WCH, MT, Wilmington early favorites in '76-77
By
Bob Patton-
The 1976-77 SCOL basketball season was about to get under way. Washington C.H., Wilmington and Miami Trace were the preseason picks to
battle it out for the top rung. John Woolums was back at Miami Trace for his second year.
Woolums had enjoyed a great deal of success at Dayton Roosevelt over an extended period. But Roosevelt didn’t hassle you with defense. They wanted you to hurry up and shoot the ball, so they could get their hands on it.
They had big kids who could run and jump and shoot. They simply outscored you. Miami Trace did not have that type of athletes. Bill Hanners, at about
6’3” was the tallest player on the squad. They had fair speed, but nothing remarkable. In 1975-76, the Panthers had looked good at times. Other times,
they were not very impressive. Woolums’ tenure at Miami Trace just might depend upon this season.
Eight-year veteran coach Gary Shaffer was back at Washington. The Lions had been sectional champs a year earlier, but had lost a lot of talent and
experience through graduation. John Denen, a 6’4” junior, was the lone returnee. Dee Foster and Sam McClendon, both around 5’10,” were spot
starters last season and figured to see a lot of action this year. Players coming up from the reserve team would round out the squad, but there wasn’t a surplus of height.
Wilmington could be a real power in the league under Coach Jim Staley, if everything fell into place. They had Gary Williams, Tony Berlin and David
Nared, which was the nucleus of a very good team. At McClain, Sam Snyder featured Eric Dunson, Mark Current and Bill Legge. Circleville, still under Coach Jim Bailey, would counter with Frank Merrill, 6’5” Brent Wright, Ray Taylor and Toren Bensonhaver. Hillsboro still had Tim Fuller, along with Matt Sharkey, Tyler Woods and David Larimer. Madison Plains had Doug Sifrit, Tom Richardson and 6’5” Gary Self.
So, the league was wide open. A lot depended on who got off to a great start. McClain edged Hillsboro, 61-60, in overtime at Greenfield, as Tim Fuller racked up a total of 31 points in a losing effort. Eric Dunson had 28 for the Tigers. Tony Berlin hit 22 for the Hurricane and Wilmington took Miami Trace, 57-46. Art Schlichter hit 17 for Trace.
The following week, Wilmington dumped Hillsboro, 57-53, and Circleville whipped McClain, 65-58, as big Brent Wright racked up 30 points for Circleville. Next, Miami Trace traveled to Madison Plains, where they made a dramatic comeback in the second half, to edge the Golden Eagles, 63-61, behind a 24 point effort by Dan Gifford. Wilmington beat Circleville, 56-48, when David Nared totaled 26 points. In early December, Washington hosted Madison Plains and trounced the Golden Eagles, 90-66.
Denen and McClendon scored 21 and 20, respectively, for the Lions. Self’s 20 led MP. The Blue Lions followed that win with a 91-44 victory over McClain, at Greenfield. Denen had 30 and McClendon 18 in that contest. The Hillsboro Indians, playing at home, were soundly trounced by Miami Trace, 67-51, shortly before the Christmas break. Schlichter’s 28 points led the way for the victorious Panthers.
Immediately after the break for the holidays, league-leading Wilmington traveled to Greenfield to tangle with the McClain Tigers. The Tigers had won
their first three games of the season, and had lost four of the next five. But they were ready for the Hurricane. They jumped out to a 19-6 lead at the quarter, and led 41-26 at halftime. But Gary Williams, who didn’t have a point at halftime, came roaring back with 24 markers in the second half, and led his team to an exciting, 78-76, overtime league win. Eric Dunson’s 32 led the Tigers, while Williams’ 24 and Nared’s 18 were Wilmington’s best.
Meanwhile, in Hillsboro, Tim Fuller scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, as the Indians pushed Washington to the wall. But the Blue Lions,
behind 27 points from John Denen, came out on top, 62-60. This win kept Washington in the thick of the league race. Wilmington was now, 5-0, in the
league, while the Blue Lions were 4-1. Denen’s 27 points also allowed him to take a slim lead over Fuller as the league’s leading individual scorer.
Around the fifth of January 1977, six inches of snow fell over southeastern Ohio, putting the league basketball race in a turmoil.
The Miami Trace vs. McClain game, scheduled for Jan. 7, was postponed. Circleville at Washington was to be played, while Wilmington at Madison
Plains was still a “maybe.” At Washington, the Lions applied a tenacious full-court zone press that took Circleville completely out of their game for a while, at least. Circleville was never able to get back into the game, and suffered a 77-49 defeat. At MP, Wilmington upped its league record to 6-0 with a hard-fought 60-47 win over the Golden Eagles. Gary Williams and Nared racked up 20 points each for the Hurricane. Sifrit’s 14 led MP. Tony Berlin left the game with a head injury, which had the Wilmington coaches concerned.
In the individual scoring race, Hillsboro’s Fuller and John Denen, of WCH, were only a handful of points apart, but junior Art Schlichter of Miami
Trace was now third, and was moving up, along with Eric Dunson, of McClain.
Schlichter’s Miami Trace team, though, was sinking like the Titanic.
After winning three games very early, the Panthers had now dropped games to Wilmington, Circleville and Washington.
January 12 saw another blanket of snow in the area, which further complicated the SCOL. Miami Trace at Wilmington was cancelled on the 14th as was Washington at Madison Plains. Greenfield at Hillsboro was likely to be cancelled, as well, but was still listed as “maybe.”
In the midst of the basketball race, with waist-deep snow everywhere, the Hillsboro school board announced the resignation of football coach Mike
Doyle. Doyle planned to stay at Hillsboro as a teacher, but give up his coaching position. The snow caused so many game cancellations that all the
league teams had a slew of make-up games to play. It was practically impossible to keep track of who was playing where.
On Jan. 21, Wilmington played at Hillsboro. The Hurricane hadn’t had a game in two weeks. The Indians hadn’t played for 17 days. The delay did help Wilmington in one respect. Hot scorer Tony Berlin had plenty of time to recuperate from his head injury, and he would miss no games. Hillsboro and Wilmington were tied at halftime 28-28. Wilmington held a one point lead after three quarters, 44-43. But the Hurricane outscored the Indians 19-14 in the final quarter to take the win 63-57.
Wilmington went home with a 7-0 SCOL record (9-1, overall), while the Indians dropped to 1-6 in the SCOL (2-6, overall). Berlin’s 20 led the Hurricane and Tim Fuller had 19 for Hillsboro.
Hot shooting Art Schlichter scorched the nets for 41 points in a non-league game against Cincinnati Moeller, but Moeller won the game 90-76.
January 23 saw Hillsboro down McClain 67-56 as McClain’s Chuck Cole racked up 32 points and Tim Fuller, of Hillsboro chalked up 30. This game, at least
for the time being, put the Tigers in the league cellar. Schlichter’s 41 points against Moeller put him in first place in the overall individual scoring race, with Fuller second and John Denen third. As far as SCOL games were concerned, Fuller still led with Denen second and Schlichter third.
Circleville trailed Madison Plains early, but came back to take a narrow 50-46 win at home. This win gave Circleville a 3-3 league record and a 6-4 overall mark. This was near the end of January and the Tigers had only played a total of 10 games. Madison Plains was 2-4 in the SCOL and 5-6 overall.
The same night, Chillicothe downed Miami Trace 61-57, marking MT’s fourth straight loss against AAA competition. Schlichter scored 26, but no other Panther player had more than a handful of points. Early February saw even more snow and many more cancellations. Wilmington College offered to make its facility available to SCOL teams to play a couple of triple-headers in an effort to get all the games played.
This would help, but many of the schools needed the income from home games to replenish their starving athletic funds. On Feb. 7, McClain journeyed to Miami Trace where they were blasted by the Panthers, 79-57. Schlichter scored 24 points and Dan Gifford had 18 for the victors. Dunson’s 18 was McClain’s best.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
battle it out for the top rung. John Woolums was back at Miami Trace for his second year.
Woolums had enjoyed a great deal of success at Dayton Roosevelt over an extended period. But Roosevelt didn’t hassle you with defense. They wanted you to hurry up and shoot the ball, so they could get their hands on it.
They had big kids who could run and jump and shoot. They simply outscored you. Miami Trace did not have that type of athletes. Bill Hanners, at about
6’3” was the tallest player on the squad. They had fair speed, but nothing remarkable. In 1975-76, the Panthers had looked good at times. Other times,
they were not very impressive. Woolums’ tenure at Miami Trace just might depend upon this season.
Eight-year veteran coach Gary Shaffer was back at Washington. The Lions had been sectional champs a year earlier, but had lost a lot of talent and
experience through graduation. John Denen, a 6’4” junior, was the lone returnee. Dee Foster and Sam McClendon, both around 5’10,” were spot
starters last season and figured to see a lot of action this year. Players coming up from the reserve team would round out the squad, but there wasn’t a surplus of height.
Wilmington could be a real power in the league under Coach Jim Staley, if everything fell into place. They had Gary Williams, Tony Berlin and David
Nared, which was the nucleus of a very good team. At McClain, Sam Snyder featured Eric Dunson, Mark Current and Bill Legge. Circleville, still under Coach Jim Bailey, would counter with Frank Merrill, 6’5” Brent Wright, Ray Taylor and Toren Bensonhaver. Hillsboro still had Tim Fuller, along with Matt Sharkey, Tyler Woods and David Larimer. Madison Plains had Doug Sifrit, Tom Richardson and 6’5” Gary Self.
So, the league was wide open. A lot depended on who got off to a great start. McClain edged Hillsboro, 61-60, in overtime at Greenfield, as Tim Fuller racked up a total of 31 points in a losing effort. Eric Dunson had 28 for the Tigers. Tony Berlin hit 22 for the Hurricane and Wilmington took Miami Trace, 57-46. Art Schlichter hit 17 for Trace.
The following week, Wilmington dumped Hillsboro, 57-53, and Circleville whipped McClain, 65-58, as big Brent Wright racked up 30 points for Circleville. Next, Miami Trace traveled to Madison Plains, where they made a dramatic comeback in the second half, to edge the Golden Eagles, 63-61, behind a 24 point effort by Dan Gifford. Wilmington beat Circleville, 56-48, when David Nared totaled 26 points. In early December, Washington hosted Madison Plains and trounced the Golden Eagles, 90-66.
Denen and McClendon scored 21 and 20, respectively, for the Lions. Self’s 20 led MP. The Blue Lions followed that win with a 91-44 victory over McClain, at Greenfield. Denen had 30 and McClendon 18 in that contest. The Hillsboro Indians, playing at home, were soundly trounced by Miami Trace, 67-51, shortly before the Christmas break. Schlichter’s 28 points led the way for the victorious Panthers.
Immediately after the break for the holidays, league-leading Wilmington traveled to Greenfield to tangle with the McClain Tigers. The Tigers had won
their first three games of the season, and had lost four of the next five. But they were ready for the Hurricane. They jumped out to a 19-6 lead at the quarter, and led 41-26 at halftime. But Gary Williams, who didn’t have a point at halftime, came roaring back with 24 markers in the second half, and led his team to an exciting, 78-76, overtime league win. Eric Dunson’s 32 led the Tigers, while Williams’ 24 and Nared’s 18 were Wilmington’s best.
Meanwhile, in Hillsboro, Tim Fuller scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, as the Indians pushed Washington to the wall. But the Blue Lions,
behind 27 points from John Denen, came out on top, 62-60. This win kept Washington in the thick of the league race. Wilmington was now, 5-0, in the
league, while the Blue Lions were 4-1. Denen’s 27 points also allowed him to take a slim lead over Fuller as the league’s leading individual scorer.
Around the fifth of January 1977, six inches of snow fell over southeastern Ohio, putting the league basketball race in a turmoil.
The Miami Trace vs. McClain game, scheduled for Jan. 7, was postponed. Circleville at Washington was to be played, while Wilmington at Madison
Plains was still a “maybe.” At Washington, the Lions applied a tenacious full-court zone press that took Circleville completely out of their game for a while, at least. Circleville was never able to get back into the game, and suffered a 77-49 defeat. At MP, Wilmington upped its league record to 6-0 with a hard-fought 60-47 win over the Golden Eagles. Gary Williams and Nared racked up 20 points each for the Hurricane. Sifrit’s 14 led MP. Tony Berlin left the game with a head injury, which had the Wilmington coaches concerned.
In the individual scoring race, Hillsboro’s Fuller and John Denen, of WCH, were only a handful of points apart, but junior Art Schlichter of Miami
Trace was now third, and was moving up, along with Eric Dunson, of McClain.
Schlichter’s Miami Trace team, though, was sinking like the Titanic.
After winning three games very early, the Panthers had now dropped games to Wilmington, Circleville and Washington.
January 12 saw another blanket of snow in the area, which further complicated the SCOL. Miami Trace at Wilmington was cancelled on the 14th as was Washington at Madison Plains. Greenfield at Hillsboro was likely to be cancelled, as well, but was still listed as “maybe.”
In the midst of the basketball race, with waist-deep snow everywhere, the Hillsboro school board announced the resignation of football coach Mike
Doyle. Doyle planned to stay at Hillsboro as a teacher, but give up his coaching position. The snow caused so many game cancellations that all the
league teams had a slew of make-up games to play. It was practically impossible to keep track of who was playing where.
On Jan. 21, Wilmington played at Hillsboro. The Hurricane hadn’t had a game in two weeks. The Indians hadn’t played for 17 days. The delay did help Wilmington in one respect. Hot scorer Tony Berlin had plenty of time to recuperate from his head injury, and he would miss no games. Hillsboro and Wilmington were tied at halftime 28-28. Wilmington held a one point lead after three quarters, 44-43. But the Hurricane outscored the Indians 19-14 in the final quarter to take the win 63-57.
Wilmington went home with a 7-0 SCOL record (9-1, overall), while the Indians dropped to 1-6 in the SCOL (2-6, overall). Berlin’s 20 led the Hurricane and Tim Fuller had 19 for Hillsboro.
Hot shooting Art Schlichter scorched the nets for 41 points in a non-league game against Cincinnati Moeller, but Moeller won the game 90-76.
January 23 saw Hillsboro down McClain 67-56 as McClain’s Chuck Cole racked up 32 points and Tim Fuller, of Hillsboro chalked up 30. This game, at least
for the time being, put the Tigers in the league cellar. Schlichter’s 41 points against Moeller put him in first place in the overall individual scoring race, with Fuller second and John Denen third. As far as SCOL games were concerned, Fuller still led with Denen second and Schlichter third.
Circleville trailed Madison Plains early, but came back to take a narrow 50-46 win at home. This win gave Circleville a 3-3 league record and a 6-4 overall mark. This was near the end of January and the Tigers had only played a total of 10 games. Madison Plains was 2-4 in the SCOL and 5-6 overall.
The same night, Chillicothe downed Miami Trace 61-57, marking MT’s fourth straight loss against AAA competition. Schlichter scored 26, but no other Panther player had more than a handful of points. Early February saw even more snow and many more cancellations. Wilmington College offered to make its facility available to SCOL teams to play a couple of triple-headers in an effort to get all the games played.
This would help, but many of the schools needed the income from home games to replenish their starving athletic funds. On Feb. 7, McClain journeyed to Miami Trace where they were blasted by the Panthers, 79-57. Schlichter scored 24 points and Dan Gifford had 18 for the victors. Dunson’s 18 was McClain’s best.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]