Trace, Hurricane hoops champs in '63
By
Bob Patton-
Tom Bryant had left Hillsboro quickly after the Cummings twins graduated, and had been replaced by Jim Saunders. The 1962-63 Indians were expected to be in the thick of the chase for the SCOL title, as they had good size and some promising players coming up from last year’s reserve team. Their stock went up somewhat, when they thumped Circleville, 63-39, in their SCOL opener.
Al Burger, at McClain, back for his second year at the helm, figured to have a relatively successful season as well. But the Tigers dropped their first league game to Franklin Heights, 56-53, in the McClain gymnasium. Meanwhile, Wilmington edged Miami Trace, 60-58, and Washington beat Pleasant View, 66-56. The league appeared to be wide open as both Hillsboro and Miami Trace, the top rated teams in the preseason showed that they were both capable of being beaten, and Wilmington and Washington, who were both supposed to be “rebuilding” showed more promise than expected.
McClain’s scheduled league set-to with Circleville on Friday night, at Circleville was canceled due to snow. The Tigers were to face non-league Paint Valley on Saturday in the McClain gym. Paint Valley rocked the Tigers, 68-41. But Hillsboro downed Washington, 56-49, on the Washington court.
The big game of the early part of the season came up in the second week of December, when Miami Trace visited Hillsboro. Miami Trace was the biggest and most experienced team in the SCOL, and they featured Carl Weaver, arguably the best individual performer in the league.
M-T was too much for the Indians, putting a decisive 75-58 loss on the Hillsboro team. The same night, in Greenfield, the McClain Tigers pulled the upset of the year, as they upset the Wilmington Hurricane, 61-59. Also, Circleville beat Washington, 58-57, and Pleasant View downed Franklin Heights, 69-59. The Hurricane had enjoyed two consecutive unbeaten league seasons, but the Tigers took care of that. This put Hillsboro into a tie with Wilmington for the league lead. But the Indians and the Hurricane met at Hillsboro in early January, and the result was not pretty. Wilmington trounced the Indians, 82-50. It began to look as if Wilmington was going to waltz off with another SCOL basketball title.
In an aside, the Greenfield Times reported that Bob Watts, a great coach, an outstanding teacher and, above all, a tremendous influence on young men and women, was stepping down after three years at the helm of the McClain football program. Sometimes, you just don’t have the horses, as they say.
Wilmington’s thumping of Hillsboro put the Hurricane in the driver’s seat with Miami Trace in second place. McClain, Circleville and Hillsboro were all tied for third place with league records of 2-2, while Washington was 2-4, and Pleasant View and Franklin Heights brought up the rear with 1-3 marks.
McClain needed a win over Miami Trace in order to stay in the league race, and the game was at Miami Trace. When the dust settled enough that one could see the scoreboard, the Panthers had thrashed the Tigers, 65-39, with sharpshooter Carl Weaver racking up 27 points. Wilmington edged Circleville, 66-62, the same night, and Pleasant View ripped Hillsboro, 54-44. Washington traveled to Franklin Heights and came home with a narrow, 52-48 win.
The next game for McClain would be with the Hillsboro Indians on the McClain floor. It could be a key game in SCOL competition. The Tigers chewed the Indians up in this one, winning 54-42. This was Hillsboro’s fourth consecutive league loss. In a crucial SCOL showdown, Wilmington defeated Miami Trace, at Wilmington, by a score of 64-55 and McClain took the measure of Franklin Heights, 63-54. SCOL standings on Jan. 30 were:
Wilmington — 8-1
Miami Trace — 6-2
McClain — 4-4
Pleasant View — 4-4
Circleville — 3-4
Hillsboro — 3-4
Washington — 3-6
Franklin Heights —1-7
Hillsboro won two league games the following week, beating Washington, 60-54, and Circleville, 55-31. McClain beat Circleville, 53-49, Miami Trace beat Pleasant View, 78-50 and Wilmington downed Franklin Heights, 69-60.
Interestingly, at this late date in the season, McClain had not lost a league game at home, but had only won one league game on the road (Franklin Heights).
Wilmington made up for their early league loss to McClain by defeating the Tigers, 55-50, at Wilmington. Hillsboro held Miami Trace to a halftime tie,31-31, but the Indians were stopped cold by the Miami Trace press in the second half, and lost the game, 76-56.
The next week, when Hillsboro upset mighty Wilmington 66-64, Miami Trace vaulted into a tie with Wilmington for the league lead. When the Miami Trace Panthers downed McClain 51-45, they sewed up a co-championship. When McClain visited Hillsboro for the final SCOL game of the season, Terry McConnaughey’s 20 points led the Indians to an easy 70-43 victory. This enabled the Indians to tie Pleasant View for third place in the SCOL. The final 1962-63 SCOL standings were:
Miami Trace — 12-2
Wilmington — 12-2
Hillsboro — 8-6
Pleasant View — 8-6
McClain — 6-8
Washington — 4-10
Circleville — 4-10
Franklin Heights — 2-12
Leading scorers in the league were Carl Weaver of M-T with 266 total points, Fred Cluff, of Hillsboro with 217, Tom Doyle of McClain with 214, Jeff Warden, of Pleasant View with 204 and Tom Townsend, of Washington with an even 200 points.
League officials selected the All-SCOL team. Carl Weaver of Miami Trace was the unanimous selection for honorary captain of the All-SCOL team. He was joined on the first team by John Thomas of Washington, Dave Craig of Miami Trace, Rick Baker of Wilmington, Fred Cluff of Hillsboro and Larry Kirk of Wilmington.
The second team included Tom Townsend of Washington, Larry Graves of Franklin Heights, Richard Redd of Miami Trace, Lafe Romine of Pleasant View, Tom Doyle of McClain and Terry McConnaughey of Hillsboro.
At the league meeting, Franklin Heights and Pleasant View both announced that they would be leaving the SCOL after the 1963-64 school year to join the new Columbus Suburban League.
In the AA Sectional Tournament, Hillsboro would face Chillicothe, followed by McClain vs. Waverly. If both Hillsboro and McClain won their games they would square off March 8. The Indians beat Chillicothe 56-51, but the Tigers fell to Waverly. Hillsboro then squeaked by Waverly 51-49 in two overtimes.
In the championship game, Miami Trace stopped the Indians, 55-43. Hillsboro managed to hold Carl Weaver to 14 points, but Dave Craig scored 16 for the Panthers. Fred Cluff led the Indians with 18. Miami Trace would go on to the district tourney at Athens.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Al Burger, at McClain, back for his second year at the helm, figured to have a relatively successful season as well. But the Tigers dropped their first league game to Franklin Heights, 56-53, in the McClain gymnasium. Meanwhile, Wilmington edged Miami Trace, 60-58, and Washington beat Pleasant View, 66-56. The league appeared to be wide open as both Hillsboro and Miami Trace, the top rated teams in the preseason showed that they were both capable of being beaten, and Wilmington and Washington, who were both supposed to be “rebuilding” showed more promise than expected.
McClain’s scheduled league set-to with Circleville on Friday night, at Circleville was canceled due to snow. The Tigers were to face non-league Paint Valley on Saturday in the McClain gym. Paint Valley rocked the Tigers, 68-41. But Hillsboro downed Washington, 56-49, on the Washington court.
The big game of the early part of the season came up in the second week of December, when Miami Trace visited Hillsboro. Miami Trace was the biggest and most experienced team in the SCOL, and they featured Carl Weaver, arguably the best individual performer in the league.
M-T was too much for the Indians, putting a decisive 75-58 loss on the Hillsboro team. The same night, in Greenfield, the McClain Tigers pulled the upset of the year, as they upset the Wilmington Hurricane, 61-59. Also, Circleville beat Washington, 58-57, and Pleasant View downed Franklin Heights, 69-59. The Hurricane had enjoyed two consecutive unbeaten league seasons, but the Tigers took care of that. This put Hillsboro into a tie with Wilmington for the league lead. But the Indians and the Hurricane met at Hillsboro in early January, and the result was not pretty. Wilmington trounced the Indians, 82-50. It began to look as if Wilmington was going to waltz off with another SCOL basketball title.
In an aside, the Greenfield Times reported that Bob Watts, a great coach, an outstanding teacher and, above all, a tremendous influence on young men and women, was stepping down after three years at the helm of the McClain football program. Sometimes, you just don’t have the horses, as they say.
Wilmington’s thumping of Hillsboro put the Hurricane in the driver’s seat with Miami Trace in second place. McClain, Circleville and Hillsboro were all tied for third place with league records of 2-2, while Washington was 2-4, and Pleasant View and Franklin Heights brought up the rear with 1-3 marks.
McClain needed a win over Miami Trace in order to stay in the league race, and the game was at Miami Trace. When the dust settled enough that one could see the scoreboard, the Panthers had thrashed the Tigers, 65-39, with sharpshooter Carl Weaver racking up 27 points. Wilmington edged Circleville, 66-62, the same night, and Pleasant View ripped Hillsboro, 54-44. Washington traveled to Franklin Heights and came home with a narrow, 52-48 win.
The next game for McClain would be with the Hillsboro Indians on the McClain floor. It could be a key game in SCOL competition. The Tigers chewed the Indians up in this one, winning 54-42. This was Hillsboro’s fourth consecutive league loss. In a crucial SCOL showdown, Wilmington defeated Miami Trace, at Wilmington, by a score of 64-55 and McClain took the measure of Franklin Heights, 63-54. SCOL standings on Jan. 30 were:
Wilmington — 8-1
Miami Trace — 6-2
McClain — 4-4
Pleasant View — 4-4
Circleville — 3-4
Hillsboro — 3-4
Washington — 3-6
Franklin Heights —1-7
Hillsboro won two league games the following week, beating Washington, 60-54, and Circleville, 55-31. McClain beat Circleville, 53-49, Miami Trace beat Pleasant View, 78-50 and Wilmington downed Franklin Heights, 69-60.
Interestingly, at this late date in the season, McClain had not lost a league game at home, but had only won one league game on the road (Franklin Heights).
Wilmington made up for their early league loss to McClain by defeating the Tigers, 55-50, at Wilmington. Hillsboro held Miami Trace to a halftime tie,31-31, but the Indians were stopped cold by the Miami Trace press in the second half, and lost the game, 76-56.
The next week, when Hillsboro upset mighty Wilmington 66-64, Miami Trace vaulted into a tie with Wilmington for the league lead. When the Miami Trace Panthers downed McClain 51-45, they sewed up a co-championship. When McClain visited Hillsboro for the final SCOL game of the season, Terry McConnaughey’s 20 points led the Indians to an easy 70-43 victory. This enabled the Indians to tie Pleasant View for third place in the SCOL. The final 1962-63 SCOL standings were:
Miami Trace — 12-2
Wilmington — 12-2
Hillsboro — 8-6
Pleasant View — 8-6
McClain — 6-8
Washington — 4-10
Circleville — 4-10
Franklin Heights — 2-12
Leading scorers in the league were Carl Weaver of M-T with 266 total points, Fred Cluff, of Hillsboro with 217, Tom Doyle of McClain with 214, Jeff Warden, of Pleasant View with 204 and Tom Townsend, of Washington with an even 200 points.
League officials selected the All-SCOL team. Carl Weaver of Miami Trace was the unanimous selection for honorary captain of the All-SCOL team. He was joined on the first team by John Thomas of Washington, Dave Craig of Miami Trace, Rick Baker of Wilmington, Fred Cluff of Hillsboro and Larry Kirk of Wilmington.
The second team included Tom Townsend of Washington, Larry Graves of Franklin Heights, Richard Redd of Miami Trace, Lafe Romine of Pleasant View, Tom Doyle of McClain and Terry McConnaughey of Hillsboro.
At the league meeting, Franklin Heights and Pleasant View both announced that they would be leaving the SCOL after the 1963-64 school year to join the new Columbus Suburban League.
In the AA Sectional Tournament, Hillsboro would face Chillicothe, followed by McClain vs. Waverly. If both Hillsboro and McClain won their games they would square off March 8. The Indians beat Chillicothe 56-51, but the Tigers fell to Waverly. Hillsboro then squeaked by Waverly 51-49 in two overtimes.
In the championship game, Miami Trace stopped the Indians, 55-43. Hillsboro managed to hold Carl Weaver to 14 points, but Dave Craig scored 16 for the Panthers. Fred Cluff led the Indians with 18. Miami Trace would go on to the district tourney at Athens.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]