57 - The Gnadenhutten Indians and Midvale Blue Devils Rundown For The District Championship

DOVER - The Gnadenhutten Indians, possessors of 2 victories over the Midvale Blue Devils in the regular season, will be favored tonight when the 2 teams clash for the 3rd time with the Dover Northeastern District Class A Tournament Crown at stake.  The fracas, which is slated to start at 8:00, should be a thriller on the basis of the much improved and "tournament hot" Blue Devils and the steady play of the Indians throughout the county Sectional and District Tournament jousts.

Gnadenhutten, boasting a record of 23 victories and only 3 losses and Midvale, winners of 17 games as against 9 losses, will also be battling for a Regional Tournament berth slated to be held at Canton's Memorial Fieldhouse next week.  Head Coach Dick Scott's Scarlet and Gray disposed of the undefeated Springfield Local Flying Tigers 67-58 and Midvale trounced the Adena Blue Wave 94-68 to gain berths in the finals of the District Tournament event.  Both of the teams were Jefferson County quintets.

Thus, it will be either the Gnadenhutten Indians or the Diablos of Midvale after tonight carrying the banner of Tuscarawas County into the Regional Tournament this season.  The last Class A Team to make the Regional in the county was the Strasburg Tigers in the 1955 season.  They were ousted by the Vienna Mustangs 60-53 in the semi-final round.  The Devils made the Regionals in 1949 and the Indians in 1942.  The Midvale Blue Devils lost out in the 1st game to the North Canton Vikings 37-29 and Gnadenhutten also dropped it's 1st tilt to the Ottawa Hills Green Arrows 49-46.  Although there weren't regional tournaments when Gnaden went in 1942 there was a 16-team State Tournament which is analogous to the Regional and State events now.

The Scarlet and Gray owns 66-64 and 87-81 victories over the Blue Devils during the regular season.  The 2 teams did not meet in the County or Sectional Tournaments.  The Gnadenhutten Indians lost 2 games to the Port Washington Purple Riders, then their archrivals and a tilt to the Strasburg Tigers all in the regular season, while the Blue and Gold dropped 2 contests to the Stone Creek Golden Panthers, Strasburg and the Indians and one to the Baltic Eagles, the Purple Riders and the Tuscarawas Valley Trojans.  All of the Diablos losses came in the regular season except the 2nd loss to the Golden Panthers which was in the 1st round of the County Tournament.

Head Coach Pete Hilliard will probably start 5-11 Senior Dick (Dandy) Leggett and 6-0 Senior John Colombo at the forwards, 6-2 Junior center Russ Hobart and 5-10 Senior guard Lonnie Wolfe and 5-9 Senior guard John Beans.  Head Coach Dick Scott will probably go with 6-0 Senior forward Eldon Miller and 6-1 Senior forward Larry Biggs, 6-1 Senior center Tom Roth, 5-8 Senior guard Larry Clark and 5-9 Junior guard Ed Shull.  Colombo and Leggett are the 1-2 punch of the Devils as each cager has tallied well over 500 points to lead the scoring.  Miller is top point-maker for Gnadenhutten and has over 500 points for the season.  Clark, Biggs and Roth all have tallied over 300 points to round out the scoring for Gnaden.


Saturday, March 9, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Midvale Crushes Adena 94-68 (3-7-57)

DOVER - There definitely will be no Dundee High School next year, it was revealed today by Ranson Andreas, President of the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Board of Education.    Andreas reported that high school students from Dundee and Wayne Township would attend Sugarcreek-Shanesville High School on a tuition basis until a proposed consolidation can be effected.

It is expected that approximately 40 students will be added to the Sugarcreek-Shanesville enrollment by the move.  Grade students will continue to attend Dundee.  At present, plans are being considered for the consolidation of Wayne Township, including Dundee and Auburn Townsship, which includes Ragersville, with the Sugarcreek-Shanesville local School District; however, reports indicate Strasburg may request some of the Wayne Township students residing north and northeast of Dundee.

The Regional Basketball Tournament Class A will be held at Canton's Memorial Fieldhouse.  This was made certain last night at Dover's Memorial Hall when the tournament-hot Midvale Blue Devils must tackle the rampaging Gnadenhutten Indians (23-3) who disposed of previously unbeaten Springfield Local 67-58 on Wednesday night.  The Blue Devils and the Indians will collide Saturday at 8:00 with the victor advancing to the Regional.

The Adena Golden Wave (14-8) stayed in contention for the 1st half, but a 30-point outburst in the 3rd stanza by the Midvale Blue Devils (8-1) (17-9) made the Golden Wave the 2nd Jefferson County quintet to feel the strength of Tuscarawas County cage aggregations in 2 nights.  The Springfield Local Flying Tigers were the Class A Champions of Jefferson County, while Adena was runner-up.  The Blue Devils hit 50 percent of their attempts the 2nd half, sinking 21 of 42 tries, as Adena cooled off and made only 11 of 37 flings for 29 percent to turn the game into a rout.

Head Coach Pete Hilliard sent in his Reserves with only 2 minutes remaining and Midvale leading 91-64.  Four Diablos scored in double figures in the romp with Senior guard 6-1 John Colombo leading the way with 32 points.  Senior forward Lonnie Wolfe followed with 21, while Senior guard John Beans, having one of his better nights, swished 16 and Senior forward 6-0 Dick (Dandy) Leggett added 14.  Junior center 6-2 Russ Hobart played a topnotch game under the boards and came up with 8 markers.

The Wave was topped by lanky 6-4 center Dennis Sims with 15 points including 9 free throws in as many chances.  Guard 5-9 Bill Sims entered the game as a Substitute and scored 13, while forward 5-9 Tom Sefsick hit 12 and guard 5-10 Tom Yakuboski 10.  During the opening quarter, the lead changed hands 4 times and was tied on 3 occasions before Head Coach Ray Rathbun's Adena Golden Wave squeezed through with a 20-19 lead.

The see-saw battle continued through half of the 2nd frame with the teams matching baskets and the lead changing hands 9 more times before 2 field goals by Beans and one each by Wolfe and Colombo gave the Devils a 39-32 margin with 2 minutes to go.  At the end of the period, the Golden Wave trailed by only 43-40.  Adena didn't score a point for 2 minutes of the 3rd stanza as the Blue and Gold Midvale Blue Devils opened with a rush after the long interval and swished through 4 action shots and 2 free throw tosses for a 53-40 advantage and the Wave never could recover.

The Blue Devils finished the fracas with a highly respectable shooting average of 45 percent with 38 field goals in 82 attempts, while the Adena Golden Wave hit on 26 of 69 tries for 37 percent.  There were 39 personal fouls assessed, 23 against the Golden Wave who lost Yakubowski late in the contest.  The Blue Devils made good with only 18 of 27 free throws, Adena on 16 of 27 tries.

MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 94

Dick (Dandy) Leggett 5-4-14
John Colombo 14-4-32
Russ Hobart 2-4-8
Lonnie Wolfe 9-3-21
John Beans 7-2-16
Harry Housel 0-0-0
Tom Krocker 0-0-0
Gary Haney 0-0-0
Dave Belknap 0-0-0
Lornis Fulp 0-0-0
Dave De Mattio 1-1-3
Don Patterson 0-0-0

ADENA GOLDEN WAVE - 68

Steve Kokovich 4-1-9
Tom Sefsick 5-2-12
Denniso Sims 3-9-15
Tom Yakubowski 5-0-10
Saksa 4-0-8
Bill Sims 5-3-13
Kendztorski 0-0-0
Madzia 0-1-1
Gosnell 0-0-0
Perman 0-0-0

MIDVALE  19-43-73-94
ADENA......20-40-55-68


Friday, March 8, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Gnaden Shocks Springfield Local 67-58 (3-6-57)

The 1957 Gnadenhutten Indians Basketball Team is boasting one of the best records (23-3) in years and this victory against the unbeaten Springfield Local Flying Tigers 67-58 is a crowning achievement in stopping the Flying Tiger's 23 straight victory string.  FRONT:  Larry Clark - Ed Shull - Bill Wallace - Tom Frank - Jerry McKeown and Everett Dixon.  BACK:  Head Coach Dick Scott - Alvin Cappell - Eldon Miller - Larry Biggs - Tom Roth - Larry Gooding - Ron Bradley - Steve Hamilton and Assistant Coach Larry Bradley.


DOVER - The undefeated Springfield Local Flying Tigers (23-1), perennial powerhouse of Jefferson County, were grounded last night for the 1st time in 24 games...and it was the Gnadenhutten Indians (6-0) (23-3) who did the trick.  Unsullied in 23 previous cage clashes, the Flying Tigers had their proud string of successes abruptly terminated as Head Coach Dick Scott's Indians came up with a 67-58 victory to advance to the finals of the Eastern Ohio District Class A Basketball Tournament at Dover's Memorial Hall.

The Midvale Blue Devils (16-9) carry the Tuscarawas County colors into tonight's District playoff tilt against the Adena Golden Waves (14-7).  Game time is 8:00, with the winner to meet Gnadenhutten on Saturday night for the Regional Tournament berth at Canton next week.  Doors open at 7:00 tonight.  Seemingly unperturbed by the impressive record boasted by their opponents, Gnaden went to work to methodically grind out their 13th consecutive triumph and their 23th victory as against only 3 regular season setbacks, as well as being unbeaten in 6 straight tournament contests.

Senior forward 6-0 Eldon Miller, who led the way (a common occurrence) with 24 points, scored the first 3 points for the Tribe's 1st lead as one minute and 50 seconds were consumed before forward 6-0 Tom Elson's pair of free throws broke the ice for Springfield Local.  The lead changed hands on 5 occasions during the opening 8 minutes and the count was knotted twice before the Warriors grabbed a 10-8 margin at the end of the 1st quarter.

After Elson's action shot had tied the score at 10-10 as the 2nd frame got under way, Senior forward 6-1 Larry Biggs hit from action to put the Scarlet and Gray back on top 12-10 and the Gnadenhutten Indians never again were in the shadow of Springfield Local.  Miller swished a jump shot and then, after Jim McBane of the Tigers had netted his 1st of 2 action shots, Miller came back with 2 more fielders and a brace of free throw tosses.

Little Senior guard 5-7 Larry Clark got into the act with 2 jumping 2-pointers and Biggs hit from action to conteract 3 field goals by big 6-4 center Duane Boyd for the Flying Tigers and the halftime score was 26-19 with the Indians in front.  With Senior guard Larry Bradley subing for Junior center 6-2 Tom Roth, Gnadenhutten matched points with Springfield Local for half of the 3rd stanza and led 36-30 midway in the period when Roth returned to the lineup to complete the only substitutions made by the 2 teams.

Roth hit a basket and a free throw shot, while Boyd's free throw and 3 straight free throw tosses by Elson completed the Springfield scoring in the quarter.  However, Clark and Roth each scored field goals for Gnaden and the Tuscarawas Countians were on top 43-35 going past the far turn.  A sudden flurry of action shots by both teams zoomed the score to 55-43 with 5 minutes remaining to give the Tribe its biggest lead of the game.  Roth tallied 3 straight goals, while Elson and Boyd each hit 2 consecutively for the Tigers during the rush.

With the score 59-53 with only 1:40 remaining, the Springfield Local Flying Tigers realized their unbeaten skein was about to go down the drain and in desperation began fouling the Warriors in a futile effort to gain possession of the ball.  During the ensuing closing seconds, the Scarlet and Gray was granted 9 chances from the free throw line and succeeded in making good on 8 attempts to further clinch the victory.

The Gnadenhutten Indians hit a respectable 40 percent of its action flings, sinking 26 baskets in 65 attempts, while the Flying Tigers made good on 23 of 73 tries for 31 percent.  Only 28 personals were assessed, evenly divided and the Indians swished 15 of 24 free throws, while Springfield was successful on 12 of 22 tries.

Boyd, who scored 17 of his points in the 2nd half, shaded Miller for scoring laurels by hitting 25 points and teammate Elson was runner-up with 17.  Clark and Roth each had 14 for Gnaden with Roth scoring only one point in the 1st half, while Bob Sutton had 12 for the losers.  Biggs and Junior 5-7 guard Ed Shull, the playmaker for the Tribe, completed the Warrior pointmaking with 8 and 7 respectively.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS 67

Eldon Miller 8-8-24
Larry Biggs 4-0-8
Tom Roth 6-2-14
Larry Clark 6-2-14
Ed Shull 2-3-7
Larry Bradley 0-0-0

SPRINGFIELD LOCAL FLYING TIGERS

Jim McBane 2-0-4
Tom Elson 6-5-17
Duan Boyd 105-25
Don Genetin 0-0-0
Bob Sutton 5-2-12

GNADENHUTTEN  10-26-43-67
SPRINGFIELD...........8-19-35-58


Thusday, March 7, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Midvale Blue Devils and Adena Golden Wave District Rundown

DOVER - The Gnadenhutten Indians carry the hopes of Tuscarawas County tonight and on Thursday the Midvale Blue Devils takes the banner as it battles the Adena Golden Wave in the Dover "A" District joust at Memorial Hall.  The winner of tonight's clash between the Indians (22-3) and the Springfield Local Flying Tigers (23-0) will meet the Blue Devils (16-9) - the Golden Wave (14-7) victors for the Regional berth next week at Canton.

While Gnaden will be out to stop a big undefeated team from Jefferson County, Midvale will have a much different problem to face when the Blue Devils match talents with the Golden Wave at Memorial Hall on Thursday.  Adena; although, losers of 7 games this season, finished strong at the tail end of its schedule, winning 10 of it's last 13 games including an upset victory over the touted Freeport Red Raiders 66-62 in the Sectional finals at Brilliant last Friday night.

With only one man over 6 foot, Adena relies on its speed and agile players for a smooth attack, while the Golden Wave are a "running and shooting" team most of the time.  They relied on deliberate ball handling in the fading minutes of their game with Freeport to preserve the victory.    The Diablos have lads going at the fathom mark or more.  The Blue Devils of Head Coach Pete Hilliard will have a definite height advantage as Senior Dick (Dandy) Leggett is 6-0, Senior John Colombo is 6-1 and Junior Russ Hobart is at about 6-2.

Senior Center Denniso Sims is the tallest member of the Adena squad at 6-1, while Tom Yakabowski is 5-10 and Steve Kokovich is 5-10 and will probably go at forwards.  The guards will be Bill Sims at 5-9 and Tom Sefsick at 5-9.  Yakabowski is the teams leading scorer, having 348 points for a 16.5 average, while D. Sims follows him with 295 points for a 14.0 average.  Kokovich, with 241 and 11.4 average and Sefsick with 203 and a 9.6 average and B. Sims with 176 and 8.3 average round out the starting combine for Head Coach Ray Rathbun.

Meanwhile, Midvale's potent 1-2 punch of Leggett and Colombo are expected to make a good try in offsetting the balanced scoring of Adena.  Colombo, who set a new school record for one season for the Midvale Blue Devils this year, has 569 points for a 21.8 average and Legget has 508 points for a 19.4 average.  Tom Krocker, 5-11 Sopohomore, Lonnie Wolfe, 5-10 Senior and Hobart however, have come through in tournament play for the Diablos after a mediocre season.

MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS (16-9)

Augusta Blue Devils 73-34
Baltic Eagles 73-74 DEFEATED
Tuscarawas Broncos 78-46
Dundee Bulldogs 75-52
Strasburg Tigers 55-62 DEFEATED
Gnadenhutten Indians 64-65 DEFEATED
Tuscarawas Valley Trojans 73-74 DEFEATED
Port Washington Purple Riders 71-72 DEFEATED
Stone Creek Golden Panthers 58-69 DEFEATED
West Lafayette Generals 90-61
Tuscarawas Broncos 89-33
Conotton Vallley 83-65
Gnadenhutten Indians 81-87 DEFEATED
Strasburg Tigers 64-67 DEFEATED
Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 84-36
Dennison Railroaders 96-66
Port Washington Purple Riders 85-59
Newcomerstown Trojans 69-45

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Stone Creek Golden Panthers 67-70 DEFEATED
Tuscarawas Broncos 89-67
Strasburg Tigers 62-54
Tuscarawas Valley Trojans 96-58

DOVER SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Killbuck Bucks 91-52
Stone Creek Golden Panthers 76-71
Walnut Creek Cardinals 77-58

ADENA GOLDEN WAVE (14-7)

Yorkville Ductillites 58-56
Tiltonsville Ramblers 34-79 DEFEATED
Powhatten Point Indians 59-70 DEFEATED
Smithfield Sentinels 82-56
Dillonvale Night Riders 78-75
Cadiz Cardinals 69-81 DEFEATED
Mt. Pleasant Mounties 64-62
Smithfield Sentinels 63-72 DEFEATED
Brilliant Blue Devils 48-41
Yorkville Ductillites 88-72
Wayne 87-56
Mt. Pleasant 87-65
Dillonvale Night Riders 51-92 DEFEATED
Barnesville Shamrocks 75-70
Cadiz Cardinals 72-78 DEFEATED
Brilliant Blue Devils 62-60
Wayne 80-59

JEFFERSON COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Irondale Red Raiders 63-54
Yorkville Ductillites 64-50
Springfield Local Flying Tigers 50-65 DEFEATED

BRILLIANT SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Freeport Raiders 66-62


Wednesday, March 6, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  PLAYERS (From Right Down The Line With Jim De Mello)

RUMORS, rumors and more rumors...

DURING THE COUNTY AND SECTIONAL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS no less than 3 times a night we heard about one county athlete or another planning to move into another city in the county.

The 1st rumor that we heard and one which gets stronger each day, is that 6-4 Sophomore Ben Price from Tuscarawas Valley High School, is moving into New Philadelphia this summer.  "If" the rumor is true the Quakers would have plenty of height for next year with 6-5 Sophomore Merle Clum, who moved from Sugarcreek to New Philadelphia this year.

BUT ANOTHER RUMOR floating around says that the above combination could be broken up since the Clum family is planning to move to Strasburg.

THE LATEST RUMOR was that Uhrichsville's 6-5 Junior, Clyde Arnold, will be moving to Gnadenhutten in the near future.  It is rumored that his family is building a home there and are planning to move sometime this summer.

BUT, as we have it, these are not facts...just RUMORS!

57 - Springfield Local Flying Tigers District Rundown

DOVER - The Springfield Local Flying Tigers hold victories over several Class AA schools such as Carrollton, Jefferson Union and the Wintersville Golden Warriors.  Both teams (Gnaden and Springfield Local) have met 2 common foes in the Jewett Wildcats and the Tuscarawas Broncos.  The Flying Tigers edged Jewett 63-58 in the 1st game of the season and then whipped them 55-45 in a 2nd meeting.  They have also defeated Tuscarawas by a 62-34 count.  Gnaden, on the other hand, defeated Jewett 84-42 midway in the season and trounced Tusky 79-38.

The Gnadenhutten Indians will be at a height disadvantage as they tip the ruler at less than 5-11 per man, while Springfield Local boasts a starting array averaging 6 feet.  Duan Boyd, 6-4, carried the big load for the Tigers as he leads in scoring with better than an 18-point average.  Jim McBane, 6-0, follows at a 17-point clip, while Bob Sutton, 6-0, is hitting a little over 10 points per contest.  Rounding out the stasrting 5 will be Tom Elson 6-0 and the smallest man of the starters, Don Genetin at 5-8.  Elson and McBane will be at the forwards, while Sutton and Genetin will start at the guard posts.  Boyd will be at center.

Tom Roth, 6-2 center is the tallest member on the Gnaden quintet with Larry Biggs following at about 6-1.  Eldon Miller, 6-0, rounds out the big men.  Little Larry Clark, 5-7 and Ed Shull, 5-8, are the 2 miniature guards.  Miller is the leading scorer with 536 points or 21 per game, while Biggs, Roth and Clark all have hit over 300 to average from 12 to 14 points per contest.  Sull, breaking into the lineup midway in the season, has tallied only 114 markers.

Tickets will be sold at the door with no advanced sale.  Adults will be charged $1.00, while students will get in for 50 cents.

SPRINGFIELD LOCAL FLYING TIGERS (23-0)

Jewett Wildcats 63-58
Wayne 67-21
Salineville Indians 82-48
Brilliant Blue Devils 45-29
Jefferson Union 67-33
Salineville Indians 85-53
Tuscarawas Broncos 62-34
Irondale Red Raiders 61-47
Smithfield Sentinels 54-40
Brilliant Blue Devils 59-31
Smithfield Sentinels 83-51
Wayne 78-30
Carrollton 51-48
Jewett Wildcats 66-45
Carrollton 55-41
Jefferson Union 59-22
Wintersville Golden Warriors 94-46
Irondale Red Raiders 67-38

JEFFERSON COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Irondale Red Raiders 77-40
Wayne 63-30
Dillonvale Night Riders 63-59
Adena Golden Waves 56-50

BRILLIANT SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Conotton Valley 63-57


Tuesday, March 5, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Gnadenhutten Indians District Rundown

DOVER - One of the most unique battles of Class A basketball teams should take place when the District Basketball Tournament teams opens at Dover's Memorial Hall tomorrow night.  The Gnadenhutten Indians, Tuscarawas County's Tournament Champions, runners-up in the county League and winner of the upper bracket in the Dover Sectional Tournament, will clash with newly consolidated Springfield Local Flying Tigers, winners of the Jefferson County Tournament and also winner of one bracket in the Brilliant Sectional Tournament.

The Indians of Head Coach Dick Scott, defeated only 3 times during the regular season, while running up a string of 22 victories, 13 in a row, will have their work cut out for them when they battle the undefeated Flying Tigers, boasting a record of 23 consecutive wins.  Action is slated to get under way at 8.00 when the 2 completely different type of ball clubs take the floor.

Gnaden, which has scored 1,867 points during its 25 games, has averaged 74.6 points per contest, while its opponents have tallied at a 60.1 clip on 1,503 markers.  Springfield, a defensive-minded club, has dumped in 1,511 points in 23 ball games for a 65.7 per game output, while liminting their foes to an almost unbelievable total of only 951 points or 41.3 per contest.  The Port Washington Purple Riders, archrivals of the Tribe, took 2 of the decisions from the Indians of Gnadenhutten, one by a 64-61 score and the other by a lopsided 82-62 count.  The Strasburg Tigers handed the Indians their only other defeat, taking a 63-46 decision.  All of the losses came in the 1st 12 ball games.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS (22-3)

Stone Creek Golden Panthers 60-46
Warsaw Bears 101-81
Freeport Raiders 57-51
Dundee Bulldogs 63-43
Dennison Railroaders 74-52
Baltic Eagles 86-61
Port Washington Purple Riders 61-64 DEFEATED
Tuscarawas Broncos 79-38
Midvale Blue Devils 66-64
Strasburg Tigers 46-63 DEFEATED
Tuscarawas Broncos 77-33
Port Washington Purple Riders 62-82 DEFEATED
Jewett Wildcats 84-42
Dennison Railroaders 84-58
Stone Creek Golden Panthers 86-68
Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 75-61
Freeport Raiders 72-71
Midvale Blue Devils 87-81
Tuscarawas Valley Trojans 61-42
Scio Panthers 86-67

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates 82-63
Tuscarawas Valley Trojans 79-74
Stone Creek Golden Panthers 75-66

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Dennison Railroaders 78-61
Augusta Blue Devils 86-71



Tuesday, March 5, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Midvale Shocks Walnut Creek 77-58 (3-2-57)

DOVER - It will be a pair of Tuscarawas and Jefferson County Class "A" high school quintets battling for District Honors at Dover's Memorial Hall this week after final action in the Sectional Tournament play on Saturday night.  The Gnadenhutten Indians zoomed into the District Tournament by breezing past the Augusta Blue Devils 86-71 Saturday night and last night drew the undefeated Springfield Local Flying Tigers, Jefferson County Champions and Co-Sectional winner at Brilliant, for the 1st District joust slated to start on Wednesday night.

One of the county's "comeback teams of the year," the Midvale Blue Devils, again proved they are tournament "tried" by whipping the Walnut Creek Cardinals 77-58 to gain the other District berth.  Thus, the Indians, with 22 victories and 3 defeats, take on the Flying Tigers which is boasting 23 straight verdicts in the upper bracket.  The Blue Devils, in the lower bracket, clashes with the Adena Warriors, Jefferson County runner-ups and the other Co-Sectional winner at Brilliant.  The Warriors have a record of 14 wins and 7 losses, while the Blue Devils have 17 victories and 9 losses.

Springfield Local gained the District Tournament last Friday night by defeating Conotton Valley 63-57, while Adena edged past the Freeport Raiders 66-62 for the other District berth.  At the drawings last night at Heimkamp's Restaurant here, the Flying Tigers and Warriors drew for the upper and lower bracket first since teams from each Sectional were required to be in different brackets.  Springfield Local took the upper and Adena the lower brackets after the draw.  Midvale and Gnaden then drew for choice of the 2 brackets after selecting order of the draw.

Head Coach Dick Scott of the Indians drew the No. 2 spot which pitted his Tribe against the Flying Tigers and Head Coach Pete Hilliard of the Blue Devils got the No. 4 spot to meet the Warriors.  Action will open on Wednesday night at 8:00 with Gnaden and Spring Field Local, while on Thursday night Midvale takes on Adena.  Saturday night the winners will clash for the single Northeastern Regional berth which will be held at the Canton Memorial Field House starting on March 15th and 16th with 4 teams entered.

There will be no advance sale of tickets for the District joust.  All tickets will be sold at the door with adults being charged $1.00 and students admitted for 75 cents.

For 3 quarters the Walnut Creek Cardinals (15-7) stayed on the heels of the "mighty" Midvale Blue Devils (7-1) (16-10).  The young Cardinal crew trailed the entire distance after a low scoring 1st period saw the 2 squads tied up 4 times as they each matched baskets for an 8-8 score at the end of the initial stanza.  The Blue Devils eased out to a 17 point lead midway in the 2nd frame, as Senior guard Lonnie Wolfe paced the way for Midvale with a 26-17 lead and Walnut Creek never came closer then 7 markers after that.

Although Wolfe and Senior guard John Beans were the only Diablos who could find the hoop in the 1st quarter, at least 4 cagers tallied in every period after that, while 5 scored in the 4th canto when the Devils out-scored the Red Birds 29-18 for the lopsided victory.  Senior 6-1 forward John Colombo, after a frigid 1st quarter, came up with 21 points in the balance of the contest for Scoring Honors to bring his season's total to 560 points, while Wolfe had 20 and Senior forward Dick (Dandy) Leggett's season total is now at 508, giving the one-two punch of the Blue and Gold a total of 1,077 points between them.  But, just as was the case in the thrilling battle with the Stone Creek Golden Panthers on Friday night, it was again Sophomore guard Tom Krocker who really came through in the clutch, getting 10 points in the last frame to clinch the contest.

Phil Horrisberger, 6-0 Walnut Creek center and the only Senior on the squad, paced the Cards with 21 points; although, he fouled out with 3 and one-half minutes to go, while 5-6 "little"guard Gene Gerber, followed with 20 points, getting 10 of 14 free throw tosses and 13 points in the final canto.

MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 77

Dick (Dandy) Leggett 5-2-12
John Colombo 8-5-21
Russ Hobart 1-2-4
Lonnie Wolfe 8-4-20
John Beans 2-0-4
Gary Haney 1-1-3
Dave De Mattio 0-0-0
Lornis Fulp 0-0-0
Tom Krocker 2-9-13

WALNUT CREEK CARDINALS - 58

S. Gerber 2-0-4
Gene Gerber 5-10-20
Phil Horrisberger 8-5-21
Yoder 2-2-6
Miller 1-0-2
Ahjewych 2-1-5

MIDVALE ..............8-30-48-77
WALNUT CREEK  8-22-40-58


Monday, March 4, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

The Gnadenhutten Indians and the Midvale Blue Devils are on their way to the District Tourney.

57 - Gnaden Brushes Off Augusta 86-71 (3-2-57)

Gnadenhutten Indians' Senior 5-10 Forward Eldon Miller leads his team to a rather easy 86-71 win over the Augusta Blue Devils scoring 26 points.  His tournament total is now 123 points in 5 games for an average of 24.6 points per game.  (Photo 1957 Yearbook)

These players are the heart of the Gnadenhutten Indians 1957 team:  Senior Larry Clark (33) - Senior Eldon Miller (99) - Senior Larry Biggs (55) - Senior Jerry McKeown (00) - Edward (Ed) Shull (11) - Junior Tom Roth (77) and Senior Ron Bradley (22).  (Photo 1957 Yearbook)



DOVER - The Gnadenhutten Indians (5-0) (22-3) well on their way to their best season since 1945 when the Indians from Memorial Village gained the State finals, made it 13 in a row on Saturday night in easy fashion.  After a see-saw 1st quarter in which the Augusta Blue Devils (13-7) knotted the count twice, but never took the lead, Gnadenhutten started rolling and moved from a 25-19 first period lead to a quick 33-21 advantage early in the 2nd frame and then led 47-27 at intermission.

With a 71-40 lead after 3 quarters, Head coach Dick Scott then emptied his bench and for the 1st two and one-half minutes of the final canto, the Blue Devils bottled up the Gnaden Reserves.  Finally, after Augusta had cut the lead to 74-55, several of the starters came back in to hold things in control.  In the final stanza the Diablos outscored the Tribe 31-15, but the victors were never in trouble.

The Scarlet and Gray's success once again was in evidence in the victory as 4 players ended in double figures with 5-10 Senior forward Eldon Miller getting 26 points, 6-0 Senior forward Larry Biggs 21, 5-9 Senior Larry Clark 18 and 6-1 Junior Tom Roth 14.  Junior 5-7 guard Ed Shull who was a big man in the Gnadenhutten Indians attack against the Dennison Railroaders on Wednesday night, had trouble finding the hoop, but did a commendable job on defense.

Forward 5-11 George Myers, of the Devils, one of the finest cagers in Augusta school history, dropped in 24 points after being held to only one field goal in the 1st half by Miller, to give him 493 points for his career, better than a 24 point average.  The Augusta Blue Devils Center 6-3 Paul McGhee, followed with 23 markers.  Unofficial statistics show the Indians making 35 of 71 flings from action for 48 percent, while the Blue Devils only made 21 of 72 shots from action for 28 percent.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS - 86

Eldon Miller 10-6-26
Larry Biggs 9-3-21
Tom Roth 7-0-14
Larry Clark 8-2-18
Ed Shull 0-0-0
Larry Bradley 0-0-0
Alvin Cappell 0-0-0
Larry Gooding 0-2-2
Setphen Hamilton 0-1-1
Jerry McKeown 1-2-4

AUGUSTA BLUE DEVILS - 71

George Myers 8-8-24
Paul McGhee 6-11-23
Hays 1-0-2
Campbell 3-9-15
Swanlen 2-1-5
Longsworth 1-0-2

GNADEN....25-47-71-86
AUGUSTA  19-27-40-71


Monday, March 4, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Midvale Edges Stone Creek 76-71 (3-1-57)

The Stone Creek Golden Panther Senior Ron Deibel ended his 4-year career with 1,905 points.  This point total places him at the top of the Tuscarawas County Class A scoring position.

DOVER - Two Tuscarawas, one Carroll one Holmes County team are left standing in the Dover Class A Sectional Tournament after some "hot and heavy" action last night.  The Midvale Blue Devils "tourney tried" upset of the Stone Creek Panther's apple cart by downing them 76-71 in the big upset of the evening, while in the other contest the Gnadenhutten Indians battled to eventually take a 78-61 verdict from a surprising Dennison Railroader quintet.

Thus the stage was set for the semi-finals in the Sectional Tournament  with the final round to get under way at 7:30.  The Indians of Gnaden (21-3) , first seeded in the tournament, will take on the Carroll County Champion Augusta Blue Devils (13-6) in the 1st contest, while in the other fracas slated to get under way at 8:45 will pit the Blue Devils (16-9) against Holmes County League and Tournament Champions the Walnut Creek Cardinals (15-6).

Therefore the honors for 2 District berths will be decided tonight and after the 2 tussles all that will be left is determining the District Tournament slated for March 6,7 and 8 will be the drawings since the Springfield Local Flying Tigers, undefeated in 23 starts and the Adena Golden Waves (14-7) copped honors at the Brilliant Sectional Tournament last night.

The Flying Tigers tripped Conotton Valley 63-57, while theGolden Waves turned back Freeport Raiders 66-62.  Drawings for the District Tournament will be held on Sunday evening at Helmkamp's Restaurant in Dover.

Basketball at its best and 2 sterling individual performances highlighted the Midvale-Stone Creek tussle.  With 6-1 Senior forward John Colombo setting the pace for the Midvale Blue Devils (6-1) (15-10) and "Ripping" 5-11 Senior forward Ron Deibel, leading the Stone Creek Golden Panthers (2-2) (18-6), one of the best dribble games of the season was witnessed by the jam-packed Dover Memorial Hall crowd.

Colombo hit for 42 points for the 2nd time this year and rewrote the scoring record for Midvale High, while Deibel ended a fabulous high school career by playing a terrific game and swishing 30 points for the Golden Panthers.  Each squad, tuned to the task of last night's contest like highly trained machines, hit a combined 50 percent from the field, while both also were outstanding at the free throw line.

The Panthers, victors over the Blue Devils 2 previous times, connected on 23 of 49 action flings for a 46.9 percent, while the Diablos also hit for 23 fielders, but in only 42 attempts for a sizzling 54.7 percent.  The Cats were slightly better at the free throw line, but both teams were uncanny.  The losers potted 23 of 28 attempts, while the Devils canned 30 of 40 charity tosses, going to the stripe much more often than the Panthers.  Deibel's 30-point output ran his 4-year total to 1,905 points and as he leaves the high school cage sport his record will probably stand for many years to come.  The redheaded lad scored 121 points in 4 tournament games to add to his 399 season total for 520 points.  At the start of the tournament he had 1,784 markers and set the new county record in the 1st tournament game when he surpassed Bill Jones' mark of 1,791.  Jones also played for the Stone Creek Golden Panthers.

Colombo, scoring at least 7 points in each period, was the big difference in the ball game as he sank 14 field goals and 14 of 16 free throw shots.  The big output gave him a total of 548 points for the season, bettering the previous school record set last year when Larry Swinderman dunked in 523 for the 1956 tournament Champions of Head Coach Pete Hilliard.

The victory over Head Coach Ed McGlumphy's combine did not come easily as the mentor, making his debut in the county just this year, had his ball club primed to a fine point and pulled every trick he knew to halt the fired-up Midvale Blue Devils.  Midvale led by a slim margin most of the 1st three quarters taking a 21-16 and 40-36 edge at the end of the 1st two periods and then after the lead had changed hands 7 times in the late minutes of the 3rd, the Creekers finally took a 54-52 edge going into the final canto.

The Golden Panthers bared their claws right away and 2 quick baskets before anyone knew what was going on saw them ahead 58-52 with only 55 seconds of the period gone.  But the Blue Devils stormed back and tied it up 63-63 with 4 minutes left.  After the 2 clubs were tied 65-65 with 3 minutes to go, 5-11 Sophomore guard Tom Krocker dunked 2 free throws to give the Diablos its 1st lead in the 4th stanza.  But Stone Creek added a free throw fling and then the 2 teams switched the lead with each successive bucket as there was only a 1 point difference in the score.

With 2 minutes to go, Colombo dumped in a layup, Senior guard John Beans followed with 2 free throws and the Devils held a 72-67 advantage.  Senior 5-11 guard Mel McAfee, in the lineup for Deibel who fouled out, potted a layup as the Stone Creek Golden Panthers turned on a press and cut the score to only 3 points.  But Colombo dunked another and 5-9 Senior forward Ben Wherley hit for the Golden Panthers.  Krocker ended the scoring with 2 free throw tosses for the hard fought victory.

Junior 5-8 forward Rod Reinhart, playing one of his better games and Senior guard Tom Border turned in fine performances, while Wherley and 6-1 Senior center Reuben Lorenz both did themselves justice in their finale.  Senior forward Dick (Dandy) Leggett of the Midvale Blue Devils was actually the big gun as he fed Colombo constantly under the basket

MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS 76

Dick (Dandy) Leggett 3-2-8
John Colombo 14-14-42
Russ Hobart 0-2-2
John Beans 3-7-13
Lonnie Wolfe 1-1-3
Tom Krocker 2-4-8
Gary Haney 0-0-0

STONE CREEK GOLDEN PANTHERS - 71

Rod Reinhart 7-0-14
Harold Baker 0-0-0
Ron Deibel 10-10-30
Reuben Lorenz 1-4-6
Tom Border 1-5-7
Mel McAfee 1-0-2
Ben Wherley 4-4-12

MIDVALE...........21-40-52-76
STONE CREEK  14-36-54-71


Saturday, March 2, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

57 - Gnaden's Defense Wobbles Against Dennison 78-61 (3-1-57)

The Gnadenhutten Indian's Senior Eldon Miller added 22 points to his tournament total to lead the Indians to a 78-61 victory over the Dennison Railroaders last night in Dover's Memorial Hall during a Sectional Tournament fracas.  The Tuscarawas County MVP has run up a total of 97 points in 4 tournament games giving him a 24.3 scoring average. (Photo 1957 Yearbook)



DOVER - The Dennison Railroaders (5-15) of Head Coach Chick Maurer, winners of only 4 games  this season, as compared to the Gnadenhutten Indians (4-0) (21-3) whose brilliant mark of winning 20 games going into the game, surprised everyone last night.  Starting off with a bang, the Railroaders boomed to a 6-0 lead before the Indians could get their breath and held a 20-19 lead at the 1st stop before Gnadenhutten finally found itself to take 35-30 and 54-42 leads at the end of the next 2 quarters.

Gnaden took a 12-point lead into the final canto, but Dennison's game cagers kept whittling at the margin and on several occasions in the period narrowed the gap to only 7 points; although, the Tribe tallied 8 points in the final 2 minutes of play to the Roader's 2 for the lopsided victory.  The Scarlet and Gray had too many guns for the Dennison Railroaders, as all 5 starters, who went the entire distance for the Gnadenhutten Indians, tallied in double figures, while only 3 did for the Railroaders.

Senior 5-10 Eldon Miller could find the hoop only once in the 1st quarter, but regained his eye after that and potted 20 points in the next 3 to pace the Indians of Head Coach Dick Scott to victory.  Junior 6-1 center Tom Roth, a good man under the boards for Gnaden all evening, had 19, while 5-7 Junior Ed Shull had 13 and 6-0 Senior forward Larry Biggs and 5-7 Senior guard Larry Clark each added a dozen points to the balanced attack.

Senior 5-10 Junior forward Tom Maitland who along with 6-1 Sophomore guard Jerry Stewart will be back next year for Dennison, while Senior center Rich Trolio added 15 and Senior forward Allen Kennedy had 12 to pace the Roaders in their impressive performance.  The output by Trolio gave him the Dennison School Record with a total of 411 points for the season, topping the 397 mark set by Dave O'Hara in 1953 for the Dennison Railroaders.

The contest marked the end of careers for 4 Dennison cagers as Trolio, Kennedy, Bob Polen and Ben Nardi will graduate this spring.

GNADENHUTTEN INDIANS - 78

Eldon Miller 10-2-22
Tom Roth 8-3-19
Larry Biggs 4-4-12
Ed Shull 6-1-13
Larry Clark 5-2-12

DENNISON RAILROADERS - 61

Tom Maitland 11-0-22
Allen Kennedy 6-0-12
Rich Trolio 4-7-15
Bob Polen 1-1-3
Bob McGuire 1-1-3
Mel Peters 0-0-0
Ben Nardi 0-0-0
Tom Basiletti 0-0-0
Jerry Stewart 1-4-6

GNADEN.....19-35-54-78
DENNISON  20-30-42-61


Saturday, March 2, 1957
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

NOTE:  Thursday Night Games

Walnut Creek Cardinals (15-6) 86 - Dover St. Joseph Ramblers (10-9) 71
August Blue Devils (13-6) 69 - Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves (8-11) 64