WCH turns program over to Shaffer in '68
By
Bob Patton-
In July 1968, Washington Court House City Schools announced that a new basketball coach had been employed; 24-year-old Gary Shaffer, of Wellsburg, W.Va., replaced Jim Wilson, who retired. Shaffer had played three years of varsity basketball at West Virginia University and had coached one year at Easton, Md., where his team won the class B state championship, with a 23- 0 record. He was married and had a 14 month-old son.
After the 1968 football season, which we covered in last week’s article, SCOL athletic directors met at Washington to discuss several matters, including the 1968 All-SCOL football squad, as All-League selections continued to generate controversy – an ongoing problem in the league. Also, the Wilmington paper announced that David “The Oracle” Myers, 30, had resigned as sports editor of the paper. Myers had been with the paper for 12 years and had gained notoriety for predicting the winners of high school games, often even coming amazingly close to predicting the correct scores.
Vernon Hooper was back for his third year as coach at Hillsboro, and Paul Hager was back at McClain. Hillsboro opened their season with an 81-78 win over Fairfield. This had been a nip-and-tuck game with Fairfield leading most of the way. But the Indians pulled it out in the closing moments when they fouled and Fairfield was unable to cash in on their free throws.
In their first home game, the Indians downed Lebanon, 64-55, as Mike Moses and Rick Beatty chalked up 19 points each. McClain opened their season with the Portsmouth Trojans on the Wilmington College floor because the Trojans preferred not to play on the small floor at Greenfield. The floor shouldn’t have made much difference, though, because the Portsmouth team hammered the Tigers, 92-49. In their second game of the season, McClain traveled to Upper Arlington, where they were clobbered again, this time by a score of 66-36. The same night, Wilmington was annihilated by Xenia Central, 81-39 and Chillicothe edged Circleville, 63-59.
The following Friday night saw the opening of South Central League play as McClain nudged Circleville, 62-61 in OT. In the county seat, the Hillsboro Indians took on the Wilmington Hurricane and lost, 82-59. On Dec. 13, the Indians journeyed to Miami Trace to take on the tough Panthers. The Panthers used a full-court press most of the game, winning, 72-44. McClain played at Wilmington the same night. The Tigers played well, but were not able to control big Kim Ewing, Wilmington’s 6’5” center. The Hurricane downed McClain, 72-51, behind Ewing’s 27 points. Ron Coleman scored 27 for the Tigers. Also, Washington pulled out a win over visiting Circleville, 75-68. So, after two league games, Wilmington and Miami Trace were 2-0, while McClain and WCH were 1-1 and Hillsboro and Circleville were 0-2.
Just before Christmas, Hillsboro challenged Circleville in Roundtown. The Indians put up a great battle, but the Circleville Tigers got their first win of the season, 68- 64. Washington tripped McClain, 82-66. Miami Trace squeaked by Wilmington, 63-62. By defeating Wilmington, Miami Trace now held the lead in the SCOL. Hillsboro hosted Washington on Jan. 3, while McClain took on Miami Trace. The outcome wasn’t cheerful for either of the Highland County teams. McClain lost, 82-55, as all five M-T starters scored in double figures. Ron Coleman led the Tigers with 16 points. At Hillsboro, the Indians shot a poor 30 percent from the field. With none of the starters playing well, Coach Hooper brought up Edgar “Bimbo” Rollins from the reserve team. Rollins responded by leading the Indians in scoring with 16. But the Blue Lions won, 73-56.
The big Hillsboro vs. McClain game was scheduled for Jan. 10. In a wild and wooly battle at McClain, Hillsboro led by one with two seconds on the clock, when McClain’s Steve Wisecup rebounded a missed shot by Ron Coleman and put it back in at the buzzer, and the Tigers won, 63-62.
On Jan. 17, The Indians played Wilmington and put up a good fight, but the Hurricane came out on top, 64-52. Richard Beatty led the way for Hillsboro with 15 points. Kim Ewing scored 18 for Wilmington. The same night Circleville downed McClain at Circleville, 82-77. The most entertaining event of the evening was a colossal run-in between Coach Paul Hager and the official scorer for Circleville. Two Circleville police officers and a swarm of school administrators eventually restored order, at least to some extent.
After McClain was upended, 82-58, at Washington and Hillsboro downed Circleville, 82-70, in the HHS gym, the SCOL race was narrowing down, and the Miami Trace vs. McClain battle would be a key game. McClain was only 2-13 overall, but they were always dangerous in the tiny McClain gymnasium. Early in the week, it was announced that the game was being switched to the big Miami Trace gym. The lack of seating at the McClain gym was cited as the reason for the change. McClain would give up their home court advantage in order to accommodate a large number of fans who wanted to see the game.
As a testimony to the devotion of the McClain fans, when the game was played at Miami Trace, fully two-thirds of the fans in attendance were wearing purple and gold. But as if the assignment at Miami Trace wasn’t enough, McClain had two starters out due to temporary suspension for violation of school rules. In fairness to the Tigers, neither of the suspended players returned for the rest of the season, leaving McClain very weak in a couple of key spots for the remainder of the season and the tournament.
The Tigers were outdistanced by Miami Trace, 90-59, giving the Panthers an unblemished 9-0 league mark. The Tigers were 2 – 7 in the league and 2 – 15 overall.
Hillsboro’s game with Washington was on the Blue Lions’ home court, but the Indians played their best game of the season, thus far. At the end of regulation, the score was knotted at 64-64. In overtime, the Blue Lions were fortunate to pull out the win, 71-68. Hillsboro was led by Rick Pierce with 15 points. In recent games, Pierce had emerged as a scorer, and had become one of the Indians’ most dangerous weapons.
The final 1968-69 standings in the SCOL were:
Miami Trace — 10-0, 14-4
Washington — 8-2, 12-6
Wilmington — 5-5, 10-7
Circleville — 3-7, 5-13
Hillsboro — 2-8, 6-12
McClain — 2-8, 2-16
McClain and Lancaster played in the opening game of the Paint Valley Sectional AA Tournament on Feb. 20, 1969. McClain’s tournament run ended abruptly as the Tigers fell to the Golden Gales of Lancaster, 100-50. Hillsboro faced Thornville Sheridan and the Indians were walloped, 80-61.
Miami Trace and Washington players dominated the All-SCOL basketball squad. MT and Washington each had two players named to the first team and one to the second team. Chuck Weaver and Larry Ankrom were named to the first team from MT, and Don Bennett was named to the second team. For Washington, Herb Sollars and Steve Bower were named to the first team and Bucky Burbage to the second. Wilmington also placed three players, one on the first team and two on the second. Kim Ewing was selected on the first team, while teammates Chuck Buster and Doug Gordley were named to the second. Randy Halley got a first team slot for Circleville and Dave Horst made the second team. Mike Moses of Hillsboro was chosen on the second team. McClain had no players named to either team.
Another SCOL season was in the books.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
After the 1968 football season, which we covered in last week’s article, SCOL athletic directors met at Washington to discuss several matters, including the 1968 All-SCOL football squad, as All-League selections continued to generate controversy – an ongoing problem in the league. Also, the Wilmington paper announced that David “The Oracle” Myers, 30, had resigned as sports editor of the paper. Myers had been with the paper for 12 years and had gained notoriety for predicting the winners of high school games, often even coming amazingly close to predicting the correct scores.
Vernon Hooper was back for his third year as coach at Hillsboro, and Paul Hager was back at McClain. Hillsboro opened their season with an 81-78 win over Fairfield. This had been a nip-and-tuck game with Fairfield leading most of the way. But the Indians pulled it out in the closing moments when they fouled and Fairfield was unable to cash in on their free throws.
In their first home game, the Indians downed Lebanon, 64-55, as Mike Moses and Rick Beatty chalked up 19 points each. McClain opened their season with the Portsmouth Trojans on the Wilmington College floor because the Trojans preferred not to play on the small floor at Greenfield. The floor shouldn’t have made much difference, though, because the Portsmouth team hammered the Tigers, 92-49. In their second game of the season, McClain traveled to Upper Arlington, where they were clobbered again, this time by a score of 66-36. The same night, Wilmington was annihilated by Xenia Central, 81-39 and Chillicothe edged Circleville, 63-59.
The following Friday night saw the opening of South Central League play as McClain nudged Circleville, 62-61 in OT. In the county seat, the Hillsboro Indians took on the Wilmington Hurricane and lost, 82-59. On Dec. 13, the Indians journeyed to Miami Trace to take on the tough Panthers. The Panthers used a full-court press most of the game, winning, 72-44. McClain played at Wilmington the same night. The Tigers played well, but were not able to control big Kim Ewing, Wilmington’s 6’5” center. The Hurricane downed McClain, 72-51, behind Ewing’s 27 points. Ron Coleman scored 27 for the Tigers. Also, Washington pulled out a win over visiting Circleville, 75-68. So, after two league games, Wilmington and Miami Trace were 2-0, while McClain and WCH were 1-1 and Hillsboro and Circleville were 0-2.
Just before Christmas, Hillsboro challenged Circleville in Roundtown. The Indians put up a great battle, but the Circleville Tigers got their first win of the season, 68- 64. Washington tripped McClain, 82-66. Miami Trace squeaked by Wilmington, 63-62. By defeating Wilmington, Miami Trace now held the lead in the SCOL. Hillsboro hosted Washington on Jan. 3, while McClain took on Miami Trace. The outcome wasn’t cheerful for either of the Highland County teams. McClain lost, 82-55, as all five M-T starters scored in double figures. Ron Coleman led the Tigers with 16 points. At Hillsboro, the Indians shot a poor 30 percent from the field. With none of the starters playing well, Coach Hooper brought up Edgar “Bimbo” Rollins from the reserve team. Rollins responded by leading the Indians in scoring with 16. But the Blue Lions won, 73-56.
The big Hillsboro vs. McClain game was scheduled for Jan. 10. In a wild and wooly battle at McClain, Hillsboro led by one with two seconds on the clock, when McClain’s Steve Wisecup rebounded a missed shot by Ron Coleman and put it back in at the buzzer, and the Tigers won, 63-62.
On Jan. 17, The Indians played Wilmington and put up a good fight, but the Hurricane came out on top, 64-52. Richard Beatty led the way for Hillsboro with 15 points. Kim Ewing scored 18 for Wilmington. The same night Circleville downed McClain at Circleville, 82-77. The most entertaining event of the evening was a colossal run-in between Coach Paul Hager and the official scorer for Circleville. Two Circleville police officers and a swarm of school administrators eventually restored order, at least to some extent.
After McClain was upended, 82-58, at Washington and Hillsboro downed Circleville, 82-70, in the HHS gym, the SCOL race was narrowing down, and the Miami Trace vs. McClain battle would be a key game. McClain was only 2-13 overall, but they were always dangerous in the tiny McClain gymnasium. Early in the week, it was announced that the game was being switched to the big Miami Trace gym. The lack of seating at the McClain gym was cited as the reason for the change. McClain would give up their home court advantage in order to accommodate a large number of fans who wanted to see the game.
As a testimony to the devotion of the McClain fans, when the game was played at Miami Trace, fully two-thirds of the fans in attendance were wearing purple and gold. But as if the assignment at Miami Trace wasn’t enough, McClain had two starters out due to temporary suspension for violation of school rules. In fairness to the Tigers, neither of the suspended players returned for the rest of the season, leaving McClain very weak in a couple of key spots for the remainder of the season and the tournament.
The Tigers were outdistanced by Miami Trace, 90-59, giving the Panthers an unblemished 9-0 league mark. The Tigers were 2 – 7 in the league and 2 – 15 overall.
Hillsboro’s game with Washington was on the Blue Lions’ home court, but the Indians played their best game of the season, thus far. At the end of regulation, the score was knotted at 64-64. In overtime, the Blue Lions were fortunate to pull out the win, 71-68. Hillsboro was led by Rick Pierce with 15 points. In recent games, Pierce had emerged as a scorer, and had become one of the Indians’ most dangerous weapons.
The final 1968-69 standings in the SCOL were:
Miami Trace — 10-0, 14-4
Washington — 8-2, 12-6
Wilmington — 5-5, 10-7
Circleville — 3-7, 5-13
Hillsboro — 2-8, 6-12
McClain — 2-8, 2-16
McClain and Lancaster played in the opening game of the Paint Valley Sectional AA Tournament on Feb. 20, 1969. McClain’s tournament run ended abruptly as the Tigers fell to the Golden Gales of Lancaster, 100-50. Hillsboro faced Thornville Sheridan and the Indians were walloped, 80-61.
Miami Trace and Washington players dominated the All-SCOL basketball squad. MT and Washington each had two players named to the first team and one to the second team. Chuck Weaver and Larry Ankrom were named to the first team from MT, and Don Bennett was named to the second team. For Washington, Herb Sollars and Steve Bower were named to the first team and Bucky Burbage to the second. Wilmington also placed three players, one on the first team and two on the second. Kim Ewing was selected on the first team, while teammates Chuck Buster and Doug Gordley were named to the second. Randy Halley got a first team slot for Circleville and Dave Horst made the second team. Mike Moses of Hillsboro was chosen on the second team. McClain had no players named to either team.
Another SCOL season was in the books.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]