding head on with the runner-up Blue Devils another team which has been improving through the 2nd half of the regular season.  Midvale nicked the Pirates 47-45 in an early-season meeting, but the Blue Devils have only lost to the Golden Panthers and Strasburg Tigers in the 1955 part of the League schedule, while the Bucs have been on the skids, winning only 5 of 10 games.

Doors to Memorial Hall will open at 5:30 Tuesday night with a capacity crowd expected to be on hand for the opening-night firing.  

Monday, February 14, 1955
The Daily Reporter

Dover, Ohio

FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

1.  Strasburg Tigers (Ken Newlon-1) 10-0 1.000 (17th Title)

2.  Midvale Blue Devils (Pete Hilliard-1) 8-2 .800

3.  Tuscarawas Broncos (George Trombitas-1) 6-3 .667

4.  Baltic Eagles (Jim Ross-1) 6-3 .667

5.  Port Washington Purple Riders (Bray Toot-9) 6-4 .600

6.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers (Leo Gower-1) 6-4 .600

7.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (Bob Wise-3) 5-5 .500

8.  Gnadenhutten Indians (Dick Scott-1) 3-6 .333

9.  Dundee Bulldogs (K.E. Smulbach-1) 2-8 .200

10. Bolivar Cardinals (Ray Low-1) 1-8 .111

11. Mineral City Tigers (Bob Penrod-2) 0-10 .000

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

1.  Strasburg Tigers 18-2 .900

2.  Baltic Eagles 15-5 .750

3.  Tuscarawas Broncos 12-5 .706

4.  Midvale Blue Devils 14-6 .700

5.  Port Washington Purple Riders 14-6 .700

6.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers 13-8 .619

7.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 10-9 .526

8.  Gnadenhutten Indians 10-11 .476

9.  Dundee Bulldogs 4-15 .211

10. Mineral City Tigers 4-15 .211

11. Bolivar Cardinals 3-15 .167

54 - 32nd Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament Stats

TOURNAMENT STANDINGS

1.  Tuscarawas Broncos (Chuck Lorenz-4) 3-0 1.000 (TC) 3rd Title
2.  Baltic Eagles (Tom Bellville-1) 4-1 .800 (CC) 1st Title
3.  Strasburg Tigers (Don Martin-6) 3-1 .750 (TR-U)
4.  Midvale Blue Devils (Bob Singerman-2) 2-2 .500
5.  Port Washington Purple Riders (Bray Toot-8) 2-2 .500
6.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (Bob Wise-2) 2-2 .500
7.  Dundee Bulldogs (Rollie Platz-1) 1-2 .333
8.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers (Ken Newlon-7) 1-2 .333
9.  Bolivar Cardinals (Andrew Steve-1) 0-2 .000
10. Gnadenhutten Indians (Fritz Jacobs-4) 0-2 .000
11. Mineral City Tigers (Bob Penrod-1) 0-2 .000

TOURNAMENT SCORES

TUESDAY 2-16-54

Dundee 62 - Stone Creek 49
Baltic 66 - Bolivar 37
Strasburg 81 - Midvale 64

WEDNESDAY 2-17-54

Port 64 - Mineral City 54
Tusky 80 - Dundee 61

THURSDAY 2-18-54

Stone Creek 64 - Bolivar 54 (C)
Midvale 74 - Mineral City 61 (C)
Baltic 78 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville 62

SATURDAY 2-20-54

Sugarcreek-Shanesville 59 - Dundee 40 (C)
Midvale 72 - Stone Creek 58 (C)
Strasburg 39 - Gnaden 25

THURSDAY 2-25-54

Sugarcreek-Shanesville 73 - Gnaden 48 (C)
Tusky 70 - Baltic 47
Strasburg 61 - Port 60

FRIDAY 2-26-54

Baltic 73 - Midvale 70 (C)
Port 60 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville 50 (C)

SATURDAY 2-27-54

Baltic 60 - Port 50 (CC)
Tusky 64 - Strasburg 60 (TC)

SECTIONAL THURSDAY 3-4-54

Baltic 67 - Killbuck 58
Tusky 80 - St. Joe 47

SECTIONAL FRIDAY 3-5-54

Strasburg 89 - Millersburg 72

SECTIOINAL SATURDAY 3-6-54

Strasburg 60 - Baltic 53
Tusky 80 - St. Mary 61

DISTRICT TUESDAY 3-9-54

Strasburg 58 - Jewett 47

DISTRICT WEDNESDAY 3-10-54

Tusky 61 - Flushing 60

DISTRICT FRIDAY 3-12-54

Tusky 52 - Strasburg 49

REGIONAL FRIDAY 3-19-54

Columbiana 65 - Tusky 53

STATE TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES

1928 - Strasburg Tigers
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.  Tom Ott (B) 31
2.  Bill Ray (SS) 30
3.  Bill Jones (SC) 29
4.  Bob Baker (D) 28
5.  Jerry Haswell (S) 26
6.  Ken Huston (P) 26
7.  Tom Ott (B) 26
8.  4 tied with 24

MOST FIELD GOALS SINGLE GAME THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Jerry Haswell (S) 12
2.  Tom Ott (B) 12
3.  Tom Ott (B) 12
4.  Bob Baker (C) 12
5.  Bill Ray (SS) 12
6.  Bill Jones (SC) 11
7.  6 tied with 10

MOST FREE THROWS SINGLE GAME THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Dick Slemmer (D) 11
2.  Gene Argento (MC) 10
3.  Floyd Patrick (SC) 10
4.  Terry Deems (T) 9
5.  Wil De Genova (M) 9
6.  Max Miller (SS) 9
7.  Bob Cramer (B) 8
8.  Terry Deems (T) 8
9.  3 tied with 7

MOST POINTS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Tom Ott (B) 102
2.  Ken Huston (P) 77
3.  Max Miller (SS) 73
4.  Bill Ray (SS) 71
5.  Wil De Genova (M) 66
6.  Jerry Haswell (S) 65
7.  Errol Jacobs (B) 60
8.  Paul Frank (P) 57
9.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (S) 53
10. 2 tied with 52

MOST FIELD GOALS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Tom Ott (B) 43
2.  Jerry Haswell (S) 29
3.  Ken Huston (P) 28
4.  Max Miller (SS) 27
5.  Bill Ray (SS) 26
6.  Wil De Genova (M) 24
7.  Errol Jacobs (B) 22
8.  Ron Deibel (SC) 21
9.  Wayne Everhart (B) 21
10. 3 tied with 20

MOST FREE THROWS THIS TOURNAMENT

1.  Ken Huston (P) 21
2.  Terry Deems (T) 19
3.  Andy Hoffman (B) 19
4.  Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel (S) 19
5.  Max Miller (SS) 19
6.  Bill Ray (SS) 19
7.  Wil De Genova (M) 18
8.  Paul Frank (P) 17
9.  4 tied with 16

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)
1954 - Tuscarawas Broncos (2) (3) - Strasburg Tigers (13) (3)

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)
1954 - Baltic Eagles (1) (1) - Port (0) (1)

TOTAL STANDINGS

1.  Strasburg Tigers (1923) 88-24 .786
2.  Midvale Blue Devils (1928) 60-29 .674
3.  Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (1924) 57-40 .588
4.  Tuscarawas Broncos (1923) 45-40 .529
5.  Gnadenhutten Indians (1923) 49-44 .526
6.  Bolivar Cardinals (1923) 47-45 .510
7.  Baltic Eagles (1926) 31-48 .392
8.  Dundee Bulldogs (1923) 31-49 .388
9.  Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1933) 24-40 .375
10. Port Washington Purple Riders (1927) 21-51 .292
11. Mineral City Tigers (1923) 12-49 .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.  Tom Ott (B) (1954) 31
8.  Harland Stiffe (SS) (1927) 30
9.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951) 30
10. Ken Huston (P) (1953) 30

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 (P) (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.  Dick Slemmer (D) (1954) 11
7.  7 tied with 10

TOTAL POINTS

1.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1949-50-51-52) 256
2.  Ken Huston (P) (1951-52-53-54) 247
3.  Clarence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 220
4.  Glen Zimmerman (SS) (1948-49-50-51) 218
5.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 199
6.  Warren Klink (BC) (1940-41-42-43) 188
7.  Jim Lindon (G) (1946-47-48-49) 183
8.  Jim Lorenz (SC) (1951-52-53) 183
9.  Frank Baumholtz (M) (1934-35-36-37) 177
10. Jim Syler (B) (1950-51-52-53) 176

TOTAL FIELD GOALS

1.  Loris Hostetler (D) (1949-50-51-52) 112
2.  Ken Huston (P) (1951-52-53-54) 93
3.  Glen Zimmerman (SS) (1948-49-50) 87
4.  Clarence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 81
5.  Warren Klink (BC) (1940-41-42-43) 79
6.  Jim Lindon (G) (1946-47-48-49) 79
7.  Jim Syler (B) (1950-51-52-53) 77
8.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 77
9.  Jerry Rausch (T) (1950-51) 75
10. 2 tied with 70

TOTAL FREE THROWS

1.  Ken Huston (P) (1951-52-53-54) 61
2.  Clarence Yackey (S) (1945-46-47-48) 58
3.  Jerry Gasser (SC) (1950-51-52-53) 48
4.  Dick Tolloti (M) (1951-52-53) 45
5.  Frank Baumholtz (M) (1934-35-36-37) 41*
6.  Verle Buchler (SC) (1946-47-48-49) 38
7.  Jack Ford (M) (1946-47-48-49) 38
8.  Bill Jones (SC) (1952-53-54) 38
9.  Paul Kate (D) (1946-47-48) 37
10.  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)
 81 - Strasburg Tigers (1954)
 80 - Tuscarawas Broncos (1954)
 78 - Baltic Eagles (1954)
 77 - Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (1944)
 77 - Baltic Eagles (1952)

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

1.  Jim Lorenz - Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1954) 1,539
2.  John Studer - Strasburg Tigers (1934) 1,061
3.  Frank Baumholtz - Midvale Blue Devils (1937) 997*
*Stats missing 1 game

54 - Right Down The Line

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

THE CURTAIN HAS GONE DOWN on high school basketball in Tuscarawas County after what could be termed as one of the most successful seasons ever recorded.  Class A basketball was far below par...it's true.  The Uhrichsville Tigers boasted the best Class A mark in the county, but even they couldn't get past the 7th-place team in the Central Ohio League, Coshocton.

The Dover Tornadoes were a green ball club at the outset of the season, but showed signs of improving near the end of the campaign, while the New Philadelplhia Quakers had plenty of scrap.  The Newcomerstown Trojans likewise had a green ball club and the Trojans took plenty of lacing during the season.  The Newcomers will be back up towards the top next year as will the Tornadoes.  New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville, both of which will lose many Seniors, figure to get help from their respective Reserve Teams.

WHERE THEN WAS THE SUCCESS?  It was mostly in the Class B League.  The Dennison Railroaders were below par, while the Dover St. Joseph Ramblers slipped and finished with a 10-11 mark.  The Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves came out with the best record in the school's history; however, by winning 17 and losing only 5.  The Tuscarawas Broncos, Strasburg Tigers, Baltic Eagles and Port Washington Purple Riders deserve to be called back for more bows as these 4 teams could well be ranked in the top reaches of the State's Class B ranks.

The Eagles certainly need apologize to no one for the Flyers lost but 5 games in 25 starts.  Head Coach Tom Bellville's team was beaten twice by the Broncos and Tigers and once by the Purple Riders.  Baltic carried Strasburg to the limit before bowing in the last quarter each time and they came back to defeat Port Washington decisively after dropping a 3-point decision to the Purple Riders late in the regular season.

HEAD COACH BRAY TOOT'S RIDERS ended the season with what looked like a mediocre 13-9 record.  A closer glance reveals the fact that Port Washington came on with a rush at the end of the season to gain a 3-place tie with the Eagles.  Four straight defeats after opening with a win caused the Port record to fall.  The Purple Riders revenged 3 of those setbacks and nearly got the 4th when they dropped a 61-60 verdict to the Tigers in the County Tournament semi-finals.

The Riders also dropped 2 games each to Tuscarawas and the Bengals, the District finalists.  One loss was to Baltic and the other 4 were to the Gnadenhutten Indians, Midvale Blue Devils, Stone Creek Golden Panthers and the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates, a team Port Washington defeated in the county meet.  The Pirates beat the West Lafayette Generals, whose only other loss was to the Philo Electrics in the Sectional Tournament meet at Zanesville.  The Dundee Bulldogs clipped the Waynesburg Mohawks, Co-Champions in Stark County.  The Mineral City Tigers, also moved back up in the limelight during the season.

THE STRASBURG TIGERS' record 26-2 is one of the top in the State.  The Bengals lost only to the Broncos and claimed one of the 3 victories over the District Champions.  Elden (Zeke) Mullett, John Shetler and Fred Peters, all regulars and Gail Huffman and Lewis Frees, will be lost by graduation next year.  The Tigers will have a good nucleus for next year's team; however, with Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel and Senior Jerry Haswell, both of whom won honorable mention on the United Press All-Ohio, back  for their 4th season.

The Tuscarawas Broncos' record is the best, percentage wise, that the school has ever had and that first District Championship adds even more lustre to the 22-3 mark.  The Broncos were due for an under-par performance and they made it all the way to the Regional Tournament.  They still are one  of the best in the State according to their tournament appearance and that's getting up there.  Tusky also loses top-grade material in Larry (Doofy) Myers, Jim Henry, Ralph Vesco, who also earned an honorable mention berth on the UP All-Star Team and Harry Thompson, all regulars.  Jerry Briggs and Don Decker two reserve guards will also graduate.

WHILE WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF BASKETBALL we'd like to mention that still another idea for the use of a fieldhouse was added by Wilbur O. Jones  of Stone Creek.  Mr. Jones feels that top attractions like the Harlem Globe Trotters could be brought into the county.  He also feels that such a building could serve as a place to hold church conventions and other large meetings.  "I've been a resident of our county for 33 years," writes Mr. Jones, "and I've attended many tournaments both here and away.  From  my experience.  I find we are far behind and losing many good paying opportunities."  How True!

NOTE:  BASKETBALL BULLETS

1.  The Strasburg Tigers Team that went to State in 1933 were:

Clyde Denzer
Willis Haas
Bill Jones
Elwin Rieger
John Studer

2.  John Studer of the Strasburg Tigers.  His highest game was 40 points in a regular game against the Stone Creek Golden Panthers.

3.  Jim Lorenz of the Stone Creek Golden Panthers.  His highest game was 42 points in a regular game at Stone Creek.

4.  Jim Lorenz of the Stone Creek Golden Panthers.  Scored 427 points in 1954.  He was ineligible to play in this year's tournament due to his age of 20 years.  His last game was February 2, 1954.

5.  Eldon Harris of the Mineral City Tigers.  In 1929 he scored 52 points in a regular game against the Midvale Blue Devils who lost 96-4.

6.  Jim Lorenz of the Stone Creek Golden Panthers had 1,539 points in his 4 years at Stone Creek ending in 1954.

54 - Columbiana Topples Tuscarawas 65-53 (3-19-54)

Senior Guard Ralph Vesco (11) of the Tuscarawas Broncos fires away at the basket in the 1st quarter of last night's Regional Tournament contest with the Columbiana Clippers, while Junior Guard Rich Davis (5), Junior Forward Terry Deems (10) and Senior Center Larry (Doofy) Myers, all of the Broncos, close around the basket including Center Homer Gilchrist and Forward Ray Patchen of the Clippers.


YOUNGSTOWN - Despite the fact that they controlled the pace of the game and were never outmanned under the boards, the Tuscarawas Broncos dropped out of the State cage tournament last night when they fell before the Columbiana Clippers 65-53 at Youngstown before 3,793 fans.  Head Coach Chuck Lorenz's charges threaded their way through the expected press put up by the Clippers throughout the game.  The Blue and White controlled the pace of the contest with its deliberate style of play and the rebound work was a deadlock.

Tusky faltered in the 3rd stanza; however, and turnovers in the fore court gave Columbiana more chances to score.  The northerners took advantage of this to whip into a lead which they never relinquished.  In a far different type of ball game, the Copley Indians upset the Vienna Flyers 57-56 in the 1st game with a substitute guard Ron Savola calmly cashing in on 2 free throws to score the clinching points with 58 seconds left to play.

Columbiana and Copley, now undefeated in 24 starts, will tangle in the Youngstown Fieldhouse at 8:15 tonight for the Regional Championship and the right to advance to the State finals at Cleveland next week.

Displaying the brand of ball that carried them through the tournament brackets to Youngstown, the Tuscarawas Broncos (7-1) (22-3) came from behind a 5-point deficit in the early stages of the game and moved to a 1st period 9-8 margin.  Tusky went into its slow, deliberate style of play at the very outset of the fracas, but lost chances to score and the deadly accuracy that pulled Columbiana far ahead in the 3rd stanza was given a preview as the Clippers shot out in front.

The Broncos, led by Senior center Harry Thompson, galloped back into contention towards the end of the period with a flash of zip.  Thompson meshed 2 of his favorite jump shots from far out over the Columbiana zone defense and he added 2 free throw tosses to take Tuscarawas out ahead.  Staying in their tight zone defense, Tusky held the Clippers to one field goal in the 1st part of the 2nd frame with the advantage see-sawing back and forth.

Columbiana deadlocked the count at 13-13 and 16-16 and then shot ahead with guard Hub Keylor swishing 2 push shots from side court and guard Ray Burkhart driving in for a jump shot that found its mark.  Still the Broncos, tagged as slight favorites, came back as they closed the gap to 24-22 at halftime.  Five straight points at the outset of the 3rd period gave Tuscarawas their last lead of the game as they drove to a 27-24 edge in showing their comeback strength that gave them victories over the Flushing Orioles and Strasburg Tigers in the District jousts.

Burhart and forward John Case, the Clippers' nifty "little man" began hitting from outside the Tusky zone and the Columbiana ball handling bored small openings in the tight wall of the Bronco defense as the Clippers sailed ahead.  Case tallied 8 and Burkhart scored 6 as Columbiana grabbed a 9-point lead and then finished the quarter with a 44-36 advantage after Junior forward Terry Deems and Senior center Larry (Doofy) Myers had chipped the deficit to 6 points.

The Northerners maintained its edge all the way through the final canto as the margin shuttled from 7 to 11 points until Coach Lorenz began shooting in his substitutes with little more than a minute remaining.  Columbiana followed suit and the Clipper subs increased the edge as the game faded out.  Keylor and big center Homer Gilchrist , whose work was steady if not spectacular all the way through the game, each tallied 14 to lead the Northerners to its 20th win.  Burkhart had 12 and Case collected 11.

The Blue and White's offense punch was divided between Deems' 13, Vesco's 12 and Thompson's 11 points.  Tusky ended their most successful basketball campaign in the school's history with a record of 22 victories and but 3 defeats.

COLUMBIANA CLIPPERS - 65

Ray Patchan F 2-2-6
John Case F 3-5-11
Baraes F 1-1-3
Grefner F 1-0-2
R. Gilchrist F 1-0-2
Homer Gilchrist C 6-2-14
Warrick G 0-1-1
Hub Keylor G 4-6-14
Ray Burkhart G 6-0-12

TUSCARAWAS BRONCOS - 53

Terry Deems F 6-1-13
Larry Myers F 0-2-2
Dave Myers F 1-0-2
Ed Hill F 0-0-0
Harry Thompson C 4-3-11
Don Decker G 0-0-0
Ralph Vesco G 4-4-12
Jim Henry G 2-0-4
Rich Davis G 1-3-5
Jerry Briggs G 2-0-4


Saturday, March 20, 1954
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  The Columbiana Clippers promptly lost to the Copley Indians 54-44 the next night.

NOTE:  The second spectator death of Ohio's High School Basketball Tournament season was recorded last night at the Class B Regional Tournament here.  Ralph V. Wilcor, 52, Akron, collapsed and died as Copley defeated the Vienna Mustangs 57-56 in a game between unbeaten quintets.  Last Saturday night at Dayton, Middletown School Supt. Earle R. Seidner, 47, died of a heart attack as Davien Roosevelt defeated Middletown's defending Champions 64-62.

54 - Tusky Broncos Get Big Sendoff

DOVER - The Tuscarawas Broncos (22-2) will make their debut in the Youngstown Class B Regional Tournament on Friday night as the slight favorite to defeat the Columbiana's highly regarded Clippers (19-5).  Head Coach Chuck Lorenz's crew drew the favorite's toga by virtue of its 2 victories over the Strasburg talented Tigers (26-2) in contests which were packed with pressure from start to finish.

The deliberate brand of ball employed by the Blue and White upset the Tigers' smooth balance on 2 occasions and the Broncos will undoubtedly employ their control tactics against the fast-breaking Clippers Friday night.  Coach Lorenz and his charges were given a routing sendoff at noon today as they left the school bound for Youngstown, where they will get their 1st look at the tournament floor this evening when they go through their final polishing drills from 5 to 7 o'clock.

The town's fire truck and the high school marching band led the way out of town following a big pep rally at the school.  Tusky was to go to the Ohio Hotel in Youngstown when they will make their headquarters until after Saturday night's finals.  Lorenz announced his charges were in tip-top condition and an excellent frame of mind for their clash with Columbiana.

Tickets for the contest are on sale at the Tuscarawas High School until 9:00 tonight and until noon tomorrow.  Adult admission to the meet has been set at $1.00, while student tariff is 75 cents.  The doors to the Youngstown South Fieldhouse will open at 6:00 with the 1st game ready to get underway at 7:30 between the undefeated Vienna Flyers (30-0) and the Copley Indians (23-0).

Columbiana's pressing defensive tactics and fast break maneuvers were credited with the victory over the Northwestern Huskies last Friday night.  The Wayne County Champions, whose only previous loss of the season was a 48-34 setback at the hands of the Strasburg Tigers.  The Huskies led for most of the 1st two quarters before faltering to the Columbiana combination in the 3rd stanza and losing out 65-49.  Tuscarawas' under-the-board combination of 6-2 Junior Terry Deems, 6-2 Senior Larry (Doofy) Myers and 6-1 Senior Harry Thompson, is expected to give the Broncos enough height to offset any combination used by the Clippers.

Guards, 5-11 Ralph Vesco and 5-10 Jim Henry, may surrender a slight edge in the speed department, but the 2 Seniors along with Junior 5-6 Dick Davis are capable of driving through Columbiana's tough press.  Coach Lorenz has been drilling his charges steadily on the press employed by Columbiana and the Broncos may unveil a press of their own in an effort to slow down the fast-breaking of the Clippers.

Tusky's schedule may be under that of Columbiana as far as the caliber of opponents is concerned, but Tuscarawas' average of 69.9 points per contest is still impressive, while the 53 average compiled by opponents is the highest of the 4 teams in the meet.  The key to success or failure could lie in the ability of the Blue and White to penetrate the press.  The Broncos' 3 big boys will offset any edge held by Columbiana's 6-5 center Homer Gilchrist or John Patchem, 6-1 forward.

Columbiana's 3 front men who execute the press, 5-8 John Case, 5-9 Ray Burkhart and 5-9 Hub Keylor have impressed tournament observers as being the key to Columbiana's success thus far.


Thursday, March 18, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

54 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
Wednesday, March 17, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

COMMUNITY SPIRIT seems to rally better around a winning athletic team than it does for anything else.  There are many projects that each community sponsors during the course of each year, but when the local high school hits a winning streak, the enthusiasm breaks out with a bang.  A good example of that right now is Tuscarawas.  That village of some 700 people is following its team almost to the last resident in town.  When the Broncos met the Strasburg Tigers down at Brilliant last week just about the entire population made the trip.

Those who remained at home listened to the broadcast of the game and it's said that they were just as enthusiastic as the rooters who jammed the Brilliant Auditoriam-Gymnasium.

HARVEY WILSON has used up several boxes of shells for his gun.  After every Tusky victory, Harvey goes outside and fires his gun into the air over the old canal bed.  He's got a new supply in now after using quite a few shells after the win over the Tigers last Friday night.  There's the parakeet of Mrs. Eva Williams.  This little bird we were told, was mum for quite a long time.  The spirit of the Tuscarawas boosters is spreading; however, and the parakeet uttered it's first words last week.

What were these words?  "Rah! Tusky" of course.  You see, the spirit of these backers is really infectious.  Then there's the cowbell that Mrs. Raymond Arthur rings after every Broncos win.  Add the cheering, the report of the gun and the bell ringing and you've got another cheering section that makes it sound like another New Year's Eve celebration when Tuscarawas wins a basketball contest.

THE VILLAGE has waited a long time for a Championship Team and now that it has one you can bet your boots that these boys are going to set the best backing any team could expect.  They say that back in 1946 when Tusky and Strasburg collided at Zanesville for the District Tournament Crown, the Muskingum County seat was crowded with boosters of both teams.  They stayed overnight for that one since the 2 teams played on 2 successive nights.  Tusky beat the Frazeysburg Red Raiders 63-47 and Strasburg downed the Zanesville St. Thomas Saints 61-50 to gain the finals.

Another big following is expected to make the trip to Younstown Friday and they'll be looking for the Broncos to win out and come back again on Saturday night.  Tuscarawas is getting set for an invation to the North and there is good reason to suspect that the Blue and White could emerge as the Regional Tournament winner and move onto Cleveland.

THE BEST ROUTE to reach the Youngstown South Fieldhouse according to the scribe from the Youngstown Vindicator, is by route 62.  This route goes through Canton and Alliance, but it comes into the southside of Youngstown and runs just a block away from the fieldhouse.  Route 62 goes into Market Street in Youngstown by following this to the Donnel Ford Garage where you can reach the tournament site.  Turn right at the garage and travel one block to the fieldhouse.

There are no reserved seating in the fieldhouse which holds around 3,500 people.  The doors are slated to open at 6:00PM, so it would mean an early departure from the county in order to get a good seat.  Since the seats are stepping up on either side of the playing floor, any seat would be a good one though.  If Tusky does win Friday night, county fans will have to buy their Saturday night tickets at Youngstown since the Broncos retinue will be staying overnight.

COLUMBIANA CLIPPERS (19-5) RECORD

REGULAR SEASON

*Fairfield Township 45-68
Springfield Township 79-47
New Waterford 52-50
Champion 47-45
North Lima Zippers 47-45
*Salem Quakers 50-51
Carey Blue Devils 76-64
Leetonia Bears 66-30
Lisbon Spartans 66-61
*East Palestine Bulldogs 44-47
Lowellville Rockeets 55-48
Canfield Fighting Cardinals 72-47
Springfield Township 73-29
Sebring Trojans 55-44
Minerva Lions 57-43
*East Palestine Bulldogs 47-61
McDonald Blue Devils 82-57
*Lisbon Spartans 59-62
Poland Bulldogs 69-66
Youngs North Bulldogs 79-59

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Mineral Ridge Ramblers 70-55
Goshen Union 51-48

DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

Lorain St. Mary Fighting Irish 65-49
Northwestern 65-49

*Defeats

54 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
Monday, March 15, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

THERE'S BEEN A BELIEF in Ohio basketball circles that any team which gets through the District Tournament is a potential State Champion.  "They're all tough from here on in," has been the saying.  And yet there are those who have begun counting Tuscarawas out of the picture because of the more spectacular deeds of the other 3 teams in the Northeastern Class B Regional Tournament.

Lets take a look at some of those fabulous deeds and see why the Vienna Mustangs, Copley and the Columbiana Clippers are being classed as "World-beaters."  First, of course, we'll have to go over the record of Rex Leach, the Mustang's 5-3 and 1/2 offensive magician.

LEACH has set a new scoring record in each tournament in which he has participated this year.  While the undefeated Vienna of Trumbull County were soaring through their county festival, Leach tossed in 29 points in one game for a new high there.  In the Sectional Tournament, the Mustangs' flash totaled up 38 in one game for a new mark.  He set the record in the Kent District Tournament at 33 against Shreve and then came back to make it 43 against East Sparta last Friday night.

According to unofficial information we received from up north, Leach had 813 points going into the District meet.  That's 889 markers after those 2 high-scoring sprees in the District.  It has also been announced that the swift-moving spark-plug of the Vienna powerhouse had 813 through Friday's victory.  As of today, we have no idea at which point this total applies.  Anyway you look at it, that's a lot of points and considering the fact that he's averaged some 55 percent of his shots throughout the season, his feat's are even greater.

THE COLUMBIANA CLIPPERS has no such a scoring phenom as Leach, but the Clippers have plenty of height and they can run with the best.  The Columbiana County kings have a 6-6 center in Homer Gilcrist and the rest of the team isn't too small.  They tell us that these Clipper cagers are fast and deadly shooters.  They whipped Wayne County's Northwestern Huskies 65-49 last Friday night and the Huskies' only other loss was to the Strasburg Tigers.

The Copley Indians is another undefeated aggregation.  The big gun in the attack of the Indians is a 6-6 Black by the name of Ray Pryear.  This lad has a "wingspan" of some 82-inches according to the dope sheet.  He scored 36 points on Highland in the Kent Tournament last week against a zone defense that was designed to keep the ball away from him.  The defense clicked fairly well, but Pryear's rebounding ability gave him 13 field goals.  He missed 4 action shots and 4 of 14 free throw tries.

SOUNDS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE, doesn't it.  Don't count the Tuscarawas Broncos out yet though.  Head Coach Chuck Lorenz's charges beat one of the State's top clubs when they toppled Strasburg on Friday night.  That fact that they edged the Tigers twice in the last 2 weeks is even more significant.  That victory over the flushing Orioles may have been made possible by a mistake on the part of an Oriole player, but remember that Tusky had to overcome an 11-point deficit to even be in position to pull the game out of the fire in the last seconds.

The Broncos have been the most effective tournament team we've seen this year.  They've played each game with the same relentless offensive pacing that can't be discounted.  Perhaps the other teams will have more height and speed.  The Bronco-Busters will be in there up to the hilt and they'll have a pretty fair defense of their own that should help.  Tuscarawas will go into the meet as one of the 2 underdogs with Columbiana probably getting the other berth in that category.  That's a good place to be in this stage of the game.

The underdog can relax and fire away with all the punch at its command.  The favorite, expecially with an undefeated record to uphold, will have to prove its right to stay on top.  Judging from Tusky's other performances along the tournament trail, the Blue and White can go into this meet in the right frame of mind.

54 - Tusky Wraps-Up District Title 52-49 (3-12-54)

Head Coach Chuck Lorenz of the Tuscarawas Broncos with his arm around Larry (Doofy)Myers (14) and Assistant Coach Bob French pose happily in the dressing room with the rest of the team after the Broncos won the 1st District Tournament Championship in the school's history by defeating the defending Champions the Mighty Strasburg Tigers 52-49 at Brilliant last night.

The Tuscarawas Broncos' cheerleaders are shown as they lead the yells for the Blue and White.  They are Sophomore Jean Decker - Senior Marliyn Miller and Freshman Marjorie Ruth.

Senior Guard Ralph Vesco of the Tuscarawas Broncos is shown dribbling the ball around the court in the last 2 minutes of last night's game.  Teammate, Senior Guard Jim Henry, is directly in front of him as Senior Guard Fred Peters of the Strasburg Tigers tries to steal the basketball.

These 4 Tuscarawas Bronco players (unidentified) are representing the team as they gather awards for winning the District Tournament at Brilliant last night.

Senior Guard John Shetler of the Strasburg Tigers is seen accepting the Runner-up Trophy from The District Tournament Manager.


BRILLIANT - The Tuscarawas Broncos (7-0) (22-2) whose Tournament Express rolled up still another first at Brilliant last night by defeating the Strasburg Tigers (6-2) (26-2) defending Champions 52-49 to annex the 1st Class B District Basketball Championship in the history of the school.  The Broncos were the 1st to defeat the Tigers this year when they upended the Bengals in the County Tournament finals.  They made it another first by handing the Flushing Orioles its 1st setback Wednesday night.  But last night's triumph was top on the list.

It avenged the 1945-46 edition of Tuscarawas Broncos who was the 1st Tusky quintet to get as far as the District finals.  The Blue and White dropped only 4 games in 29 outings that season and all were to the Strasburg Tigers which went undefeated until the Regional Tournament finals, losing to the Worthington Cardinals 32-31.  Strasburg grabbed a 3-point decisison in that 1946 All-Tuscarawas County finals at Zanesville by beating Tusky 47-44.  The Broncos had lost to the Tigers twice in the regular season and once in the county tournament, but won the Consolation Division Crown to stay in the tournaments.

A crowd of more than 1,800 fans, over 1,200 of whom made the long trip from Tuscarawas County, squeezed into the auditorium-gymnasium in the River Village last night expecting to see a slam-bang battle from start to finish.  The overflow crowd saw just that.  The longest lead of the game was a 6-point spread engineered by Tuscarawas midway in the 3rd stanza and the outcome wasn't decided until Senior guard Ralph Vesco stepped up to the free throw line to sink 2 free throw shots and give Tusky a 52-47 lead with just 5 seconds left to play.

Victory for the Broncos was achieved by means of an effective stall that threw the Bengals off-balance in the last 2 minutes of play.  The Bronco-Busters went into the stall with a 3-point lead after Senior forward Larry (Doofy) Myers had cashed in on 2 charity shots to make the score 50-47.  Strasburg then got a crack at the basket, missed and Tuscarawas went back into the stall.  Junior center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel tied up Vesco after a full minute had gone by, but Tusky gained control of the tip and the freeze was on once again.

The Tigers got possession of the ball and moved down the floor, but missed a shot and once again the Broncos came up with the ball and went back into the stall which ended in Vesco being fouled.  Junior forward Jerry Haswell's last-second heave that swished through the nets made no difference in the final outcome.  The game was a see-saw affair from the very outset with the Bengals holding almost complete control of the backboards in the opening quarter and taking away an 11-9 lead at the close of the period.

Scoring honors were evenly divided among the 2 teams in that opening stanza as they sparred for the advantage against tight zone defenses.  Goose and Doofy split control of the boards in the half and each came up with 2 field goals on rebounds, while Haswell and Senior guard Jim Henry staged a duel from out front.

Tuscarawas trailed most of the 2nd frame, but eased into a 24-22 halftime intermission lead with a scoring burst near the end of the 2nd period.  Both teams continued to spar at the outset of the 3rd stanza, but Tusky grabbed control and shot into command of the tussle with Henry and Vesco connecting from outside, off-setting the deadeye shooting of Senior guard John Shetler, who kept Strasburg in contention.

Goose shot the Tigers back into the picture with 2 rebounds which were converted into 2 field goals near the end of the 3rd period yet the Broncos were still leading 38-35.  Shetler continued to spear the hoop with is push shots in the final canto, but after Tuscarawas had deadlocked the count at 43-43.  Junior forward Terry Deems, Senior center Harry Thompson and Vesco brought Tusky back to a 5-point lead.  Strasburg moved back into the limelight with a scoring burst by Shetler as the score went to 48-47 with 3 minutes remaining in the game.  Deems' free throw shots gave the Broncos the chance it wanted to stall after Strasburg lost the ball under its own boards. 

Henry's outstanding shooting gave Tuscarawas the edge they needed as the Senior marksman collected 6 field goals for 12 points, while Vesco contributed 15, nine of which came in the last half.  Shetler's 16 points were high for the Tigers, while Goose and Haswell each canned 13.

TUSCARAWAS BRONCOS - 52

Larry (Doofy) Myers F 3-3-9
Terry Deems F 3-4-10
Harry Thompson C 3-0-6
Rich Davis G 0-0-0
Jim Henry G 6-0-12
Ralph Vesco G 5-5-15

STRASBURG TIGERS - 49

Jerry Haswell F 6-1-13
Eldon (Zeke) Mullett F 1-3-5
Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel C 5-3-13
Jim Kuecher C 0-0-0
Fred Peters G 1-0-2
John Shetler G 7-2-16


Saturday, March 13, 1954
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Tuscarawas Broncos now moves into the Northeastern Ohio Regional Class B Basketball Tournament along with the Vienna Mustangs (30-0), Copley who is 23-0 and the Columbiana Clippers (19-5).  Drawings for the meet will be held at the Robinhood Restaurant in Kent on tuesday at 6:30PM with the site of the Regional Tournament to be named at that time.  The 3 sites open are:

Kent State's Fieldhouse at Kent
Canton Memorial Fieldhouse
Youngstown South Fieldhouse