LOOKOUT FOR GOOSE. The Strasburg Tigers' 6-4 Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel was caught in action as he grabbed a rebound off the defensive boards and ambled down the floor leading a fast break attack. Racing along behind him is teammate Junior Will Rieger, while Junior George Regula (5) and Sophomore Glen Reidenbach ((3) of the Baltic Eagles flank the Strasburg Center. Glen helps himself by sticking his tongue out. (The Daily Reporter Photo)
TROPHY TIME. Head Coaches Jim Ross (left) of the Baltic Eagles and Ken Newlon of the Strasburg Tigers exchange congratulations after Saturday night's Class B District Tournament finals. Kneeling are Senior Jim Wallace (left) and 6-3 Senior Errol Jacobs, the Eagles' Co-Captains and Senior Gene Hensel of the Tigers. The Bengals' Co-Captains, Senior Jerry Haswell and Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel flank the coaches in the back row. (The Daily Reporter Photo)
The Strasburg Tigers Senior Jerry Haswell. Jerry scored 29 points while leading the Strasburg Tigers to an 87-70 victory and copping the 1955 District Championship. His 29 markers totals 105 points for a 15.0 tournament average in 7 games. (The Daily Reporter Photo)
DOVER - The Strasburg Tigers' Eastern District Class B Champions will launch their bid for further tournament honors at Kent State University's fieldhouse on Friday night at 7:45 when they tangle with the Boston Township Bulldogs (21-2) of Ssummit County. The Tigers were placed opposite the Bulldogs in an open draw held at Kent yesterday with Vienna Mustangs (27-0) slated to face Liberty (24-4) in the other Northeastern Regional tilt at 9:00PM.
No advance ticket sale will be held in Strasburg due to the fact that there will be no Reserved seating. All seats will be on a 1st come, 1st served basis in the spacious Kent Gymnasium which will seat over 7,000 fans. The doors will open at 5:30PM. Strasburg earned the right to advance to the Regional Tournament Saturday night when the Tigers were forced to battle to the wire before subduing a stubborn Baltic quintet 87-70 at Memorial Hall.
Head Coach Ken Newlon's Strasburg Tigers (7-0) (25-2), who collected the Tiger's 6th District Crown in the history of the school and the 2nd in the last 3 years, had a fight on their hands before they were able to subdue the Baltic Eagles (7-2) (22-7), while a capacity crowd remained seated until the final buzzer. The Eagles, picked as the underdog in the finals contest, had the Bengals reeling in the 2nd frame and forced the new Champions to battle every step of the way through the final half.
The Cats, evidently down at the start of the game, soon found that they would have to travel full tilt as the Flyers, despite an "ice cold" shooting exhibition in the opening quarter, roared back into the contest to run up a 3-point lead in the 2nd period. Senior Jerry Haswell kept Strasburg rolling in the 1st stanza as he crashed 9 points through the nets to shoot the Tigers into a 9-point advantage.
It looked as though the Tigers would pull away despite the fact that the rest of the lineup couldn't hit, but Senior Errol Jacobs and little Sophomore Glen Reidenbach closed fast for Baltic and the period ended with the Bengals on top 17-13. Haswell, playing his best contest of the tournament, continued to take charge for the Cats and whipped in 2 fast field goals with Junior Jim Kuecher stealing the ball and dribbling in for a layup to give Strasburg a 23-13 lead at the outset of the 2nd frame.
The Eagles were not to be counted out; however, and after a brief flurry by Senior Jim Wallace, Ridenbach and Senior Fritz Syler had trimmed the lead to 5 points, the Flyers soared past the Tigers's dazed crew to take a 30-28 advantage midway in the period. The Bengals stopped the surge temporarily and vaulted back into the race, but with Wallace and Jacobs driving in for the Baltic, Strasburg couldn't get back into the lead until just before the quarter closed with Kuecher, Haswell and Senior Gene Hensel combining to bring in a 38-34 advantage at the half time intermission.
Kuecher, Haswell and Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel, who had only 2 action shots in the 1st half as he missed shot after shot, put together a concerted drive in the 3rd stanza to offset the efforts of Wallace and Junior George Regula and the Tigers had a 62-50 advantage going into the stretch. The Eagles Syler collected his 4th personal foul at the outset of the 3rd quarter and was forced out, but Regula's offensive surge offset his loss. Jacobs went scoreless in the 3rd period; however, as the Flyers shifted tactics and elected to try it at long range.
Jacobs' rebounding in the 1st two quarters were the big advantage for Baltic as the Bengals usually got only one shot before losing possession. Haswell and Goose tamed to take command of the boards in the last 2 periods and the Eagles' hopes were dimmed. Jacobs' shot back into the scoring column in the final canto as did Reidenbach and the 2 teams staged a slam-bang scoring battle with the Flyers unable to get any closer than 9 points.
The Cat's cause was paced by Senior Gene Hensel, who canned 9 points in the outgoing quarter, with Junior Will Rieger, who came in to aid the Strasburg attack in the 3rd period after starter Sophomore Jerry Froman picked up his 4th personal foul, helping in the rebounding. Baltic's outstanding effort was the big factor in keeping the contest a close one, while the Tigers appeared off the tremendous form they had showed in previous tournament outings.
Jacobs' great rebounding in the 1st two quarters kept Goose from having his usual devastating effect under the offensive Bengal boards and the Eagles remained in the running. Haswell and Kuecher were the Cat's big guns in the scoring column with 29 and 20 points respectively; while Goose and Hensel each had 15. Wallace totaled 18, Jacobs 17, Reidenbach 15 and Syler 10 for the Flyers.
The defeat closed Baltic's most successful basketball campaign as Head Coach Jim Ross' charges finished with a 22-7 record and had the distinction of being the 1st quintet to carry the Eagle colors into the District tournament. Strasburg moves into the Regional tournament jousts with a mark of 25-2, the same record it finished the season with last year after bowing to the Tuscarawas Broncos 52-49 in the finals at Brilliant.
STRASBURG TIGERS - 87
Jerry Haswell 13-3-29
Jim Kuecher 8-4-20
Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel 6-3-15
Jerry Froman 0-2-2
Gene Hensel 6-3-15
Will Rieger 1-4-6
BALTIC EAGLES - 70
Fritz Syler 4-2-10
Jim Wallace 5-8-18
Errol Jacobs 5-7-17
Jim Uher 2-0-4
Glen Reidenbach 7-1-15
George Regula 3-0-6
Paul Armbrust 0-0-0
Don Kaser 0-0-0
STRASBURG 17-38-62-87
BALTIC 13-34-50-70
Monday, March 14, 1955
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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