The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 53, Milford, Kosciusko County, 31 December 1986 — Page 8
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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., December 31,1986
Sports
Warriors assume unusual role
By MARK WEINSTEIN Sports Editor
LIGONIER — When Wawasee’s boys basketvall team tips-off the second half of its season Saturday evening against West Noble, the Warriors will find themselves in an unusual situation — as the favorite. Perhaps there is good reason for the Warriors to have the edge on the court against the Chargers. But Wawasee head coach Gary Goshert isn’t taking his former team lightly. He expects the Chargers to play hard, and give his new team, Wawasee, a battle. “This game will be a little emotional for me, but that is to be expected,” said Goshert. “Anytime you spend 14 years in a school system, you have to have some warm feelings about the school.” However, Goshert’s loyalty will die, for one game, Saturday. “They have some nice young talent, but they are awfully inexperienced,” insisted Goshert. “I know they will be ready to play. West Noble, as long as I can remember, has always been ready to play the big boys from the Northern Lakes Conference (Wawasee) in the first game after Christmas.”
Lancers fall 78-61 in Otterbein Classic
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Otterbein College kept its home winning streak alive — 21 games — Tuesday evening with a 78-61 Otterbein College O-Club Classic championship victory over Grace. With the win, Otterbein raises its record to 7-3. Grace falls to 8-4 on the campaign. From the outset, it appeared as though the Lancers were in trouble. Grace’s front line quickly fell
NBA Roundup —
Person leads Pacers past
INDFANAPOLIS - Chuck Person scored a game-high 23 points and Wayman Tisdale added 22 as Indiana defeated Cleveland 111-99 Tuesday evening in National Basketball Association action. Trailing 5-2 early in the game, Indiana took charge of the contest with an 11-0 spurt in the first period. Clint Richardson capped the Pacers’ scoring burst with an 17 foot jump shot with 7:30 remaining in the period. Indiana put the game out of reach early in the second quarter when it outscored the Cavaliers 10-1 to begin the period. With 9:54 remaining, Indiana enjoyed a 39-23 advantage. Steve Stipanovich and John Long each scored 16 points for the
Dickerson, Kosar rate as MVPs in 1986 NFL season
One man’s opinion of the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, and college footbail at the close of 1986. First, lets work through the National Football League. Most Valuable Players: Eric Dickerson in the NFC and Bernie Kosar in the AFC. Although the Rams found a passing attack, with the insertion of quarterback Jim Everett, Los Angeles, without Dickerson, would have never made the playoffs. Unfortunately his two fumbles led to Washington's victory oyer the Rams in the wildcartfgame last week. In the AFC, Cleveland Browns quarterback, Bernie Kosar is the selection. Only in his second year, Kosar has been everything the Browns have wanted — and more. Although Kosar is still very young, he still enjoyed an exceptional season in leading Cleveland to the best record in the American Football Conference. Honorable Mention: Linebacker Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants), quarterback Tommy Kramer (Minnesota), running back Herschel Walker (Dallas), quarterback John Elway (Denver), Joe Montana (San Francisco), Curt Warner (Seattle). Top Flop Player: Cincinnati’s Boomer Esiason. Although Esiason has showed great promise throughout the season, the former Maryland quarterback has been a model of inconsistency Esiason, one week after leading the Bengals to an easy 31-7 victory over New England,
Still, on paper, the Warriors should have no problems in handing the Chargers another loss. But the game must still be played — on the hardwood floor — not on paper. On the court, West Noble is lead by sophomore Tony Quinn. The 5-9 point guard nets 8.9 points a S V WJ GARY GOSHERT contest. But. first-year coach Rick Mathew has two other players capable of scoring.
into foul problems, forcing Grace head coach Jim Kessler to use his bench. However, Grace stayed close to the NCAA Division 111 basketball power in the first half. Trailing by six. 36-30, at halftime, Grace was in excellent position to score the upset. But it didn't happen. Instead, Otterbein’s two premier players — Dick Hempy and Steve Browm — dominated
Pacers while Richardson added 13. Ron Harper led Cleveland with 17 points. At New York, Gerald Wilkins scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Bill Cartwright added 27, as the Knicks rolled past Washington. 103-97. The Knicks, who have won four straight games, trailed by 10 points midway through the final period. But New York outscored the Bullets 22-6 in the final 6:23 to earn the victory. Patrick Ewing scored 14 points for the Knicks, while Moses Malone led the Bullets with 21 points. At Sacramento, Larry Bird scored 27 points while Robert Parish added 24 and Dennis Johnson 22, as the Boston Celtics
comes back against the Browns and fails to move the Bengals. Cincinnati lost the game, overwhelmingly. The next week, Esiason can do no wrong as he leads Cincinnati to a 52-21 rout of the New York Jets. Dishonorable Mention: Quarterback Jim Kelley (Buffalo), quarterback Dan Fouts (San Diego), running back Keith Byars (Philadelphia), and quarterback Jim McMahon (Chicago). Top Coach: Marty Schottenheimer of the Cleveland Browns. Schottenheimer took an 8-8 playoff pretender last year and turned them into title contenders this season — all without Don Rogers and Al Gross in the secondary. Cleveland boasts the best record in the AFC with its 12-4 mark. Honorable Mention: Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh finished 6-10 after 0-6 beginning), Jerry Burns (Minnesota finished 9-7, one game out of playoffs), Jim Mora (New Orleans), and Ron Meyer (Indianapolis finished the final three games with victories — all under Meyer’s leadership). Switching to baseball, lets highlight the best players, managers, and whatever else we can think of. Most Valuable Players: Boston’s Roger Clemens in the American League and Mike Scott of the Houston Astros in the National League. Clemens started out with 11 straight victories before losing his first game. That start enabled the Red Sox to forge an early lead in the AL East, and claim the American League banner.
Joe Spencer, West Noble’s tallest player at 6-2, and 6-0 freshman Doug Targgart both average seven points a contest. Both are valuable performers for the Chargers, although scoring less than 10 points a game. From there, however, the Chargers’ scoring punch drops considerably. “Scoring has been a problem for us all season,” said Mathew during midweek preparations for Wawasee. “At the start of the season, I thought we would be a good shooting team. But that hasn’t happened — especially in the last three games. ” In those games, West Noble has connected on 49 of its 119 field goal attempts (41%). From the foul line, another pre-season strength, the Chargers have connected on 49 of 73 charity tosses —for a respectable 67%. The Warriors, meanwhile, have connected on 48% of their field goal attempts this season, and 63% from the charity stripe. Those figures are nothing to write home about. “I thought at the beginning of the year that one of our strengths would be shooting,” informed Mathew. “But now, our biggest strength is the fact that we will be a year older next year.” West Noble’s inexperience.
the action as Grace fell by the wayside. Hempy, a NCAA Division AllAmerican, scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, his counterpart at the forward slot, Browm, added 24 points. Perhaps the turning point in the game occurred in the final half. With Otterbein leading by eight. Grace’s Ben Teske was forced to leave the game when he was hit in the eye with an elbow. Teske’s absence, along with the
Cleveland
defeated the Sacramento Kings, 119-102. The game was never in doubt as Boston took a 39-24 lead after one period. The Celtics held a nine-point lead at halftime, then cruised to the victory in the second half. The Utah Jazz needed a big fourth quarter to come-from-behind and defeat the San Antonio Spurs. 109-101, at Salt Lake City. Trailing for most of the game. Utah used a 10-point swing in the fourth quarter to secure its 19th win. and vault the Jazz into a first place tie with Dallas. In Chicago. Michael Jordan scored 32 points, but that was not enough as the Golden State Warriors trimmed the Bulls 102-99.
Scott was clearly the best player in the National League — dominating the league by striking out opposing batters. He came within one game of sending the Astros into the world series. Honorable Mention: Gary Carter (New York Mets), Jack Morris (Detroit), Jim Rice (Boston), and Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles). Top Manager : Pat Corrales of the Cleveland Indians. Corrales took a young team, which nearly finished more games out of first than games won the year before, and turned them around in 1986. The Tribe, with a potent offensive attack, finished fifth in the American League East, but only 2 games behind third place Detroit. Honorable Mention: John McNamara (Boston), Lou Pinnelia (New York Yankees), Hal Lanier (Houston), and Roger Craig (San Francisco). Dishonorable Mention: Billy Martin, just because he thought about managing again; Whitey Herzog (St. Louis), Sparky Anderson (Detroit), and Jim Frey (Chicago Cubs). Front Office Top Flop: Chicago’s Ken Harrelson. Moved from the radio booth to the general manager’s chair, Harrelson proved there are more ways than one to ruin a talented baseball team. His first effort, in what he thought would improve the Sox, was playing Carlton Fisk, an allstar catcher, in left field. His next move was to fire manager Tony Laßussa, who started turning the Oakland A’s around at the close of the season.
which Mathew referred to, could make the difference in this game. “There’s no doubt that we have more experience than West Noble, but we still have to come ready to play,” said Goshert. “We have to be able to it doesn’t matter who we play — Warsaw or West Noble. I’m not expecting a cake walk.” Mathew hopes Goshert is right — concerning the cake walk. The Chargers’ mentor hopes his team can remain close to the Warriors, then, in the final quarter, anything can happen. “We’re just going to play our normal type of game and see what happens,” said Mathew. “We’ll come in as ready as we can, and hopefully, we will play well. That’s all I want — to play hard. Anything after that will just be a bonus.” For the Chargers to be able challenge the taller and quicker Warriors, they must control the tempo of the game. Since West Noble doesn’t possess great rebounding skills, it must take good care of the basketball and shoot a high percentage from the floor. “We will have to play a very intelligent basketball game if we want to be in there at the end,” said Mathew. “Every scoring opportunity for us is important.
Lancers’ foul problems in their frontcourt, fueled Otterbein's momentum and gave the host school the win. Teske was on the sideline 10 minutes because of the injury. Although Grace lost by the 17-point margin, it outrebounded Otterbein. The Lancers collected 46 rebounds, compared to the winners' 42. Joe Graham led Grace with 14. In scoring, Graham paced the Lancers’ effort with 18 points. Joe Goeglein added 15. while Paul Zeltwanger chipped in 10. The Lancers advanced into the final round with Otterbein when they tripped Buffalo State. 62-59. the night before. Otterbein turned back Kalamazoo College. 80-45, to earn the right to play Grace. In Grace’s game against the New York state team, the Lancers used their height advantage to offset Buffalo State's quickness. The result proved to be beneficial for coach Jim Kessler's squad. Although the Lancers led throughout most of the first half, they only held a slim 33-32 lead at the intermission. The second half was much the same — close. The contest remained open for taking by either club until Zeltwanger claimed the contest for Grace. With Grace trailing by two, 56-54, the Lancers ran off eight consecutive points to forge a 62-56 lead. The final two points, with five seconds remaining, came
Teams Most Likely to Improve in 1987: Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers.
On The Mark MARK JBfe WEINSTEIN S' ~
Milwaukee proved last season that they have several goodlooking pitchers with some nice offensive players. Pittsburgh, under Jim Leyland’s eye, have improved since his appointment as skipper two years ago. They might not challenge for a division title, but in 1987, they will move out of the cellar. Both L.A. and Detroit should return to supremacy in their divisions. The Dodgers were hurt by injuries last season and Detroit was complacent and simply outplayed. Teams On the Slide: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals. Baltimore has too many older players — although the Orioles have a fine nucleus of young talent. The only problems is trying to find room for the new blood. Both Chicago teams are in big
favorite — against West Noble
They can probably make more mistakes than us, and still win. For us to have a chance at winning, we have to play nearly errorfree basketball.” Defensively, Wawasee has the edge. \\ // TIM MANGAS The Warriors play a more intense style of defense, often times switching defenses on each trip downcourt by the opponent. West Noble’s ability to recognize Wawasee’s defense, then, ac-
from two free throws by Zeltwanger. Buffalo State connected on a long three-point field at the buzzer to give the final scoring margin. GAME SUMMARY GRACE (42) FG FT TP Zeltwanger2-» 3-4 8 Goeglein4-11 3-8 8 Teske 5-13 0 1 10 Packer 4-7 6-» 14 Graham 7-18 3-6 18 Hans 1-2 0-0 2 Coleyo-5 2-2 2 Ruleyo-o o-o o Swiharto-0 0-2 0 Totals 23-65 14-23 62 Team Fouls. 10 Team rebounds: 4» (Graham, Teske — 10) BUFFALO ST. (58) FG FT TP Kwiatek2-5 0-0 4 Wnukl-5 0-0 2 Walters 6-12 4-6 16 Tully i l-4 0-0 2 Bradley 4-7 0-0 8 Young 3-6 0-0 8 Escotto2-4 0-0 4 Steward 4-6 0-0 8 McCarthy3-6 2-3 7 Totals 26*56 4-6 58 Team Fouls: 21 Team Rebounds: 34 (Walters — ») Halftime score: Grace 33, Buffalo St. 32 Graham led the Lancer cause with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Worth Packer chipped in 14 points while Teske, who broke a 56-56 tie with a 15 foot jump shot late in the game, ended with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Lancers, after the championship game, continue their 17-day east coast swing with a game Monday, Jan. 5, at Eastern College.
trouble this season. The Cubs have no pitching, and a cast of aging, over-the-hill veterans. The White Sox are in better shape, but they are on the way down as well. St. Louis, well, after a great year two years ago, are about to break up. Too many egos in this city. Moving to the National Basketball Association, lets take a look at the cream of the crop in this sport. Most Valuable Player: Any doubt? Michael Jordan. . Jordan is everything to the Chicago Bulls. He averaged 37 points a game, rebounds, leads the team in steals, blocks shots, and is second in assists. The only thing he is not asked to do is clean the stadium after each game. Honorable Mention: Larry Bird (Boston), Kareem AbdulJabbar (Los Angeles Lakers), Magic Johnson (LA Lakers), Akeem Olajuwan (Houston). Most Surprising Teams: Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets. The Jazz have battled the Dallas Mavericks all season, and look to continue throughout the remainder of the year. Portland, after a couple of mediocre years, have rebounded this season and are only a handful of games behind the league-leading Lakers.
Chicago, although playing onegame above .500, have already won 14 games. The Bulls only won 25 games all last season. The final surprise is the poor performance demonstrated by the Houston Rockets. Houston has a 10-17 record and are 9 games behind Dallas. Finally, with the college foot-
curately attack it, is key to the Chargers. “We know that they play sound defense,” added Mathew. “They do so many things well. This will probably be our toughest opponent so far this season. ”
WARRIORS’ MID-SEASON REPORT CARD
- GUARDS g Just like in the classroom, where students perform for a grade, Wawasee’s boys basketball team — at the midway point of their season — have been graded on their play in 1986. Below is a breakdown of each position and the grade. An overall grade will be figured at the close of this mid-term report card. Os course, the strength of this basketball team is the guard play. Wawasee’s backcourt boasts the Northern Lakes Conference's leading scorer, Tim Mangasand two other capable performers. Still, it has been the play of Mangas that has carried this group of over-achievers to a 7-1 mark at Christmas. Mangas is averaging 27 points a game. However, Darrin Atwood and Nathan Rhoades have proven to be dependable, both offensively and defensively. Atwood was the better shooter in the first half, but not by much. Both average seven points a game, but Atwood is a 48% shooter and Rhoades cans 47% of his shots. ’ 0 From the free throw line, Atwood shoots 84% compared to Rhoades’ 73%. FORWARDS The improvement of Mike Eastman, Brian Rensberger, and John Erasure, has given coach Gary Goshert three dependable players inside. Although not gifted with exceptional talent, all three have contributed to Wawasee’s surprising start. Os the three. Eastman has played the most minutes, however. Erasure, after a slow beginning, lately, has seen more time on the floor than on Gosherts' bench. Rensberger. another slow starter — due to injury — has progressed into a good, rebounder. He also protects the ball well with his ball handling skills. . CENTERS Probably the most improved player on Wawasee’s squad this season plays the pivot for the Warriors —Fred Steffen. Standing 6-3. Steffen is the teams leading rebounder, and is to Mangas in scoring — 14 points a contest. The strength to Steffen’s play is his ability to stay under control at both ends of the court. On offense, he has the ability to score underneath, as well as from the perimeter. Perhaps his most effective shot is his turn-around jumper inside the paint. Eastman, Rensberger, and Erasure all back up the Warriors’ junior center. ———— i During the early part of the season, Wawasee’s bench was called upon to play a lot of minutes. It was thought, entering the season, that the bench would not be overally strong. But that has not been the case. Brett Harter, who started the season as a starting guard, has developed into a quality member off the Warriors’ bench. Other key players coming off Goshert’s bench are James Braggs, a good defensive player; Matt Dick, a good outside shooter, although the sophomore guard has struggled early with lack of confidence. Erasure and Rensberger have also turned out to be valuable contributors off the bench for the Warriors. COACHING Who would have thought that Wawasee would have a 7-1 record at the midway point of the season? Not too many people, including first- year head coach, Gary Goshert. The War- K .._. riors have been able to adapt to Goshert 's coaching philosophy without many difficulties, at least it seems that way. In turning Wawasee’s program around. Goshert has preached fundamentals. The Warriors have gone back to the basics, and that, along with their hard work, has paid nice dividends to Wawasee’s basketball program. Still, some of the credit must go to assistant coaches Troy Albert. Neal Frantz.and Roger Brady. All three have been instrumental in guiding Wawasee’s young program. Perhaps one the keys to Goshert's coaching success this season has been the work of Frantz, the only holdover from John Wysong’s staff. The second-year coach has lessened the pressure from the coaching transition period with his knowledge ol the players and realizing what needs to be accomplished. OVERALL GRADE Compared to last season’s finish, this group of Warriors would get an A+ . However, that is not a fair indication of their play so far. and should not be compared right now. The basis for comparison is the way they have played this season, and against the opponents they’ve played. So far, the Warriors have been a little inconsistent. They play good for three quarters, then mess up in the other period. Nevertheless. Wawasee, upon my grading scale, gets a B- They are impressive, but there’s still room for improvement.
ball season in its final week — bowl games — I want to address two topics here. Best Team in 1986: Oklahoma. Honorable Mention: Michigan, Penn State, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Miami of Florida. My reason for selecting Oklahoma as the best college football team is based on its defense. If Michigan had an Oklahoma-type defense, it would be the best team in the country. They’re a close second, however. Anyway, Penn State, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Miami of Florida round out my top five. Ohio State was seventh and lowa 10th. Dishonorable Mention: Purdue. □ Saturday evening will be a big night for Wawasee head basketball coach Gary Goshert. Goshert, as many of you know, came to Wawasee this year from West Noble — the Warriors’ Saturday opponent. Thus, Saturday evening will be the first time in his coaching career that Goshert will go against his former team. I’m sure it won’t be the last. But for the personable coach, winning the game, regardless who it is against, is the most important aspect of the evening. □ Former Wawasee girls’ basketball player Christy Speicher will be in the area Thursday, Jan. 8, when she leads her Tri-State University Trojans basketball team to Goshen for a 7 p.m. contest with the Maple Leafs. Tri-State is 6-6 on the season. □
For Wawasee, this contest should start the second half of the season like the Warriors began the first — with a win. “We’re just looking to take advantage of whatever situation they dictate,” added Goshert.
Once again, it was Derk Kuhn and Rich Rhodes bringing up the rear from last weeks predictions. Although it was a slow week, both soothsayers guest 'correctly on three of the five selections. With Kuhn’s misfortune, he falls from second to fourth — but only one game out of second. Rhodes, on the other hand, remained in the cellar, 12 games behind the leader, Mark Weinstein. Hopefully, with the relatively easy schedule of selections this week, both prognosticators will improve their percentage and standings. Also hoping to improve in the standings is Deb Plikerd, this weeks guest panelist. Plikerd was selected out of necessity. With this being the last week of 1986, and the fact that I have failed to comply witff Indiana Law — stating that one female must serve on this panel at least once during a calendar year — I decided there was no better time than this week to have Plikerd join the group of regular soothsayers. Still, that’s not the only reason why Plikerd was picked. She is also an avid sports fan — although its professional wrestling. The 1976 Fairfield High School graduate informed me that she follows pro wrestling very closely. In fact, she even knows the majority of moves performed by her favorite wrestler — Hulk Hogan. I certainly hope she has a good week of picks — I would hate to find myself on the floor after one of Plikerd’s body slams.
“We’ll do whatever we have to in order to win.” After the contest with the Chargers, Wawasee takes another week off before playing Northern Lakes Conference foe, Plymouth.
The final card of 1986 includes a host of college football bowl games, including the one that SHOULD decide the national championship (I am still hoping for miracles... a Michigan national championship). Besides the Penn State - Miami clash in the Fiesta Bowl, other games include Colorado - Baylor (Bluebonnet); Indiana - Florida State (All-American); Texas A&M - Ohio State (Cotton); LSU - Nebraska (Sugar); Arizona State - Michigan (Rose); Oklahoma - Arkansas (Orange); West Noble at Wawasee (SCORE); and Westview at Goshen. MARK WEINSTEIN (.886) — Colorado, Florida St., Ohio State, Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma. Penn State, Wawasee (84-48), Westview. MARK HUFFMAN (.773) —Colorado, Florida St., Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Wawasee (64-56), Goshen. HOMER MILLER (.773 ) —Baylor, Indiana, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma, Miami, Wawasee (73-48), Goshen. DERK KUHN (.750) —Baylor, Florida St., Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, Arkansas, Penn State, Wawasee (78-46), Westview. ♦DEB PLIKERD (.727 ) —Colorado, Indiana, Ohio State, Nebraska Michigan, Oklahoma, Miami, Wawasee (72-64), Westview. RICH RHODES (.614) — Colorado, Indiana, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma, Miami, Wawasee (85-71), Goshen. *Denotes Guest Panelist