REASON TO CHEER!...These are members of the Strasburg High School Basketball Squad who, along with Head Coach Charles Huggins, had good reason to hoist the victory sign last night. They had just topped Hiland's host Hawks by 14 points to record an undefeated regular season - the 3rd in the school's history. By finishing 18-0, the Tigers joined 1945-46 and 1955-56 aggregations in the elite class. Only 3 other Tuscarawas County teams, New Philadelphia in 1939-40, Sugarcreek-Shanesville in 1943-44 and Dennison St. Mary's in 1962-63, have attained similar heights.
Ed Yackey of Strasburg and Hiland's Galen Swartzentruber battle for possession of the basketball in the heat of last night's game on the Hawk hardwoods. Coming into the action is Charlie Jones (33) of Strasburg and Merle Mullet (34) and Kermit Miller (32) of Hiland.
Strasburg's Ed Yackey is seen leaping high to unleash a field goal try against the equally high jumping defensive effort of Hiland's Merle Mullet (34). Also seen are Joe Wengard of Hiland and Gene Bayer (31) of theTigers.
BERLIN - A capacity crowd in the Hiland gymnasium witnessed the Strasburg Tigers down the Hiland Hawks for its 18th consecutive victory. The victory provides the Tigermen with their first undefeated season since 1955-56. This combination registered 17 straight under the leadership of Ken Newlon, now ringmaster of the Canton Lincoln Lions. By emerging victorious last night the Tigers have entered an elite group along with only 5 other Tuscarawas County teams able to perform such a feat, including Strasburg's 1945-46 quintet.
A major upset could have been in the making and you can bet all the money in your Aunt Fanny's cookie jar the Hawks had just that in mind. The hard fought contest can best be described as the highlight events occurred in pairs. A pair of teams that hit over 50 percent of their action shots! A pair of clubs that connected on over 62 percent from the foul lines.
Last, but not least, a pair of performances by Strasburg's John Studer and Hiland's Merle Mullett that amazed the screaming fans! Head Coach Abe Mast had stated earlier that he would have to force the Bengals to play his type of game and theTigers seemed ready to oblige. The contest started with a slow deliberate offense as each team was content to pick the shot they wanted. The Tigers opened with a 4 point lead on 2 fouls and a 2 pointer by Studer after the first 2 minutes, but Merle Mullett came right back with a foul and 2 baskets to put the Hawks on top, 5-4. Before the quarter was over, Studer connected for 3 more baskets and a foul and Mullett canned 2 more buckets. With 24 seconds left in the period, the scoreboard read, Studer 11, Hiland 11.
Gene Bayer racked up 2 foul shots, but Galen Swartzentruber and Kermit Miller hit 2 pointers and Mullett spun under for 2 quick twisters and Hiland took the 1st period lead, 15-13. The second quarter put the Tigers ahead and was the only quarter they looked as though they had come to play basketball. In this period Hiland was outscored 29-14, but never was to be denied as several times after that they outplayed and outfought the lead footed Bengals. Strasburg's defense tightened and for 3 minutes and 27 seconds the Hawks failed to dent the nets. It then appeared the charges of Abe Mast found some daylight and started pecking away once more.
The 3rd period was an about face, as Strasburg's offense sputtered, scoring 6 points the first 4 minutes and it was Hiland's turn to shine on defense as it stood out like a sore thumb. The duel between Mullett and Studer had the fans buzzing as Mullett flipped in 27 points, snared 11 of his team's 29 rebounds and Studer rimmed 33 points and grabbed 13 from the boards. Yackey followed with 11 rebounds. Gene Bayer aided the winner's cause scoring 15. Terry Skelly had 12 for Hiland. Strasburg hit the hoop with 27 of 51 from the floor for 52.8 percent and 23 of 32 from the foul line for 70 percent. Hiland connected on 22 of 43 from the field for 51.5 percent and cashed in on 15 of 24 charity tosses for 62.7 percent.
The Hiland Reserves started the night off with a possible sweep when they hit the Mighty Strasburg Reserves (15-2) with an upset 49-48.
STRASBURG TIGERS - 77
John Studer 11-11-33
Ed Rusk 3-1-7
Ed Yackey 2-1-5
Mike Rieger 1-2-4
Charlie Jones 2-5-11
Gene Bayer 6-3-15
Gary Phillips 0-0-0
Art Haswell 2-0-4
HILAND HAWKS - 63
Merle Mullet 11-5-27
Terry Skelly 5-2-12
Roland Stutzman 0-0-0
Kermit Miller 4-2-10
Galen Swartzentruber 2-4-8
Joe Wengerd 2-2-6
Richard Clark 0-0-0
Saturday, February 11, 1967
Ed Smith
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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