PHOTO: GNADEN REBUILDING. Coach Oren Thompson and letterman Bruce Kohl of Gnadenhutten are ready to go on the warpath in the remaining 8 games on the schedule. The Indians, in the midst of a huge rebuilding program, have won just 3 of 12 starts. Kohl has been the top scorer, having 181 points. Thompson is in his 1st year as head cage coach. (Friday, 1-11-63)
PHOTO: PORT EQUALS 1961-62 WINS. With last season's win total already equalled, Coach Don Durham of Port Washington diagrams a play pattern for returning lettermen in hopes of picking up additional victories. KNEELING - Larry Laisure (left), Roger Beighley, Ken Gay and Durham. STANDING - Paul Schwab (left) and Tom Loader.
DOVER - An exciting slate of games is on tap in Tuscarawas County League basketball action this weekend. Although Strasburg currently is the only unbeaten team in the loop, the Tigers could find themselves in 2nd place come Saturday---if they are upset by Garaway. Close behind Coach Warren Binder's aggregation are Port Washington and Midvale, with identical 3-1 records, both losing only to the league leaders. Coach Don Durham's Purple Riders will get their chance to move ahead of idle Midvale and possibly to vault into 1st place with a victory over rival Tuscarawas. Other league play finds Baltic at Gnadenhutten and Tuscaraws Valley at Stone Creek.
PORT AT TUSCARAWAS - Port Washington has surprised a number of basketball fans this year. Although blessed with several returning lettermen, the Purple Riders had not been figured on to be too formidable, due mainly to a losing HABIT acquired over the past few years. But, Durham, now in his 2nd year at the helm, has gotten great mileage out of every cager and already has equalled last year's victory total of 6 and 10 more contests are left in which to better that mark. Port has lost but 3 engagements, falling to powerful Dennison 68-58 and to Tuscarawas, its Friday night foe, 68-57, in addition to Strasburg. Victories have been over Gnadenhutten, 49-46 and 66-43, Stone Creek 57-47, Newcomerstown 51-47, Garaway 51-45 and Baltic 64-62 Tuesday. The Purple Riders have displayed great team scoring balance so far this season. Leading the way are Larry Laisure and Tom Loader with 114 and 111 points respectively. Both are 6-0 Seniors. Three other top scorers are 6-2 Senior Paul Schwab with 84, 5-10 Junior Ken Gay who has 81 and 5-7 Senior Wayne Blind with 70. A good 6th man is 6-1 Senior Roger Beighley. He has 37 points. Tuscarawas, under Coach Aaron Miller, has come along in fine fashion after losing 3 of its first 4 games. Now even in 8 starts, the Broncos put together a 3-game winning streak before being stunned 76-66 Tuesday by Millersburg. Miller's charges have had their problems, most of them coming from that ever-present threat---the injury bug. The absence of 6-2 Russ McGlothlin much of the time has hurt Tusky the most. A whiz as a Freshman last year when he tallied 166 points, McGlothlin has been bothered by a sore ankle nearly all year. He was counted on to team with 5-7 Senior Fred Burmich to form a formidable one-two punch. He still has managed to get 61 points in part-time duty. And now, Bob Romig, 6-8 Senior who had been coming along in great style with 35 points in his last 3 games, is out with an injury. Burmich tops the Broncos in the point departmet with 95. Second is 5-11 Junior Phil Caldwell who has 88. Chuck Reichman has 65. Despite all their misfortune, the Broncos have displayed a good team. They lost 2 heart-breakers to start the season, 70-62 to powerful Midvale and 61-52 to Garaway. They then were nipped 70-69 at Gnadenhutten before winning the next 3, over Stone Creek (67-55), Tuscarawas Valley (63-51), and Malvern (51-46). Then came the Millersburg loss Tuesday.
BALTIC AT GNADENHUTTEN - Inexperience has been the key factor in Gnadenhutten's season. Coach Oren Thompson, in his 1st year as head boss, has just one returning letterman---and he's the team's top scorer. Despite their lack of veterans the Indians still have the second-best offensive production in the county. They have tallied 671 points, behind only touted Midvale's 692 total. On the minus side of the ledger; however, is a porous defense which has allowed 827 markers, an indication that teams are out to "get" the Indians who are one of the top teams in the area year after year. The returning letterman, 6-2 Bruce Kohl, has 181 points. Junior Larry Rentsch (6-0) has 127, Sophomore Terry Huebner (5-11) 86, Senior Ed Allensworth (6-2) 75 and Sophomore Gene Bates (5-10) 62. Baltic is in a similar boat as Gnadenhutten, having a good offense, but a weak defense. Coach Errol Jacobs' club, sparked by the one-two scoring punch of Seniors Dick Gerber (6-0) and Dale Stein (5-11), has tallied 647 points, third in the county, but has yielded 634, fourth in the county. Gerber has 292 points, Stein 195, 5-10 Senior Guy Limbacher 67, 5-10 Sophomore Keith Miller 59, and 6-3 Junior Nick Baab 30.
TUSKY VALLEY AT STONE CREEK - Bob Heller of Tuscarawas Valley is another coach who has seen his club hampered by injuries. Two regulars have missed nearly half the action for the Trojans, Junior Gary Ferren and Senior Ed Crawford. Ferren, 2nd tallest cager in the county at 6-5, tallied 121 points last year, while Crawford (5-8) was getting 99. Ferren started out in great style this season, getting 76 points in the Trojans' first 6 games, but injured his ankle and got 2 against Hiland, the same number against Dalton and just one against Sandy Valley. Tusky Valley lost all 3 games. He has just 98 points so far this season. Crawford has missed 3 of the Trojans' 10 games and saw only limited duty in another. He has 46 markers. Dave Widder, 5-9 Junior, has taken up some slack, being the team's top scorer with 128 tallies. Paul Shipbaugh, 5-10 Junior, has 104. Bob Burris, 6-1 Sophomore, has 96 and Ken Burris 61. This may not be Stone Creek's year for success, but if a strong Reserve club is any indication, Coach Ken Lawhun may be able to build a formidable club next season. The Varsity Panthers started slow, losing their first 3 games, but won 3 of the next 5. But now, they are on a 3-game losing streak. The Reserves, on the other hand, have won 10 of 11 battles. Cliff Endlich (5-10) and Jim Billman (5-9), both Seniors, are the leading scorers, having 144 and 119 points respectively. Ed Wallace, 5-11 Senior, has 112 and Verle Endlich, 6-2 Junior, has 104. Stone Creek is one of the smallest schools in the county, having just 40 boys in the top 4 grades. Twenty are out for basketball.
GARAWAY AT STRASBURG - This match should be a thriller. Although, Strasburg sports a much better record than Garaway, 7-1 to 5-5, the Tigers just eked out a 47-44 decision over the Pirates in a non-league encounter December 15. Coach Warren Binder's club, which must win to keep its undisputed hold on 1st place, has a well-balanced attack, but relies mainly on 6-0 Junior John Peters and 5-6 Senior Adrian Edie, an All-County choice last year and a good bet to repeat this campaign. Peters has racked up 166 markers so far, tops on the club. Edie has 138, Don Wallick, 6-3 Junior has 89, Vic Gessner, 5-10 Junior 66, and Rock Van Fossen, 5-11 Sophomore, 54. Coach Joe Richards' Pirates started off in great fashion, winning their first 3 games, all by convincing margins. But, they have lost 4 of their last 5 contests. Junior Don Deetz (5-9) is the key man, having 195 points. Sophomore Randy Miller (6-0) has 101, Senior Geof Stevanus (5-9) 82 and Junior Frank Miller (6-4) 81.
Thursday, January 10, 1963
Dan Kopp, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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