DOVER - The stage is set. Upwards of 1900 fans will be jammed into Dover's Memorial Hall. Tonight is THE night as far as the Strasburg Tigers and Midvale Blue Devils are concerned. When they clash for the 4th time this season and 2nd in tournament battling, a berth in next week's District Class B dribble derby will be the prize. The Blue Devils from Midvale, zooming to an 82-58 conquest of the Millersburg Knights and the Bucks of Killbuck, beating the Malvern Green Hornets 79-50 as Ron (Butch) Arndt equaled a Sectional Tournament and Memorial Hall scoring record (45 points) last night joined the Tigers of Strasburg and a 3rd county outfit, the Railroaders of Dennison, in tonight's co-finals.
The Railroaders and Bucks square off at 7:30 with the expected struggle between the County Champions and Runnerup slated to get under way at about 8:45. Twice during the regular campaign the Bengals and Diablos met on the polished planks. Twice Strasburg, en route to an unsullied record of 17 victories, took Midvale into camp. But, in the county finals the Blue Devils prevailed 72-68 as they ended a Tiger skein that had reached 19 games.
Tonight the 2 long-time rivals do battle again with a bigger honor at stake. There will be a trophy and a chance for further triumphs along the tournament trail. The District Tournament is to be held at the Brilliant High School Gymnasium next Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Head Coach Ken Newlon of Strasburg will go with the usual lineup of Jim Kuecher and Willie Rieger at the forwards, Ron Gray at center and Jerry Froman and Lloyd Deibel at the guards. The Tigers whipped the Dennison St. Mary Ramblers in their only Sectional Tournament start. Meanwhile, Head Coach Pete Hilliard will stand pat with Larry Swinderman and John Columbo at the forwards, Chuck Seldenright in the pivot and Dick Leggett and John Beans at the guard positions.
Dennison may be faced with a tough task in stopping Arndt, the Killbuck shooting star, who looks like he has springs in his legs. Of course the Railroaders have size, especially in 6-3 Jerry Hill and a point duel between the 2 pivots may be the feature of the opener. Dennison which has won 6 and lost 13, beat the Berlin Panthers, while the Killbuck Bucks, now at 17-5, also spilled the Port Washington Purple Riders out of the Sectional Tournament.
Doors to the gym will open at 6:30 this evening with all tickets being sold at the door. Trophies will be presented to both winners. The drawing for the District Tournament will be held at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon at Brilliant High School.
The score was tied 4 times and the Millersburg Knights (5-13) led by a point midway in the opening quarter, but the Midvale Blue Devils (5-0) (20-5) rode on top 22-12 at the end of the first 8 minutes and from then on it was only a matter of a final spread. A fast break layup by Junior guard Dick (Dandy) Leggett sent the Blue Devils on top 12-11 and after a rebound goal by 6-3 Senior center Chuck Seldenright and a free throw by the Knights' Jim Shonk the Diablos closed out the quarter with 4 straight field goals, 2 of them by Leggett.
The Spartans, although trying desperately, couldn't withstand Midvale's potent attack and fine defense in the 2nd session when Head Coach Harry Weckesser's combine scored only 6 points, 4 of them on free throw tosses. Meanwhile, Head Coach Pete Hilliard's forces, with little Senior forward Larry Swinderman bagging 4 action shots and 2 charity heaves, jacked the count to 38-18 by halftime. Coach Hilliard inserted his 2nd stringers with 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd stanza and they finished up.
The Diablo regulars hit at almost 41 percent as they made 27 field goals in 66 attempts. Swinderman, who canned 3 more doubledeckers as the Blue and Gold outscored lhe Green and White by 30-17 in the 3rd period, would up with 11 field goals and 2 free throws for 24 points, while Leggett meshed 17 markers and John Columbo, getting 9 points in the 3rd period alone, made 15. The Millersburg Knights, which finished the season with a record of 4 wins against 14 setbacks was led by Shonk who scored 15, followed by Jim Ludman with 10.
MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 82
Larry Swinderman 11-2-24 (548)
John Columbo 7-1-15 (277)
Chuck Seldenright 2-4-8 (114)
John Beans 0-0-0 (248)
Dick (Dandy) Leggett 7-3-17 (464)
Gary Haney 0-2-2 (69)
Dave Belknap 0-3-3
Tom Krocker 2-1-5
Dave De Mattio 1-2-4
Jerry Benedum 0-0-0
Lonnie Wolfe 0-0-0
MILLERSBURG KNIGHTS - 58
Hall 2-0-4
Maxwell 2-2-6
R. Meeks 2-1-5
Jim Shonk 5-5-15
Money 4-1-9
Rottman 0-0-0
Jim Ludman 3-4-10
I. Meeks 2-0-4
Tennant 0-1-1
Anderson 1-0-2
Hostutler 1-0-2
MIDVALE 22-38-68-82
MILLERSBURG 12-18-37-58
Saturday, March 3, 1956
Charlie Powell, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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