Opening of new gym delayed at McClain
By
Bob Patton-
The 1973-74 basketball season was just around the corner and all the South Central Ohio League schools were putting their teams through the paces, so they could, hopefully, open the young season on a positive note.
However, Greenfield McClain was already facing a dilemma.
Their brand-new gymnasium, which would seat four or five times as many people as the notorious “crackerbox,” would not be completed until around Christmas. The gym had been scheduled for completion in October, but all types of problems emerged and the work crews were running several months behind.
The Nov. 21 game with Southeastern would be played at Hillsboro. The Dec. 8 game with East Clinton would be played at Wilmington. The Dec. 27 game with Adena would be played at Fairfield. All this was disruptive and stressful to coaches and players alike.
Teams look forward to their home games. It is never easy to win on the road.
MHS Coach Sam Snyder had a surplus of guards, but a real shortage of underneath players. Additionally, senior guard Dan Strain, who was quarterback of the football team, would miss at least the first third of the season due to a football injury which would require surgery. Forward Gary Barr had a hamstring injury that was not responding to treatment. Snyder tried to keep an optimistic outlook, but there were some serious question marks for the Tigers.
Miami Trace went to the Regionals the previous March and had three starters back, including Dave Persinger who was said to be 6’6” this year. New head coach Dale Creamer had moved up from the reserve team to replace departed Jan Stauffer.
The Panthers appeared to be a serious contender for the league title this season.
Washington also had three starters returning, including 6’5” pivotman Jeff Wallace, and had more height and speed than any of the other contenders. The Blue Lions would almost certainly be in the thick of the race.
Wilmington had a new coach, Larry Bartram, who came from East Clinton. Bartram would have only one returning starter, 6’1” senior Jeff Earley. The Hurricane did have an excellent reserve team the previous season, and hoped to get some help from the youngsters moving up.
Hillsboro had four starters back, including junior guard Kevin Bailey and big 6’3” forward David Larimer. Also, Hillsboro had a pretty good reserve team last season. They should be in the running, as well.
Madison Plains had all five starters coming back, including a 6’6” player.
Last year’s Circleville team “on paper” should have posed little problem to Miami Trace, but due to great dedication and intelligent play, they shared the league championship with MT.
John Lawhorn would be back for his fifth year as coach of the Circleville Tigers, and they would be a tough competitor.
SCOL competition in basketball began November 30, with Circleville visiting Washington, McClain at Miami Trace and Hillsboro at Madison Plains. Wilmington would have the bye.
The Miami Trace Panthers edged McClain, 70-66. Steve Willett led the Tigers with 19 points. Randy Reiber and Persinger led the scoring for MT. At Washington, the Blue Lions downed Circleville 65 – 61 after Circleville led by three points at halftime. Jeff Wallace totally dominated the inside, scoring 35 points for the Blue Lions.
Hillsboro hammered Madison Plains, 81-61, behind Bailey’s 22 points.
On December 7, at Wilmington, the Miami Trace Panthers clobbered the Hurricane, 67-43. Persinger’s 24 led the Panthers, while Reeder had 14 for Wilmington.
McClain made the 17-mile trip to Hillsboro and edged the Indians, 71-69, in overtime. McClain had balanced scoring, led by Steve Willett’s 20 points. Bailey scored 27 for Hillsboro.
Madison Plains played at Circleville and came out on the short end of a 66-54 score, while Washington beat East Clinton by 10 in a non-league encounter.
The following Friday night, in a very close game, Miami Trace nosed out Hillsboro, 77-73, on the MT court, behind 25 markers by Randy Reiber and 22 by Jeff King. Bailey’s 26 led the Indians.
At Circleville, with four men scoring in double figures, the Tigers upended Wilmington, 61-44.
Meanwhile, Washington got their sixth consecutive win by downing McClain, 78-62. Byrd, Knicely, Phillips and Cox combined to score 69 of the 78 points.
Just before the Christmas break, Circleville gave Miami Trace their first league loss by defeating the Panthers, 71-60, at Circleville, while Washington was getting their seventh consecutive win at Wilmington, where the Blue Lions beat the Hurricane, 52-43.
The Blue Lions’ win, coupled with Miami Trace’s loss, left Washington in sole possession of the SCOL lead.
McClain defeated Madison Plains, 63-49, and Hillsboro edged East Clinton, in a non-league contest, 66-65.
But the Blue Lions made the five-mile trip to rival Miami Trace on Dec. 28, and this could be the key SCOL game of the young season.
Washington was on a roll, but the Panthers were very tough on their home court.
In a torrid battle, the tough MT squad nosed the Blue Lions out, 51-50, giving the Blue and White their first league loss of the season.
So, at the middle of 1973, the league standings were:
Washington — 4-1, 7-2
Circleville — 4-1, 6-1
Miami Trace — 4-1, 6-2
Hillsboro — 2-2, 4-4
McClain — 2-3, 4-4
Wilmington — 0-4, 1-5
Madison Plains — 0-4, 1-6
The teams had not all played the same number of games because of the bye, and because of a number of SCOL games having been postponed due to inclement weather.
The 1973-74 season was a real scramble, partly due to the fact that an unusually large number of games had to be cancelled and rescheduled.
As the SCOL teams prepared to go into the second half of the season and 1974, Hillsboro’s Kevin Bailey was the top individual scorer in the league, with an average of 19 points per game.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
However, Greenfield McClain was already facing a dilemma.
Their brand-new gymnasium, which would seat four or five times as many people as the notorious “crackerbox,” would not be completed until around Christmas. The gym had been scheduled for completion in October, but all types of problems emerged and the work crews were running several months behind.
The Nov. 21 game with Southeastern would be played at Hillsboro. The Dec. 8 game with East Clinton would be played at Wilmington. The Dec. 27 game with Adena would be played at Fairfield. All this was disruptive and stressful to coaches and players alike.
Teams look forward to their home games. It is never easy to win on the road.
MHS Coach Sam Snyder had a surplus of guards, but a real shortage of underneath players. Additionally, senior guard Dan Strain, who was quarterback of the football team, would miss at least the first third of the season due to a football injury which would require surgery. Forward Gary Barr had a hamstring injury that was not responding to treatment. Snyder tried to keep an optimistic outlook, but there were some serious question marks for the Tigers.
Miami Trace went to the Regionals the previous March and had three starters back, including Dave Persinger who was said to be 6’6” this year. New head coach Dale Creamer had moved up from the reserve team to replace departed Jan Stauffer.
The Panthers appeared to be a serious contender for the league title this season.
Washington also had three starters returning, including 6’5” pivotman Jeff Wallace, and had more height and speed than any of the other contenders. The Blue Lions would almost certainly be in the thick of the race.
Wilmington had a new coach, Larry Bartram, who came from East Clinton. Bartram would have only one returning starter, 6’1” senior Jeff Earley. The Hurricane did have an excellent reserve team the previous season, and hoped to get some help from the youngsters moving up.
Hillsboro had four starters back, including junior guard Kevin Bailey and big 6’3” forward David Larimer. Also, Hillsboro had a pretty good reserve team last season. They should be in the running, as well.
Madison Plains had all five starters coming back, including a 6’6” player.
Last year’s Circleville team “on paper” should have posed little problem to Miami Trace, but due to great dedication and intelligent play, they shared the league championship with MT.
John Lawhorn would be back for his fifth year as coach of the Circleville Tigers, and they would be a tough competitor.
SCOL competition in basketball began November 30, with Circleville visiting Washington, McClain at Miami Trace and Hillsboro at Madison Plains. Wilmington would have the bye.
The Miami Trace Panthers edged McClain, 70-66. Steve Willett led the Tigers with 19 points. Randy Reiber and Persinger led the scoring for MT. At Washington, the Blue Lions downed Circleville 65 – 61 after Circleville led by three points at halftime. Jeff Wallace totally dominated the inside, scoring 35 points for the Blue Lions.
Hillsboro hammered Madison Plains, 81-61, behind Bailey’s 22 points.
On December 7, at Wilmington, the Miami Trace Panthers clobbered the Hurricane, 67-43. Persinger’s 24 led the Panthers, while Reeder had 14 for Wilmington.
McClain made the 17-mile trip to Hillsboro and edged the Indians, 71-69, in overtime. McClain had balanced scoring, led by Steve Willett’s 20 points. Bailey scored 27 for Hillsboro.
Madison Plains played at Circleville and came out on the short end of a 66-54 score, while Washington beat East Clinton by 10 in a non-league encounter.
The following Friday night, in a very close game, Miami Trace nosed out Hillsboro, 77-73, on the MT court, behind 25 markers by Randy Reiber and 22 by Jeff King. Bailey’s 26 led the Indians.
At Circleville, with four men scoring in double figures, the Tigers upended Wilmington, 61-44.
Meanwhile, Washington got their sixth consecutive win by downing McClain, 78-62. Byrd, Knicely, Phillips and Cox combined to score 69 of the 78 points.
Just before the Christmas break, Circleville gave Miami Trace their first league loss by defeating the Panthers, 71-60, at Circleville, while Washington was getting their seventh consecutive win at Wilmington, where the Blue Lions beat the Hurricane, 52-43.
The Blue Lions’ win, coupled with Miami Trace’s loss, left Washington in sole possession of the SCOL lead.
McClain defeated Madison Plains, 63-49, and Hillsboro edged East Clinton, in a non-league contest, 66-65.
But the Blue Lions made the five-mile trip to rival Miami Trace on Dec. 28, and this could be the key SCOL game of the young season.
Washington was on a roll, but the Panthers were very tough on their home court.
In a torrid battle, the tough MT squad nosed the Blue Lions out, 51-50, giving the Blue and White their first league loss of the season.
So, at the middle of 1973, the league standings were:
Washington — 4-1, 7-2
Circleville — 4-1, 6-1
Miami Trace — 4-1, 6-2
Hillsboro — 2-2, 4-4
McClain — 2-3, 4-4
Wilmington — 0-4, 1-5
Madison Plains — 0-4, 1-6
The teams had not all played the same number of games because of the bye, and because of a number of SCOL games having been postponed due to inclement weather.
The 1973-74 season was a real scramble, partly due to the fact that an unusually large number of games had to be cancelled and rescheduled.
As the SCOL teams prepared to go into the second half of the season and 1974, Hillsboro’s Kevin Bailey was the top individual scorer in the league, with an average of 19 points per game.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]