The Mail-Journal, Volume 20, Number 50, Milford, Kosciusko County, 28 December 1983 — Page 10
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THE MAIL-JOURNAL - Wed,, December 28.1983
Sports
1925: Milford's "Peppermint Boys" fast break their way to Indianapolis
High schools largo and small competing hood-to-hoad in Hoosier basketball. It is those David and Goliath encounters that give a special flavor to the state basketball tournament. Schools like Milan and Argos have thrilled fans with their Cinderella waltzes to tho atato crown. In 1925, Milford also had its shot at glory. That team, composed of Harry "Fuzzy" Schultz. Roy Schultz, Clayton "Cy" Hollar. Royal Soaalor, Eldon Millor. Noble Miller, Jim Hammon. Harold Burns and coach Noblo Neff, advancod to the final 16 in tho atato before dropping a 45-23 decision to Vincennes. Frankfort was tho ovontuol champion. Roy Schultz, tho only living member of that toam, reminisces: By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor They were the “Peppermint Boys;** a group of talented high school basketball players performing their tricks at a small high school in the middle of swampy farm land which sprouted acres upon acres of the sweet-smelling plants. “We were gettin’ called that right along,’* remembered Schultz. “The only reason I can see that we got that nickname was ’cause we weren't losin’ and all that peppermint was grown around here” Winning. That is one thing the 1925 team had litlle trouble doing under a variety of less-than-desirable conditions. Before Milford High School had a gym, players and fans had to brave some primitive conditions to enjoy the sport. “In 1924 we played tournaments in a livery bam, mind you," said Schultz. “It was cold in there. You betcha!
Winning streak halted at 10 —
Mishawaka stops Lady Warriors
By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor Mishawaka’s talented Cavewomen used a balanced attack and some fourth-quarter fireworks to record a 59-44 victory at Wawasee last Thursday night. Wawasee battled its eighthrated guests nip and tuck for three quarters before running out of steam in the final eight minutes. Mishawaka held a sixpoint lead at the end of the third stanza, but quickly stretched it to 12 at the beginning of the fourth. The Lady Warriors, plagued all night by cold shooting, could not recover. “I really thought we played quarters of good basketball,” said coach Dale Brannock. “We had a short letdown in the second quarter and a complete letdown in the fourth. We sort of ran out of gas.” Mishawaka’s senior standout, Sharon Versyp, had another excellent night. She poured in 18 points, eight of them in the second quarter, pulled down 10 rebounds and did most of the ballhandling. However, it was the front line players who really brought a smile to coach John Taylor’s face.
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STUMP JUMPS FOR TWO— Wawasee's Dee Stump apparently shows some excitement in the Warrior's 58-44 loan to Mishawaka. Actually, Stump scores two of her 11 points over the Cavewomen's Tania Wood while aeveral other Miahawaka players and Wawasee's Sandy Payne look on. (Photo hy Mark Weinatein)
We played in the Chuck Berkeypile barn for years and it got down to zero degrees. We played with short pants and the fans wore their heavy coats all during the games. They had four stoves; one in each corner. When you were playing, you could see your breath.’* That all changed in 1924-25 when a new gymnasium was constructed at Milford High School. “When theg built the new gym it was the best in the county or all around at the time,’’ said Schultz. “We played all of our games away in the first half of the season and (after the gym was completed) we played al) of them here in the second half.” According to Roy, part of the motivation for the new gym came from a rumor that he and his brother, Harry, were considering a move to Syracuse to play basketball. Rather than let these two players jump to an arch-rival school, some concerned Milford residents embarked on the gym project. “We wouldn’t a got that gym if my brother and 1 hadn’t got a chance to go to Syracuse to play,” Schultz said with a smile. “There were a lot of people around here who got busy and started building the gym.” Whatever sparked the building process, the result was a facility to match Milford’s basketball talent. With the exception of Cy Hollar, who stood 6’3’’, Milford’s players were short and quick. The “Peppermint Boys” didn’t run over any teams, they ran around them. “One thing that helped us out was that we could run any team ragged. We ran that fast break,” noted Schultz. “Our
“We were very concerned coming in here tonight. We knew that Wawasee had a good ball club. But our big people finally came through for us,” said Taylor. “Our big kids were the key tonight. They finally said ‘we’re gonna do the job.’” Tania Wood, a 6’o” junior, and Jackie Britton, a 5’11” senior, held the Lady Warriors in check the entire evening. They combined for 18 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Thanks to their good positioning, the Cavewomen enjoyed a 34-23 rebound advantage. Mishawaka also surprised the Lady Warriors with a man-to-man defense. It was an effective strategy. Anita Swope, Sandy Payne and Dee Stump found it hard to free themselves and get the basketball for their patented outside jumpers. “I was surprised that they went to the man-to-man,” commented Brannock, who had seen them favor a 2-3 zone in other contests. “We had our shots, but they just didn’t fall.” Stump and Swope each ended the game with 11 points to share team scoring honors. Payne and Marcia Sorensen both had eight points. In the rebound depart-
center (Hollar) would tip the ball to one fella, he’d zip it to another fella and another and we’d be down the floor and make a basket before you’d know it. We played that fast break all the time.” Although the fast break is nothing unique to modern basketball, it was a rarity in the days when teams practiced twice a week, games were often decided by scores of 24-18 or 19-9, there was a jump ball following each basket and few players shot overhand. Schultz credits coach Noble Neff’s strict training regimen for the team’s style of play. “Twice a week, when the weather was fit, our coach would get us out and run us a mile square. Then we’d go inside and before we started to play he'd run us 28 times around the gym,” Schultz said. “We also watched what we ate pretty well,” he added. “Once in a great while our coach would allow us a sundae. But that wasn’t too often. He gave us a list of what we could eat and what we couldn’t eat. We minded it pretty well.” That discipline paid off in the form of some impressive wins. The most notable during the regular season was a sixpoint win over mighty Elkhart. “I don’t know, but 1 think they thought they were gonna beat us. 1 think they thought they were gonna have an easy time,” Schultz said. “They substituted quite a bit,” Schultz added. “We didn’t substitute the entire game. We just kept goin' and scorin’ points. We figured it up that we scored eight to 12 points more in the second half than in the first. I think we took ’em off balance a little
ment, Sorensen had eight and Christy Speicher had five. Speicher was in foul trouble the entire game. She picked up her second foul early in the first quarter and, as a result, had to play passive defense for most of the game. Michelle Harter spelled her in the second half, picking up four points and four rebounds in the process. “Now we know the way we’ll have to play against good competition,” said Brannock. “I think we were kind of in awe.” The team is now 10-1 overall, 4-0 in the conference. The Lady Warriors’ next contest is Tuesday, January 3, at Central Noble. The contest will be played at Wolf Lake. Junior Varsity Mishawaka also took the night’s opening contest with a
Sports comment — * XX Calling the shots CHARLES
JENNIFER DARR, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Darr, Syracuse, and a student at Vincennes University, has qualified for the Na-■ tional Junior College Athletic Association swimming tournament in Fort Pierce, Fla. Jennifer, who is majoring in Recreation and Leisure Services, will compete in the 100 butterfly, the 200 backstroke, the 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. According to her coach, Harry Wickens, Jennifer is “versatile, hard-working and an outstanding competitor." The meet is slated for March THOSE OF YOU WHO ENJOY WINTER SPORTS will be interested to know that several Indiana state parks are offering facilities for cross-country skiing and tobogganing. Skis may be rented at the following area state parks: Chain O' Lakes, Albion; Pokagon, Angola; Potato Creek, North Liberty; and Tippecanoe River, Winamac. Rental costs are $2 per hour for boots, skis, bindings and poles. Items can be rented from 9 am. to 5 p.m. at all paries. Tippecanoe River and Chain O'Lakes will only offer / rentals on weekends. Pokagon State Park, Angola, has a superb 1,758 foot refrigerated toboggan run which is currently in operation. It is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Toboggan rental is $2 with a 25 cent charge per ride. For more information on winter fun at the state parks, call toll-free, 1-800-622-4931. MANCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL received a slap on the wrist from the IHSAA as a result of the four-technical game at Wawasee on December 8. Mr. C. Eugene Cato, IHSAA Commissioner. ruled that “Manchester High School is issued a warning (an official notice that an unexcusable, unethical or unsportsmanlike action has occurred, is a matter of record and.. .must not be repeated." In addition, reprimands were issued to the Manchester coach and a Manchester fan.
bit.” X they nearly met disaster at the They kept on running and hands of their arch-rivals, scoring all the way into the Syracuse, at Milford in the state tournament. However, tournament’s flrat round.
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DOING IT THE OLD WAY— Roy Schultz, 78, of Milford, shows how most players shot the ball when he played. Schultz, the only living member of Milford’s 1925 team which made it to the final 16 in the state, stays active by bowling. When he tried his hand at shooting last week, he said it was the first time in 49 years that he had touched a basketball. (Photo by Tom Charles)
41-32 win over the Wawasee junior varsity. The loss dropped the young Lady Warriors to 9-3 on the year. Lori Galloway had an outstanding night. She pumped in 13 points to go with her 13 rebounds. Both statistics were team highs. Ann Vitaniemi had six points and six rebounds. Amy Bucher also had six boards.
Wawasee Adult Basketball League Decamber 19.1983 Team Score Record High Point Player Sturonjac vs 66 2-2 RobStahly 17 Laundry Basket 55 3-1 Monty Bolinger 14 Fairmont Homes vs 50 2-2 Rex Emmerrlck 18 Flex Steel 35 0-4 Scotßeehler 12 Syracuse Rubber vs 62 2-2 Rocky Farmilor 20 Troyer Auction 57 2-2 Rick Smith 17 J& A Specialty vs 63 4-0 Jay Wysong 17 A.B.E. (overtime) 62 2-2 Mike Berning 24
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS WERE: Indiana 56, Kansas State 53 (ot); Notre Dame 80, Valparaiso 48; DePaul 68, Purdue 61; Penn State 13, Washington 10; Brigham Young 21, Missouri 17; Alabama 28, Southern Methodist 7.
Congratulations should be extended to Rich Rhodes who finally worked his way up to a .600 percentage. The darkroom ace’s struggle to find predicting proficiency has been an inspiration to all of us at The M-J. Meanwhile, the earnest sports writer, Mark Weinstein, plunged to a new low of .565. We're all wishing him better luck in 1984. This week's bowl bonanza includes games involving several Big Ten teams. Our slate consists of the Liberty Bow) (ND vs Boston College), the Gator Bow) (lowa vs Florida), the Rose Bow) (Illinois vs UCLA), the Cotton Bow) (Texas vs Georgia), the Orange Bowl (Nebraska vs Miami) and the Sugar Bowl (Auburn vs Michigan). Charles (.686) — Three pairs of socks and a predicting record of 5-6 were the only Christmas presents for the Goshen native last week. This week's winners: Boston College, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska and Michigan. Kuhn (.671) — The bearded Kuhn chalked up a perfect 6-6 with “pure guessing” last week. Those of us on the panel are hoping he goes back to using some logic this week. Perhaps we'll have a chance! Winners: Boston College, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Miami and Auburn. Rhodes (.Mt) — The bachelor's picks: Boston College, Florida, UCLA, Georgia, Miami and Michigan. Weinstein (.385) —Upsets. Weinstein is counting on the underdogs coming through in two key Bmes to lift his sagging percentage. Winners: ), lowa, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska and Auburn.
Great coach
University of Michigan head football coach Glenn “Bo” Schembechler, the Dean of Big Ten coaches has recorded one of the best winning percentages among active college coaches. Entering the 1983-84 football campaign, Schembechler amassed a 131-28-3 record at the Wolverine school for an outstanding .818 winning percentage. In addition to his record of wins, Schembechler also has developed 32 All-American players, including Fort Wayne’s Tom Dixon, a 1983-84 recipient.
“We had beaten them before that year and they had us 13-4 at halftime in the tournament,” said Schultz. “They were hittin’ and we weren’t. So, our coach gave us the onceover. He gave us some good words and we knew he meant them.” “But our principal came down and boy was he mad,” Schultz continued. “He said, ’Now boys, I want you to get that. . yellow streak out of your back and the first guy I see lay down is gonna be jerked out.* And he meant it. If there would have been one guy crack a smile during that talk, he would have jerked him out right then.” Apparently the principal’s impromptu pep talk had some effect. Milford slowly closed the gap in the second half when Syracuse attempted to stall. Eventually, Milford won by one point in overtime. Following their win at Milford and a victory at the Warsaw tournament the following week, the “Peppermint Boys” set out for Fort Wayne. It was the first trip out of the area for most of the team members, but they didn’t get much of a chance to see the sights. The team traveled to Fort Wayne in a rented bus. Once they were there, however, transportation was not so luxurious. “The whole eight of us piled into the back of a taxi cab with the coach and we rode in there,” said Schultz. “We were three-deep with basketballs, equipment and everything We rode to the hotel, checked in and that was it.” Eyen at the gymnasium the team had to share its locker room with the opposition.
JVs ride roller coaster seasons
By MARK WEINSTEIN Sportswriter When the 1983-84 high school basketball season opened, not much was expected from Galen Hershberger’s and Barb Brouwer’s Wawasee junior varsity squads. But since the first practice, both teams have made vast improvements and Brouwer’s team heads into Christmas break holding an impressive 9-3 mark, compared to Hershberger’s 4-4 slate. Girls “At the beginning of the season, no one thought we would win much, or have a very good team,” informed Brouwer. “But right now our junior varsity team plays with more intensity than any other J.V. team around — the record speaks for itself.” Leading the way for the third year coach has been the play of some improving freshmen, along with several sophomores. “Our three freshmen have gained a lot of experience, but they have room for improvement,” conceded Brouwer. “But also an important part of our success has been with the leadership of the three sophomores who play one quarter with us. They have instilled within the rest of the team some intensity that we really need.” In the early part of the season, freshmen have carried much of the burden for the Warriors although sophomore Lori Galloway leads the Warriors with a less-than-spectacular 5.0 scoring average. Jama Roose has contributed a 4.6 scoring average while Ann Vitaniemi averages 4.4. Vitaniemi, who has only played two years of organized basketball, has dominated the boards with a 5.9 rebounds per game average. Freshman Kelly Brooks has snatched 4.1 boards per contest. “Although we were inexperienced at the beginning of the year, I knew we weren’t losers, but it would take time,” informed Brouwer about her surprising 9-3 start. “So far, 1 have only been satisfied with one game this year, but I just keep asking more and more out of the players, and they are responding.” Along with the three freshmen surprises, Brouwer also has been pleased with Steph Swihart and Ann Coy. “They haven’t had much playing time, but they are getting better each week,” said Brouwer. Despite the winning record, the WHS math teacher has had to slow down her teaching on the court, and go back to the fundamentals of basketball. “This is a different situation for me because! have had to go back to the basics,’* informed
' “We dressed in one big room down there,” explained Schultz. “Fort Wayne dressed in one corner and we dressed in another. At halftime we could hear the Fort Wayne coach goin* over it with his guys. He had three of those guys bawling. We could see it from the other side of the room.” The action outside the locker room wasn’t anything for Fort Wayne to laugh about either. Milford used a new strategy and some intense play to take the victory and win its way to Indianapolis. “My brother and I (the regular forwards) didn’t go under the Fort Wayne basket once during the game,” said Schultz. “We came down between the center line and the foul line and that’s as far as we got. We left it up to the guards to get the rebounds, and they did.” “Cy would usually run around with a kind of a smile on his face,’’ added Schultz. “But down at Fort Wayne 1 never saw him crack a smile once during that game.” The team’s return to Milford following the win at Fort Wayne was a noisy one. Several people gathered along the team's route to show their support by banging “dish pans and everything else.” The trip to Indianapolis did not have such a happy ending. Milford faced Vincennes in the first game of the 16-team finals and came away with a 45-23 loss. Playing in the cavernous Exposition Building, or “Cow Barn” as it was known, threw the team a bit off stride. “It was just like the floor was sitting in the middle of a 20 acre field. That’s just the way it seemed,” said Schultz. “We asked the coach about gettin* out and gettin’ warmed
Brouwer. “In years past we would switch defenses every time down court. Earlier this year we’ve had to call a time out in order to accomplish this. But they are picking it up, and are learning.” Boys Similiar to Brouwer’s squad, Galen Hershberger and his boys' basketball squad have faced difficulties, although their record hasn’t depicted as great of a success story as the girls. “We knew at the beginning of the year that we didn’t have the great individual skill like other teams,” informed Hershberger. “They couldn’t grasp the concepts we were trying to teach them, and lacked intensity throughout the time span of a game.” Wawasee’s 4-4 record at the break shows the early struggles, and leaves a lot of work ahead of Hershberger and his players. Yet, despite the record, the Warriors have made some strides to correct their lapses. “Right now our strongest part of the game is defense,” declared Hershberger. “It is easier to take kids who haven’t played much and teach them how to play defense. We are not where we need to be, but we have improved in this area.” Wawasee currently has allowed its opponents to average 40 points a game, compared to the Warriors* 41.8 average. “This is why we are only at .500,” said Hershberger “The defensive statistic isn’t too bad, but we need to improve.” Freshman Rob Mangus presently leads the Warriors with an impressive 13.7 scoring average, but sophomores David Kistler and Jon Evans add greatly to the offensive output. Kistler, who averages nine points a game has also averaged eight rebounds per contest, while
Athlete of the week
Despite coming up on the short end of the score against Mishawaka. Dee played another floor game, and has been awarded The Mail-Journal’s “Athlete of the Week”. Stump, who has already rewritten the assist record |fl| t WIL this year at Wawasee, has 4JrIBbI ajjfe been a consistent leader for BAx ...... X. Dale Brannock’s 10-1 Lady ■ V-»- -Jrfl M Warriors. A ’ TJ X* In the contest with 1 , Mishawaka, Stump netted 11 points, grabbed four rebounds from her guard position and fl f | W DEE STUMP
up, but he just said. ‘You’ve got plenty a time.’ We got out there and got one shot and then they called the game. ” “We didn’t get our fast break in very much. Boy, they had us blocked out. We had to shoot more from the outside.” But the loss didn't spoil the experience for Schultz or his teammates. Most of them were happy to have had the success they did. “Our coach wasn't a bit mad (after the loss),” he said. “He didn’t comment very much either way. 1 don’t think he expected us to get as far as we did. Well, I didn’t either to tell you the truth about it.” “We didn’t get any big welcome like we did when we came back from Fort Wayne, but a lot of 'em was pleased with the way we did,” Schultz added. “They would have been more pleased if we woulda won, but they were satisfied.” That loss ended his high school career, but Roy kept playing basketball. He and Harry joined an independent team and played in the area for seven years. They also had two chances to play basketball in college. Neither of them pursued those opportunities. “1 told (Harry), ‘I don’t know how you feel about it, but when we get down there, there will be others just as good or better than we are. 1 don’t know if you want to go, but I’m not interested.’” So, Roy can now look back over many good memories from his high school and his independent league days. As he reflects back over the decades, he comes away with one final reflection “You’ve gotta enjoy and want to play basketball if you are going to get anything out of it,” he said. “All of us enjoyed it and wanted to win and I think that's why we did it.”
Evans enters the break with a 6.1 rebound average. “Right now, 1 think Kistler is the leader on the team," stated Hershberger. “He has the enthusiasm, and intensity that is needed to be a good player.” Sophomore Jeff Taylor has come on strong in the last three games possessing great intelligence offensively, but the guard has developed problems in his passing game and a lack of intensity on defense. Although the Warriors have developed some snags during the present campaign, one thing Hershberger can’t complain about is the “never-say-die” attitude his teams possess. “Without a doubt, the kids’ determination to win and improve is a great asset to them,” praised Hershberger. “No matter how far behind they are, they never give up." The Fairfield contest was a prime example. The Warriors trailed by 12 points in the fourth quarter, only to have a lastsecond, game-winning shot fall off the rim. Wawasee may lose some games due to a lack of experience, but they shouldn’t drop any because of a lack of desire to win. Even though past performances don't speak positively for the Warriors, their desire makes up for the so-so record. Lucky strikes John Pezzin rolled 33 consecutive strikes on March 4,1976 in Toledo, Ohio. That stands as a record for sanctioned match play. Perfect scores Elvin Mesger, of Sullivan, Mo., has rolled 27 perfect games in his bowling career. That is a national record.