A dejected Tom Connor (right) congratulates Strasburg Coach Bob Shahan following the game. Facial expressions of Tigers Vic Gessner (standing), John Peters (left) and DonWallick and Railroaders Fred Lecce and Frank Golec leave little doubt as to the outcome.
Strasburg Tiger Rock Van Fossen, with the help of teammate Rick Hall, takes down the nets following the victory.
DOVER - "We've had some great victories, but this was our greatest accomplishment all season." These few words were uttered Saturday night by Strasburg Coach Bob Shahan who had just watched his great Tiger basketballers come from 14 points behind in the 3rd quarter to upend stubborn Dennison (12-10) in the final game of District Tournament play in Dover High gymnasium. About 2,000 shocked fans saw the Railroaders dominate play for 3 quarters, holding 14-10, 33-26 and 55-46 margins at the stops. But the final frame belonged solely to the touted Tigers (22-1) as they outscored their competitors 30 to 12 to earn a spot opposite Mogadore (14-6) in Canton Regional warfare Friday night. The other game Friday will pit Brilliant (24-1) against Northwestern (20-3). Fouls proved costly in both teams and it was at the black lines that the game was decided. Strasburg sank 23 of 63 action shots for 36 percent and Dennison 24 of 57 for 42 percent. The Tigers; however, meshed 30 of 38 at the charity stripes to 19 of 26 for the railroaders. Although Dennison lost starters Nick Cummings and Jim Povick with more than 2:30 left in the game and Strasburg's John Peters and Rick Hall had 3 late in the 2nd stanza and Vic Gessner went out late in the game, there were few complaints as official Arile Keith of Martins Ferry and Paul Schrieder of Glenford kept the game well under control.
There are many yardsticks of greatness, but in sports the main one is how a person reacts when the chips are down and his back is against the wall. This being the case, no one can deny that the Tigers are great men. Experiencing their worst night of the season shooting-wise, they seemingly were at the mercy of the hard-charging Railroaders throughout most of the game. Dover native Tom Conner had his chargers working to near-perfection as they used fast breaks to forge out to a 7-1 lead. By 5:15 of the 3rd canto, Dennison was in front by a commanding 14-point bulge, 42-28. Even though the fighting Tigers "came to life" at that point, they still trailed the fired up Railroaders 61-55 with 5:01 left in the game when Peters really proved his right to All-Ohio honors. The 6-0 Senior, All-Tuscarawas County Class A League pick for 2 seasons and co-holder of the Most Valuable Player award this time around, had been held to a lone foul shot in the 1st frame and after going scoreless in the 2nd stanza, was able to get 6 points in the third. "Clutch" Don Wallick, who played like a demon for Strasburg through the last 3 periods, started the "uprising" with a fielder from the key. After Rock Van Fossen pulled off a steal at mid-court and tossed to Peters who went in for a layup and after a bucket by Dennison's Dean Green, Van Fossen took a fine pass from Vic Gessner and made it 63-61. Peters then took charge, scoring 7 consecutive points to vault Strasburg into a 68-63 advantage with 2:54 remaining. The hustling young man, who shrugged off a broken finger a year ago and a broken nose this season to lead his club in tournament play, sank both ends of a one-and-one situation to knot the count 63-63 at 3:54, hit from the key at 3:09, then pulled off a steal at mid-court and went in for a layup, converting this move into a 3-pointer when Railroader Nick Cummings drew his fifth personal foul. A couple of exchanges left Straburg with a 70-67 lead at 1:43 at which time Wallick popped in a 2-pointer from the key. Rick Hall and Peters both cashed in on one-and-one plays to close out the scoring.
Heroes were "a dime a dozen" on both sides, as all who got into the tussle played their hearts out. For Strasburg you can choose from Peters whose accomplishments already are listed; Wallick who hustled his way to 23 points and snared 9 rebounds; Van Fossen who worked for 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and came through with several steals; Rick Hall who sank 8 of 8 charities at crucial moments; Gessner who although sitting out much of the game beause of personal foul trouble; nevertheless, did a good job of ball handling when in there; and Ron Lab who did fine defensive work and tossed in 7 tallies. The District Championship is the 9th for Strasburg and it is doubtful if any is more rewarding. It takes steady nerves and great ability to come from behind when the presssure is on and that's exactly what the mighty Tigers did. Now they stand just 4 games away from their most cherished goal---the State Class A Championship.
STRASBURG TIGERS - 76
John Peters 5-12-22
Vic Gessner 1-0-2
Don Wallick 7-9-23
Rock Van Fossen 7-0-14
Rick Hall 0-8-8
Ron Lab 3-1-7
Tom Dreher 0-0-0
DENNISON RAILROADERS - 67
Nick Cummings 2-8-12
Fred Lecce 2-4-8
Jim Povick 0-3-3
Greg Goodrich 11-1-23
Frank Golec 5-2-12
Dean Green 4-1-9
John Povick 0-0-0
Monday, March 9, 1964
Dan Kopp, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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