Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 62, Number 46, Decatur, Adams County, 24 February 1964 — Page 15

THIRD SECTION

Two- Time Champion Spartans Now Out Os Sectional Tourney Field

School consolidationsTln recent years has been taking its toll of teams competing each year in the post-season tournament of the 1.H.5.A.A., and Adams county is no exception. One of two familiar faces missing from the playdowns at Adams Central this week will be the S|Mrtans of Pleasant Mills — finalists in the meet many times, and champions twice. The Spartans of 1940 celebrated the return of the' sectional to Decatur with the school’s first championship. The following season they were beaten in the title game, but in 1942 it was again Pleasant Mills, sectional kings of the oounty. This, however, was the last title ever won by the St. Mary’s township school, although they came mighty, mighty close several times. * First Crown Spartan fans were “sitting on top of the world” in March of 1940, as their team not only enjoyed a tremendous 17-5 regulas stason campaign, but capped the performance by runing roughshod over all opposition in the sectional battle in the Decatur gymnasium. l • Despite their record, the Spartans were not favorites in the

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tourney. But in the afternoon they surprised Berne by a 38-24 score, after besting Hartford 39-81 in the opening round, and advanced to the title game at night. After the upset of Berne, the Spartans were really rolling, as they had little difficulty in the final game, besting Kirkland by a 39-21 score. The Pleasant Mills quintet held the much all* and heavier Kangaroos without a field goal until the closing seconds of the third period when Kangaroo center Arnold scored on a rebound effort. By then, however, coach Garald Vizard’s team had built up a 24-8 lead. The McMillens led the winning Spartans’ scoring, Wayne tallying 12 and Dick chipping in with 11. Arnold’s eight points was high for Kirkland. The following Saturday, the Spartans traveled to Auburn for the regional, but lost a 37-25 decision to Mentone in the afternoon game. Back Again The Spartans moved into the title game again in 1941, looking for their second title in a row, but it was not to be as the Decatur Yellow Jackets won their first championship since 1932 as

they squeaked out a 34-32 victory. The Spartans bested Geneva, 37-32, and Kirkland, 38-25, to advance to the Saturday night game. They held a 24-18 lead in the third period, but Decatur rallied to gain a 27-26 advantage and held on for the crown. For the third time in three seasons coach Vizard and his Spartans moved into the championship game, as they were pitted against the Yellow Jackets in the 1942 game. WOth a weak 9-12 season record, the Spartans were again underdogs but this was their year again. They upset Berne in the afternoon and then gained revenge for the 1941 loss as they beat a heavily-favored Decatur team by a lop-sided 31-18 score for the sectional crown. The Spartan attack was spearheaded, both offensively and defensively, by a three-year veteran by the name-of Harold August, who today is a deputy sheriff for the Adams county sheriff’s department. •August scored a big 42 points in the three tourney games, including 12 in the title contest. Sapp and Williamson contributed six points apiece while Floyd

Decatur, Indiana, 4673 3, Monday, February 2 4, 1964.

Reed’s six tallies were high for Decatur. The Spartans led 8-6 after one period, 14-8 at halftime and ' 23-18 after three periods, and then held Decatur scoreless in the final quarter. They moved to the regional at Huntington the following week and were edged by Pennvilie by ■a 28-23 margin in the first contest. Several Years It was 10 years later before a Pleasant Mills quintet even got to the final game again, and the 1952 tournament brought a three-year frustration to Spartan fans. Entering the tourney with a 12-7 season record, Pleasant Mills swept into the final game to face a Yellow Jacket team that was looking for its fourth consecutive trip to the regional. The Spartans grabbed an early 7-0 lead but eventually dropped a bitterly-fought game by a 49-46 score. Decatur trailed 3129 in the third period, but rallied to gain a 39-33 lead entering the final period and the lead was too much for the Spartans to overcome. Jim Moses and Gene Morrison led the Decatur scoring with 13 points apiece, while foe Spartans got 11 tallies each from Jack Raudenbush, Les Painter and Bud Case, and 10 from Jerry Price. Denied Again The Spartans had a fine 17-4 regular season slate at the beginning of the 1953 tourney, and they drubbed tourney-favorite Geneva, 79-49, in the opening round. They advanced to foe final game again but this time were handed a 55-52 defeat by Monmouth, as the Eagles began a four-year title reign. Pleasant Mills held period leads of 16-15, 37-29 and 49-45, but couldn’t hold the margin before an Eagle onslaught in the last stanza. Harry Myers’ 21 markers led all scorers, while Jerry

Price and Painter topped Pleasant Mills with 17 and 16 points respectively. Not A Charm The third time wasn’t a charm for the Spartans in 1954, as once again they were “a bridesmaid but, not a bride.” Monmouth broke an 18-18 tie early in the second period and were never headed as they won a 63-58 decision. The Spartans didn’t go down without a battle, though, as field goals by Rog Frey and Jack Bebout late in the game cut the Eagle margin to 59-58, but they couldn’t add any more points in the closing seconds. Myers had 26 points for Monmouth and Lee Wolfe’s 19 led Pleasant Mills. Never again were the Spartans destined to reach the championship game, and they closed foe books in the 1963 season with an 11-9 record and were beaten by the Decatur Commodores in a 39-37 thriller in the sectional’s opening round. Long Drought One of the low points in Spartan history came in foe 1961 season when they lost their first 18 games before snapping the streak with a victory over Topeka in the final game of the season. Marv Luginbill was the school’s last county scoring champion, when he won the title in 1962 with a 19.1 per game average. Les Painter had the county’s top average in 1953, a 21.6 mark, but was outscored by Decatur’s Gene Morrison by six points, 404 to 398. Leon Byer had the top average, 23 points a game, in the 1955 season, but was third among county scorers. Victories were always plentiful, but memories will always remain. Box scores of the two Pleasant Mills sectional championships follow: 1942 Pleasant Mills FG FT TP Js«rt>' - 3 0 6 D. Williamson 3 0 6 August 3 6 12 Mcßride . 113 Workinger .... 1 3 Frey 1 — 0 0 8 Taylor * *--- 0 0 0 Martz 8 9 0 Smitley Oil TOTALS 11 9 31

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Sectional Officials INDIANAPOLIS (UPD-Offi-cials assigned to the sectionals of the Indiana high school basketball tourney: . Adams Central—Charles Gar-< her, Jonnie Webber, Lewis Cosher t. , Anderson — Homer Owens, Harold Ashbrook, Morris Cohen, William May. Angola — William Goshert, Norris Boomershine, Melvin Fuller, John Gasensmith. . Yellow Jackets FG FT TP Spahr 0 0 0 Reed .. _ 3 0 6 Lynch 2 0 4 Rickord 2 15 Andrews 0 0 0 Linn 0 0 0 Cochran 0 0 0 Eichhorn 0 0 0 Fruchte 113 McConnell 0 0 0 TOTALS 8 2 18 Score by quarters: P. Mills 9 14 23 31 Decatur 6 8 18 18 Officials: Fields and Markley. 1940 Plsaaant Mills FG FT TP D. McMillen 4 3 11 Longenberger 3 17 Bates 10 2 Clark 12 4 W. McMillen 6 0 12 August 0 0 0 Watkins 0 0 0 Foor 10 2 Harman Oil Martz 0 0 0 TOTALS 16 7 39 Kirkland FG FT TP Engle 0 11 Girod 0 3 3 Arnold 2 4 8 P. Baumgartner ..... 13 5 Wulliman 0 0 0 Beer 0 2 2 Mankey 0 0 0 Johnson Oil D. Baumgartner 0 0 0 Williamson 0 11 TOTALS 3 15 21 Score by quarters: Pleasant Mills 10 10 24 39 Kirkland __ 0 3 10 21 Officials: Coar and Crowe.

Bedford — Donald Hubbard, Carl Schnebelt, James Eads. Bluff ton — Harry Inskeep, Wayne Targgart, Francis Terrell. Boonville— Robert Davidson, Norman Chestnut, Jack Cummings. Brownsburg — Fred Marlow, Donald Lynch, Max Hensler, Max Andress. Carmel — Bob Sho waiter, Wayne Myers, Richard Sweet. Chesterton—Don McCoy, Robert Wendt, Walter Swift. Clinton — Norman Risley, Louis Schmalfeldt, .W ill i a Bateman. Columbus — Wayne Crispen, John Manka, Kenneth Payne. Connersville — Glen Bonsett, Boynton Robson, Ben Olsson. Covington — John Williams, Francis Fiddler, Allen Voorhis. Crawfordsville — Charles Fouty, Billy Maroney, William Malloy, East Chicago—Wesley Oler, Ronald Hosinski, Joseph Bella. Elkhart—Floyd Reed, Eugene Carrabine, Eugene Linn, Ralph Cox. Evansville — Ken Blankenbaker, Ralph Box, Lloyd Baugh, Raymond Robison. Fort Wayne—Wendell Baker, Jack Goen, Fred Kehoe, Eugene Marks. Frankfort—James Beyer, Ed Scott, Robert Reed. Franklin — James Schwenk, Russell Rogers, Harry Green. Gary—Ray Nemeth, Richard Brainerd, Vic Wukovits. Greencastle — Glen Wisler, Wililam Pittman, Charlie Lentz. Greensburg — Arthur niompson, Don Shields, Robert Fisher. Hammond— Lawrence Gardeless, Bobby Goble, Marion Acton. Huntingburg — Robert Laird, Jack Chestnut, Carl Petercheff. Huntington — J. F. Grimes, Ray Ward, Kenneth Barnes, Darrel McFall. Indianapolis — Roy Kilby, Lauren Griffith, Gary Muncy, Don Hollman. Jeffersonville — James Patterson, Charles Daum, Norman Shields. Kendallville — John Arnold, Neal Jay, Gordon McCain, James Carey. Kentland — Richard Gebhart, Donald Koester, George Dunlea vy. Knox—Gerald Imel, Lloyd Chambers, James Benecke. Kokomo — Don Lieberum, Richard Freeman, James Tansey.

THIRD SECTION

Lafayette — Anthony Lazar, James Cox, Howard Risley. Logansport — Thomas Hoffman, Gil Baumgartner, George Avery. Madison—John Thomas, Bill Gray, Danny Jacobs. Manchester — Earnest Baldwin, Samuel Reed, John Ward. Marion—Marvin Cave, Don Lozier, Kent Adams. Martinsville — Robert Spay, Howard Morgan, Marvin Vail, Lowell Smith. Michigan City — Zeke Williams, Dale Van Houten, Joe Smelcer, Bill Hile. Milan—Eugene Lillie, Jack Longnecker, William Fields. Monon —Robert Kramer, Rob-' ert Crane, Ernie Sohl. / Muncie—Gene Butts, CliffordRunnebohm, Richard Lederman, Don Hurst. New Castle—David Habegger, Don Yager, Frank Hoagburg Don Shiflet. Plymouth—BQl Larkin, Rich ard Vendrely, Jim Ruby. * Portland — John Holmes, James Burt, Don Snedeker. Princeton — Robert Sweet, Rudy Tabereaux, Jerry Baker. Rensselaer — Edgar Powers, Jack Gardner, Don Edwards. Richmond — Robert Cherry,; David Schwartz, Harold Mason.’ Rising Sun—James Davis Wayne Van Sickle, MarvinHeaton. Rushville— Everett Campbell* Robert Manor, Charles Sallee!' Salem—Dwain Laird, ‘ Walter. Vanover, John Bush. Seymour—Robert Rose, Ray-; mond Vescovi, Wallace Reeve. South Bend—Thomas Dean,; John Mikels, R. Gerald Sweety Ned Brenizer. Southport—John Fee, Jim; Ladd, John Sheets. Sullivan — Harold Gourley, Charles Adams, Richard Pat-; tengale. Switz City-Jack Small, GeneWilm, William Williamson. TeH City—Donald Call, Paul; Meyer, L. C. Thorne. Terre Haute—Roger Emmert; Frank Bradshaw, James De* Groote. Van Buren — Earle Wolfe, Billy Lee Walker, Herod Toon, Vincennes — Winfield Jacobs, Richard Crays, Noble Rector-: Warsaw-Stan Dubis, David Parry, Ron Jones. Washington — Jimmy Dimitroff, Charles Bertram. Jack: Mercer. Winchester— Richard Foster, Maurice Gardner, Robert Wells. Zionsville—Vern Doles, Mdlvin Botkin, Charles Stumps.