MHS, WCH both state-ranked in 1986
By
Bob Patton-
(Continued from last week.)
After the holiday break, Wilmington finally won a game, beating Clinton Massie, 73-68, on Jan. 3, 1986, when John Lambcke racked up 21 points for the Hurricane.
Massie’s Mike Henry tallied 17 in a losing cause.
Elsewhere, Circleville jumped out to a 13-point, first-quarter lead and went on to defeat visiting Westfall, 75-65. Brad Dade tossed in 26 points for the Tigers.
The next night, Washington played just well enough to win, as they edged Greeneview, 77-73, on the Blue Lions’ home court. Washington had five men in double figures, while the Rams got 24 points from David Bradds.
The state class AA rankings were published Tuesday, Jan. 7. For the first time in many years, two SCOL teams were ranked among the top 20 high school teams in Ohio.
The McClain Tigers were ranked fourth, and Washington’s Blue Lions were ranked 16th. The No. 4 ranking was the all-time best for McClain to that point in school history.
Also on Jan. 7, Macon Eastern visited Hillsboro and downed the Indians, 68-64. Kenny McCord put 26 markers on the board for the Indians. Eastern’s attack was more balanced, with Paul Neal’s 19 leading the way.
The McClain Tigers, playing the same evening, downed Athens, 58-23.
The big Fayette County shootout was played Friday, Jan. 10, at Washington C.H. Miami Trace opened with a very deliberate offense and a trapping full-court press after scores.
This threw the Blue Lions off a little, and the Panthers enjoyed an early eight-point lead, which WCH whittled to six at the end of the first stanza.
Trace still held the lead at halftime, 30-23. But the second half belonged to the Lions. They outscored the Panthers, 37-20, to capture a 60-50 league win. Also on Jan. 10, Wilmington’s John Lambcke and Bill Kocher scored 24 points each and the Hurricane buried Hillsboro, 82-56. Junior Dale Richey led the Indians with 20 points as they lost their eighth consecutive game.
At Greenfield, visiting Circleville put up a tremendous battle, leading the purple-and-gold by two points with only three and a half minutes remaining. But McClain rallied and pulled the game out by a score of 44-38.
McClain had 17 turnovers in the game, which helped Circleville make it a close contest.
Miami Trace had been improving little by little since the beginning of the season. On Jan. 14, they hosted the always-tough Lancaster Golden
Gales. The Panthers put up a gallant fight against a state-ranked team before losing, 53-50. This was, in many ways, a moral victory for Trace.
In other games, Hillsboro lost their ninth consecutive game, when they were nipped by visiting Peebles, 71-65, at Hillsboro. Marc Kremin racked up 25 points for Peebles, while Hillsboro had four men in double figures, led by Ritchie Butler and Cris Walker, who scored 10 each.
Groveport-Madison visited Circleville and took a narrow 71-66 win over the red and black.
Friday, Jan. 17 was a big night for the SCOL, as McClain would visit ever-improving Miami Trace and second-place Washington would travel down Route 22 to battle the Hurricane.
The Blue Lions were 4-1 in the SCOL and 11-1 overall. They had a chance to move into a tie for the league lead, if they could beat Wilmington and Miami Trace could upset McClain. The Hurricane, after losing the first seven games of the season, had now won three of the last four.
But 5’10” sophomore Mike Taylor missed the first six games due to knee surgery. He was back, now, and playing very well. Also, little-known 6’0” guard Bill Kocher had suddenly emerged as a potent scorer, now ranking eighth in the league.
Miami Trace had settled down and was playing something that vaguely resembled organized basketball. By playing tough Lancaster down to the wire, they proved that they were capable of competing with almost anybody.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
After the holiday break, Wilmington finally won a game, beating Clinton Massie, 73-68, on Jan. 3, 1986, when John Lambcke racked up 21 points for the Hurricane.
Massie’s Mike Henry tallied 17 in a losing cause.
Elsewhere, Circleville jumped out to a 13-point, first-quarter lead and went on to defeat visiting Westfall, 75-65. Brad Dade tossed in 26 points for the Tigers.
The next night, Washington played just well enough to win, as they edged Greeneview, 77-73, on the Blue Lions’ home court. Washington had five men in double figures, while the Rams got 24 points from David Bradds.
The state class AA rankings were published Tuesday, Jan. 7. For the first time in many years, two SCOL teams were ranked among the top 20 high school teams in Ohio.
The McClain Tigers were ranked fourth, and Washington’s Blue Lions were ranked 16th. The No. 4 ranking was the all-time best for McClain to that point in school history.
Also on Jan. 7, Macon Eastern visited Hillsboro and downed the Indians, 68-64. Kenny McCord put 26 markers on the board for the Indians. Eastern’s attack was more balanced, with Paul Neal’s 19 leading the way.
The McClain Tigers, playing the same evening, downed Athens, 58-23.
The big Fayette County shootout was played Friday, Jan. 10, at Washington C.H. Miami Trace opened with a very deliberate offense and a trapping full-court press after scores.
This threw the Blue Lions off a little, and the Panthers enjoyed an early eight-point lead, which WCH whittled to six at the end of the first stanza.
Trace still held the lead at halftime, 30-23. But the second half belonged to the Lions. They outscored the Panthers, 37-20, to capture a 60-50 league win. Also on Jan. 10, Wilmington’s John Lambcke and Bill Kocher scored 24 points each and the Hurricane buried Hillsboro, 82-56. Junior Dale Richey led the Indians with 20 points as they lost their eighth consecutive game.
At Greenfield, visiting Circleville put up a tremendous battle, leading the purple-and-gold by two points with only three and a half minutes remaining. But McClain rallied and pulled the game out by a score of 44-38.
McClain had 17 turnovers in the game, which helped Circleville make it a close contest.
Miami Trace had been improving little by little since the beginning of the season. On Jan. 14, they hosted the always-tough Lancaster Golden
Gales. The Panthers put up a gallant fight against a state-ranked team before losing, 53-50. This was, in many ways, a moral victory for Trace.
In other games, Hillsboro lost their ninth consecutive game, when they were nipped by visiting Peebles, 71-65, at Hillsboro. Marc Kremin racked up 25 points for Peebles, while Hillsboro had four men in double figures, led by Ritchie Butler and Cris Walker, who scored 10 each.
Groveport-Madison visited Circleville and took a narrow 71-66 win over the red and black.
Friday, Jan. 17 was a big night for the SCOL, as McClain would visit ever-improving Miami Trace and second-place Washington would travel down Route 22 to battle the Hurricane.
The Blue Lions were 4-1 in the SCOL and 11-1 overall. They had a chance to move into a tie for the league lead, if they could beat Wilmington and Miami Trace could upset McClain. The Hurricane, after losing the first seven games of the season, had now won three of the last four.
But 5’10” sophomore Mike Taylor missed the first six games due to knee surgery. He was back, now, and playing very well. Also, little-known 6’0” guard Bill Kocher had suddenly emerged as a potent scorer, now ranking eighth in the league.
Miami Trace had settled down and was playing something that vaguely resembled organized basketball. By playing tough Lancaster down to the wire, they proved that they were capable of competing with almost anybody.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]