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

54 - Strasburg-Tuscarawas...The Record

BRILLIANT - Tonight's the night.  The Tuscarawas Broncos (21-2) and the Strasburg Tigers (26-1) will clash on the Brilliant High School hardwood for the Eastern Ohio Class B District Basketball Tournament Championship.  East team has claimed a decision over the other with the Tigers racing to a 65-41 verdict over Tusky in the regular season and the Broncos beating the Bengals 64-60 in the finals of the Tuscarawas County Basketball Tournament Championship here 2 weeks ago.

Enthusiasm ran high in both camps and huge pep rallies were staged at the respective schools this afternoon with the bug creeping outside both villages and hitting basketball fans all over the county.  At least 1,100 fans from the county are expected to make the trip to the Ohio River village tonight.  Strasburg sold 600 tickets by yesterday afternoon and 500 more tickets were sold by 8:30 last night at the Tuscarawas High School.

The game is slated for 8:00PM with the doors scheduled to open at 7:00PM., when hundreds more fans from this area will be clamoring to get a seat along with basketball enthusiasts from along the River.

Both coaches, Don Martin of Strasburg and Chuck Lorenz of Tuscarawas, pronounced their charges ready for the test mentally with each team claiming one regular on the sick list.  The Tigers' Junior center Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel is still nursing a sore hand, but the big Bengal center will be in the starting lineup along with Senior Elden (Zeke) Mullett and Junior Jerry Haswell at the forwards and Seniors, Fred Peters and John Shetler, at the guard positions.

The Broncos have Senior guard Ralph Vesco still fighting the effects  of the flu, but the All-County League performer is expected to be in the lineup at a guard position along with Senior guard Jim Henry, while 6-1 Senior Harry Thompson will be at center and Senior Larry (Doofy) Myers and Junior Terry Deems at the forwards.

The Strasburg Tigers, reigning as the defending District Champions, will eat at a training table at the school at 4:00PM and leave for Brilliant at 5:00PM, while the Tuscarawas Broncos retinue is slated to eat at the Fort Steuben Hotel in Steubenville at 5:00PM and relax there for a short time before moving down the river to the tourney site.  Both teams will be at a peak for the rubber game, which will mark the 2nd meeting in the history of the 2 schools in the District finals.  They met at Zanesville in 1946.

THE STRASBURG TIGERS RECORD

REGULAR SEASON

Alumni 58-44
Midvale 63-46
Port Washington 75-45
Bolivar 71-51
Dundee 76-54
Tusky 65-41
Mineral City 79-68
East Sparta 65-53
Northwestern 48-34
Scio 57-44
Baltic 55-45
Berlin 60-56
Gnaden 76-53
Navarre 69-48
Midvale 78-57
Bolivar 89-44
Millersburg 42-22
Stone Creek 73-55
Sugarcreek-Shanesville 63-55
Beach City 75-43

COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Midvale 81-64
Gnaden 39-25
Port Washington 61-60
*Tusky 60-64

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Millersburg 89-72
Baltic 60-53

DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

Jewett 58-47

*Defeat


TUSCARAWAS BRONCOS

REGULAR SEASON

Gnaden 52-34
Port Washington 71-63
Midvale 73-47
Sugarcreek-Shanesville 63-56
*Strasburg 41-63
Bolivar 74-56
Dennison 61-33
Gnaden 55-42
Stone Creek 64-46
Conotton Valley 107-59
Mineral City 82-37
Alumni 99-80
Midvale 83-46
Port Washington 77-69
Dundee 60-47
*Freeport 53-59
Baltic 86-63

COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Dundee 61-47
Baltic 70-47
Strasburg 64-60

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

Dover St. Joseph 80-47
Dennison St. Mary 80-61

DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

Flushing 61-60

*Defeats


Friday, March 12, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio