The Mail-Journal, Volume 20, Number 6, Milford, Kosciusko County, 23 February 1983 — Page 22

Valley Team Plagued By Health Problems Team Down To Seven Members As SecNonaf Nears

By DIANA STREEVEY With valuable Viking guard Jeff Webb removed from play halfway through

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the season, Tippecanoe Valley enters the sectional with a disappointing 6-10 record. Coach Roland Fletcher maintains hope,

however, that the Vikings can pull a sectional victory from the fire. “One of my starters, Jeff Webb, suffered a knee injury at the January 5 game,” he explained during an early interview, “and had to have surgery the next day. Another of my players hurt his knee that night also, Chan Tucker, and hasn’t been playing to full capability. Otherwise I think the record would read differently than it does. ” Since that early interview, Im 1 //

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however, the Vikings have lost another starter, Pat Lafferty,'to recurring back problems. Although Fletcher had earlier expressed hope that his injured players would be able to rejoin their teammates for sectional play, on February 14 he said it wasn’t likely to happen. “Pat’s had back trouble all during high school and probably won’t be able to play,” he stated, “and right now I think Jeff’s looking at another five weeks before he’ll be ready to play. I won’t play him unless I’m sure he’s at 100 per cent, and I don’t think he’ll be there. The loss of these twoplayers has deeply hurt the Valley team. Webb, in eight games played this season, managed 81 assists, making him the leader in the Three Rivers Conference in assists. Last year, Webb broke the exiting TRC record with a total of 127 assists for the season and was expected to break his old record this season. Fletcher continued, “Jeff averages almost ten points a game plus the ten assists. That’s 30 points a game we’re losing since he was hurt.” Starting five for the Vikings at the beginning of the season were: 5’9” Webb, senior guard; 6’3” Lafferty,

senior forward; 5’10” Shad McConkey, junior forward; 6’2” Greg VanDeWater, junior forward; and 6’2” Andy Alspaugh, senior forward. Junior guard Chan Tucker, 6’, replaced Webb after January 5, and Fletcher has been rotating his other subs since Lafferty’s injury. They are 5’10” Don Flenar, senior guard; 6’3” Dan Boyer, junior forward; and 6’l” Tod Utter, senior forward. VanDeWater is the Vikings’ leading scorer, with an average 15 points a game, shooting .53 per cent from the field and .65 per cent from the charity stripe. Alspaugh leads the Valley team in rebounding, with an average eight rebounds per game, while Lafferty was second in rebounds with a 5.6 average. As of February 12, Valley has been averaging 61.2 points a game, while giving up an average of 64.4 points to their opponents, much of the difference coming from the free-throw line. Both offensively and defensively, the Vikings are outrebounding their opponents at 36.2 per game compared to 32.8. When asked, Fletcher joined the general consensus that Warsaw and Wawasee have the height advantage in

Tippecanoe Valley 1982-83 Team Stats: FG% FT% Rbs. Ave. Pts. Ave. Assists Ave. 43 65 36.2 61.2 15.7 Season Record Opponents Tippecanoe Valley Argos 51 36 Rochester 70 72 Triton 45 58 North Miami 55 68 Whitko 70 55 North Wood 66 59 Northfield 57 67 Warsaw 73 70 Southwood 75 60 Wawasee 80 71 Maconaquah 73 63 Manchester 93 62 Cass 43 62 Culver 61 77 Bremen 64 46 LaVille 54 53 JFe're Behind You All The Pay likinfis! THE NEIGHBORHOOD DEPARTMENT STORE Mentone Wishing The Team Lots Os Luck In The Tourney STEPHEN’S GARAGE Akron BEAT’EM VIKINGS!!! ARTER'S RECALL DRUG Akron

this year’s tourney, but he doesn’t feel height alone will be the deciding factor. “Every team goes into the sectional ready — that’s what everyone shoots for. We’re hurt, but we’re not out of it. “Some coaches hope to get that Wednesday night game, but I’d like to get the bye. 1 don’t think a team needs the extra game. If you’re not ready for sectional by then, the extra game won’t make a difference. At that point you have to play well. You can’t play a bad game and win the sectional, because everyone else is ready, too. “We’ve stressed offense this year: shoot the ball, put it up more, fast-break more. Our offense has picked up a lot and we have better shooters (than in past years). Jeff (\Vebb) kept the tempo of the game the way we wanted it, and we’ve scored more points per game than last year.” (Scoring average last year was 54 per game.) Although at an earlier interview Fletcher had confidently stated. “This year we’ve got the best shot we’ve had in my three years as coach here, ” on February 14 he cautiously pointed out, “We’re still hanging in there and will give it our best shot.”