Gene Bayer of Strasburg maneuvers past Bob Zuercher (14) and Fred Blesser of the Dalton Bulldogs.
Veteran Canton tournament manager Chuck Wright presents the Regional Championship Trophy to Ed Yackey, Gene Bayer, Gary Phillips, Tom Ferris, Charlie Jones and John Studer.
Strasburg's Ed Yackey hoists the Regional Champion Trophy high. Others identifiable in the picture are Gene Bayer, Head Coach Charles Huggins, Tom Ferris (43), Rick Margo, Charlie Jones, Gary Phillips (25) and Ron Hall (35).
Strasburg fans give the Strasburg High School Tigers a standing salute.
CANTON - "This one's for "Big Spike." That's all the incentive the Strasburg Tigers (25-0) needed Saturday night to roll 81-59 over the Dalton Bulldogs after capturing the Class A Regional Championship in a andemonic Canton Memorial Fieldhouse and earn a ticket to the 4-team State playoff for the 1st time since 1938. "Big Spike," is Mike Rieger, pint-sized starting guard for the 25-game, undefeated Burgermen who was stricken with mononucleousis last week and will miss a lifetime dream...playing in the State finals.
Determined to take the bacon home to Mike, the Tigers, as they did Friday night against Northwestern, quickly adjusted to Dalton's style of play and went on to outrun and outshoot the Wayne County hustlers. Exploding their offensive might in the face of Dalton's highly-publicized full-court press and, at the same time, bothering the Bulldogs with their own tight defense, the Tigers engineered a first-period lead of 18-11. Charlie Jones, 6-3 outside pumper, set the initial pace with 9 points as he dueled Dalton's Bob Zuercher, a setshot artist who rimmed 7 points. The Bengals' only noticeable weakness in that 1st quarter was at the foul line where they cashed only 6 shots, causing their followers to wonder if they were going to have a cold night in that respect. Fortunately, they improved in their charity shooting as the game wore on. As the 2nd quarter fireworks began, Dalton gave evidence it had found the range and a scoring contest developed between the Tigers' All-Ohio John Studer and Bulldog ace Mark Berg. Studer registered 10 points and Berg 9.
Meanwhile, Tad Hobert came off the Dalton bench to can 3 quick action shots to spark a thrust that enabled the Bulldogs to knot the score 28-28 with 2:17 remaining. The Dalton fans went wild and Tigertown supporters began to wonder again. But at that point Head Coach Chuck Huggins decided to send Ed Yackey, sore ankle and all, into the fray. And the big fellow immediately ignited the Tigers and they roared in front by 7 points to hold a not-too-comfortable 39-32 cushion at intermission. It is assumed Coach Huggins said something about Columbus during the halftime because the Tigers launched a third-period bombardment which can easily be tabbed as the backbreaker from the Dalton viewpoint. The toasts of Tigertown, limited the Bulldogs to 7 points, while netting 15 for a 54-39 bulge. The limping Yackey set the pace with 7 in a real display of determination. Neither Studer nor Berg were able to put a point in the scorebook during that stanza.
Personal fouls began taking their toll in the last period as Dalton totaled 28 and Strasburg 17. The Tigers' Gary Phillips, who played a sturdy floor game against the Bulldogs' aggressive press, went out at 6:24. The limping Yackey was called to the bench at 5:14 and received a rousing ovation. Dalton's Berg fouled out at 4:55. With the Tiger momentum in high gear, the Bulldogs had to commit fouls or leave the Bengals roll at will. Of the 27 points Strasburg tallied in icing the victory 11 came from the charity line with Studer and Jones as the principal marksmen. The Tigers' well-balanced attack proved just too much for the Bulldogs, who had bowed to Strasburg in an 88-58 game during the regular season. Studer finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Jones, relying on his pet long-range jumper, harvested 20. Ed Rusk looped 14, most of them from the side and Yackey had 10. Pacing Dalton were Rick Oswald and Zuercher with 16 each and Berg with 15.
Gene Bayer, who added 8 points in the Strasburg victory, turned in another all-around performance. He consistently fed Rusk and Studer on offense and then when Dalton had the ball he practically glued himself to its talented Bruce Nussbaum, who finished with a big goose egg. Strasburg's muscle under the boards was a big factor in thwarting Dalton's heralded fast break. The Tigers picked off 43 back bounces to Dalton's 20. The machinegun Tigers fired 71 times and made 29 hits for a 40.3 percentage, while Dalton cashed 21 of 53 field efforts for 30.5. Strasburg also held a 23-17 margin in good free throws.
In the wild post-game Tiger dressingroom Coach Huggins attributed his team's championship to its ability to quickly adjust. "We play every team differently," he commented. "There was ample proof of that the last 2 nights. First we had to change to Northwestern's slower style of play and tonight to Dalton's faster style. And our kids are tremendous when it comes to rising to the occasion. They're just tremendous...period."
STRASBURG TIGERS - 81
John Studer 8-7-23
Ed Rusk 7-0-14
Gene Bayer 2-4-8
Ed Yackey 4-2-10
Charlie Jones 7-5-20
Gary Phillips 1-2-4
Ron Hall 0-0-0
Tom Hall 0-0-0
Art (Butch) Haswell 0-0-0
Tom Ferris 0-0-0
Tom Margo 0-0-0
Bob Welling 0-0-0
DALTON BULLDOGES - 59
Mark Berg 5-5-15
Bob Zuercher 7-2-16
Rick Oswald 4-8-16
Slosser 2-2-6
Bruce Nussbaum 0-0-0
M. Nussbaum 0-0-0
McFarren 0-0-0
Larry Huff 0-0-0
Hobart 3-0-6
Ober 0-0-0
Monday, March 13, 1967
Ed Smith
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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