The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 42, Milford, Kosciusko County, 2 December 1987 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., December 2,1987

8

Sports

Free throws save Warriors

I By MARK HUFFMAN Staff Writer | J SYRACUSE - Timely free ’ throw shooting and a patient offense salvaged a six point win for the Wawasee Warriors in varsity i basketball action Friday night. t

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CHECKING OUT — Brett Harter, right, tries to get around Mishawaka’s Thad Johnson during action in Wawasee’s 84-78 victory Friday. Harter suffered a contusion to the head in the second half and failed to return. (rhoio by Mark Huffman)

Bellmont wins Warrior Classic

SYRACUSE - Top-ranked Bellmont surprised no one in last weekend’s Warrior Classic, breezing through the eight-team tourney for the championship. The battle for second, though, was exciting. Warsaw placed second at 7-1, while Wawasee was third, 6-2 Columbia City followed the Warriors, as did Eastside, Whitko, North Miami, Fort Wayne Elmhurst and Fairfield. Wawasee, 6-1, entering the final event and Warsaw, 6-1, SHAWNJONES

Sports injustices continue at college level

When will the injustices of this world stop. To me, it doesn’t look like the vicious cycleswill ever slow down, let alone, stop. The latest injustice, a well publicized incident, has given college football a bad name. Such a trend seems more commonplace than not. The distasteful act occurred in college football's mecca. For those not used to such a term, then college football’s capital. Mark My Words J k MARK WEINSTEIN VT <1 Many noteworthy athletes and coaches have come out of this town. In fact, the largest university in America has produced individuals like Bobby Knight, John Havilicek, Bill Mallory, Rex Kern, Glenn E. (Bo) Schembechler, Archie Griffin and Woody Hayes. The list could go on forever. Although the names above are famous in their own right, perhaps the most popular Ohio State Buckeye, as 1988 approaches, is former OSU football coach Earle Bruce. The Buckeye

In charge of the contest for most of the game, the Warrior five managed to sustain a late Mishawaka comeback to notch their first win of the season, 84-78. “We did a nice job offensively in the first half, but in the second half we seemed to forget bow

engaged in an old-fashioned bout. Both squads traded victories throughout, setting the stage for a winner-take-all match at heavyweight. The heavyweight match was as tight as the entire match. Warsaw’s Jon Smith held a 2-1 lead after the first period, only to see the lead disappear as the third session opened. Wawasee’s Dan O’Haver escaped Smith near the end of the second session, evening the score at 3-all. The final two minutes were exciting as both wrestlers enjoyed success. In the end, however, Smith claimed an 8-5 win, giving the Tigers second place. Winning in the final match for Wawasee were Shawn Jones, by technical pin; Chad Jones, 17-3 decision; Tom Mangas, a 6-5 action-packed decision; Bob Doerr, pin; Josh Lantz, 9-8 decision; and Garrett Ponciroli, pin. The Warriors opened the Classic’s first day with three victories and one setback. Bellmont whipped the Warriors in the third round, 55-15. It was Bellmont’s toughest competition of the day. In Wawasee’s opener, the Warriors had little trouble defeating Whitko. The Warriors doubled the Wildcats, 55-24, to begin impressively.

mentor ot nine years was unmercifully released of his coaching duties one week prior to Ohio State’s season-finale at Michigan. The chopping of Bruce’s head by OSU president, Edward H. Jennings, was in poor taste. The move not only lacked character, but showed Jennings’ lack of integrity. But that’s Ohio State tyIronically, Ohio State’s last publicized embarrassment — the punch Hayes threw in a postseason bowl game, led to the Firing of Hayes and hiring of Bruce. Who knows what will happen to Bruce’s replacement. Perhaps the next coach will be highly successful, win the Big Ten, Rose Bowl and national championship. Don’t count on it, unless the right coach takes the position. Perhaps he’ll lose more games than any coach in OSU history. Don’t count on that, either. Or, perhaps, the next coach will win, like Hayes and Bruce, be well liked by OSU boosters but then have a sex scandal, ala Jim Bakker, blow up in his face and get canned. I wouldn’t count that out as a possibility. Whatever happens at Ohio State is secondary to what happened two weeks ago. fans in Indiana probably couldn't care less about the firing of the most successful Big Ten coach this decade. I agree. But, it could have a devastating affect in this state if the Buckeyes lure the Hoosiers’ mentor,

we’d gotten there,” Wawasee Coach Gary Goshert said of the contrasting style of play that netted a 47-35 advantage in the first half and a 37-43 disadvantage in the final stanza. The clock was the Cavemen’s only enemy as they scored 30 points before time ran out in the fourth quarter.. The visitors only averaged 16 points in the first three stanzas. Relying on 16-of-25 shooting from the charity stripe In the final quarter, Wawasee managed to hang on for the win after enjoying a 14 point lead before the hot quarter set in for Mishawaka. Darin Atwood paced the Warriors down the stretch, hitting six-of-eight free throw attempts and supplying two of Wawasee’s three field goals. Senior Brian Rensberger supplied the only other two-pointer of the period. “We shot well from the line, but we wanted to take better shots in the final quarter, such as uncontested shots or a layup,” Goshert noted. Overall, Atwood found the mark during most of the game, hitting nine-of-14 field goals, including a three-pointer, and eight- of-nine free throws for a game leading 27 points. Junior Matt Dick provided invaluable service in the backcourt, coming in to score 11 points in the Warriors lopsided second quarter and 16 points overall. Fred Steffen added 14 for the winners, while Rensberger finished with 13.

JOSH LANTZ After Bellmont devoured the Warriors, Wawasee downed North Miami. 58-15. The Warriors knocked off Elmhurst in the final round of the day, 59-16, to close the competition. Although Wawasee’s record, 6-2, is impressive, coach Dave VanLue hinted the Warriors were too inconsistent during the twoday event. Individual results for the Warriors were Rick Weaver (103),

Mallory. I thought that would perk up your ears. Although it’s just speculation, Mallory has been mentioned as a possible successor to Bruce. He would certainly be the right man for the job in Columbus. But, if he goes, so does Indiana’s football program. For the first time in decades, the Hoosiers are going to a bowl game for the second straight year. That’s unheard of when thinking about Indiana football. But that is what Mallory has brought to Indiana —a winning football program. Can you imagine what Mallory would do at Ohio State, given the talent the Buckeyes land year after year? I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bucks celebrating a national championship — something rare among Big Ten teams. Still, Mallory would have to accept the position, which is, only, speculation at this point. But the veteran coach would be crazy not to accept the post, perhaps the most- glamorous football position in the country. . For sake of argument, the OSU position ranks in the top five in the land. Other schools vying for supremacy include Notre Dame (probably the most coveted coaching position), Nebraska, Michigan and Alabama. “ Maybe Mallory will spurn an OSU invitation, wait it out at Indiana until Schembechler steps aside at Michigan. The veteran coach might have one year of coaching left in him. Then again, this could be his last go-around. Speculation that’s all this is.

Four of Mishawaka’s starting five carded double figures, with forward Phil Thornton showing his senior leadership by scoring nine of his 11 points in the final half. Classmate Mark Benner took Cavemen scoring honors with 18 points on the night, while Steve Gruler poured in 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior center Glen Fairley took advantage of the inside in the fourth quarter to draw Warrior fouls and net four of seven points from the free throw line. Fairley finished with 15 points and a team high nine rebounds. Despite facing a taller starting five, Wawasee managed to snare two more rebounds (39-37) than the Cavemen. ° However, the telling story for the Warriors may have been from the charity stripe, where they hit 87 percent (27 of 31) to the Cavemen’s 55 percent (15 of 27). Wawasee also out-shot Mishawaka from the field 49 percent (27 of 55) to 33 percent (28 of 75). Hoping to become more consistent defensively, the Warriors will have all aspects of their game tested this Friday when they host sixth-ranked Concord. The Elkhart club takes a 2-0 record into the contest, coming off a 44-40 win against Warsaw, which attempted to slow down the game against the quick Minutemen. “This is a big week of preparation for us — getting ready for conference action,” Goshert seid

4-3; Brad Gerstner (112), 4-3; Shawn Jones (119), 8-0; Chad Jones (125), 7-1; Kevin Lapola (130), 5-3; Mangas (125), 6-2; Doerr (140), 5-2; Kerry Schrock

Lancers whip St. Francis

WINONA LAKE - Grace College raised its season record to 8-1 Tuesday evening as the Lancers breezed to an 97-57 nonconference victory over St. Francis. The outcome was never in doubt as Jim Kessler’s squad raced to a 42-24 first half lead. St. Francis could get no closer than the 18-point halftime spread. Although the Lancers claimed the victory, the big news from Grace was Brooks Koble’s Lancer debut. The former Wawasee Warrior, injured last season and throughout this campaign, played sparingly but netted 10 points/ Former Concord product, Tyler Coley, and Ben Teske led the Lancers with 20 points each. Darrell Gudeman and Koble each scored 10 points apiece in the lopsided win.

Heidi Brower continues to impress Vincennes University’s bowling coaches as the former Warriors has developed into one of the top bowlers on the Blazers’ womens team. Last week Brower led the Lady Blazers with a 173 average over nine games. Brower was competing in the National Team Match Games Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. Vincennes placed 12th in one-of-two 16-school divisions. □ DePauw University, 1-2, hosted Hanover College Tuesday evening and face Earlham Thursday, Dec. 3, at Earlham. Tim Mangas has yet to see varsity action for the Tigers. □ Carlton Fisk, Chicago White Sox, and Mike Boddicker, Baltimore Orioles, will be in South Bend on Sunday, Dec. 20, for a baseball cards show. The event will be held in the Ramada Inn on U.S. 33 at 1-80. Fisk, a future hall of fame inductee, and Boddicker, a championship series MVP, will talk baseball, sign autographs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the card show. □ Parity has not only affected professional athletics, particularly the National Football League, but has seemingly joined our expert panel of .prognosticators. After one week of predicting high school and college basketball, no member is above .500. Maybe the percentages will rise as the season progresses. The downfall of the experts was selecting Wawasee to lose to Mishawaka and Grace, 7-0, enter-

of the Warriors first Northern Lakes Conference tilt. Senior Brett Harter and junior Matt Koble, who banged heads in the second half of the Mishawaka game and suffered eye cuts that required stitches, are both expected to be ready Friday. The Warriors will also take their second road trip of the season, Saturday, Dec. 5, when they travel to Prairie Heights for a non-conference battle. WAWASEE (44) FG IFG FT TP J. Carey 1 9 7 9 D. Atwood 1 • J7 B. Bonner 1 0 0 2 F. Steffen 9 0 2 14 B. Rensberger 9 0 1 13 M.Dick 2 1 9 U B. Harter 0 0 0 0 M. Koble 0 10 3 R. o 0 0 0 J.Frasure 0 0 0 0 Totals 24 3 27 04 Team Fouls: 20 MISHAWAKA (70) FG 3FG FT TP P.Thornton 3 0 5 11 M Benner 5 2 2 10 G. Fairley 5 0 S IS R Wood 2 1 0 7 S. Gruler 4 3 0 17 M. Brown 2 0 1 S P.Mumaw 0 0 0 0 D.DeCraene 0 0 2 2 T. Johnson o 0 0 0 M. Ada ms 0 0 0 0 L.Hewitt o 1 0 3 Totals 21 7 15 79 Team Fouls: 22 Quarter scoring Mishawaka 20 15 13 30 -70 Wawasee 21 29 15 22 -04 Halftime score: Wawasee 44. Mishawaka 35 Preliminary Score: Wawasee 99, Mishawaka 40. Officials: Dave Raabe ana Bill Kachel (bvHi of Marte*

(146), 1-0; Chuck Losee (145), 5-3; Joel Reynolds (152), 1-6; Josh Lantz (160), 8-0; Jason Prescott (171), 2-5-1; Ponciroli (189), e-1; Dan O’Haver (Hwt), 5-3.

Another former Warrior, Seth Swihart, added six points, while Goshen’s Kevin Wilfong and Paul Zeltwanger both chipped in with six points. The Lancers, off to their best start since their 32-5 season in 1983, travel the next month. The Lancers’ next home game will be Tuesday, Jan. 19, against Bethel.

Wawasee JV's win

SYRACUSE - Wawasee’s junior varsity boys’ basketball team remained unbeaten Friday as the Warriors toppled Mishawaka, 59-48. The Warriors are 3-0 and off to their best start in recent years.

ing its Saturday game with Bellermine, to topple the Kentucky school. Everyone went with Mishawaka, however, not all members fell because of Grace. One Grace Alum (and there’s only one on this panel) accurately called the Lancers’ first loss. Looking to improve this week, the five panel members have nine games to make selections. Included in the list is Friday’s Concord-Wawasee matchup in Syracuse. The Warriors are coming off their first win of the season, while Concord, ranked fifth in the state, are 2-0. Other games are Goshen at Warsaw, Northridge at North Wood, Bremen at LaVille, Plymouth at Mishawaka, Howe at Bethany Christian, Kentucky at Indiana, Oregon at Purdue, Goshen College at St. Francis. MARK WEINSTEIN (.500) — Wawasee, Warsaw, Northridge, LaVille, Mishawaka, Bethany Christian, Indiana, Purdue, St. Francis. MARK HUFFMAN (.500) — Concord, Goshen, Northridge, Bremen, Plymouth, Bethany Christian, Indiana, Purdue, Goshen College. DERK KUHN (.500) — Concord, Goshen, Northridge, LaVille, Plymouth, Bethany Christian, Indiana, Purdue, St. Francis. DALE TOBIAS (.500) — Concord, Warsaw, Northridge, LaVille, Mishawaka, Bethany Christian, Indiana, Purdue. HOMER MILLER (.500) - Concord, Warsaw, North Wood, Bremen, Plymouth, Bethany Christian, Kentucky, Purdue, St. ’ Francis.

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HEAVYWEIGHT’S — Wawasee’s Dan O’Haver, right, thinks of away to defeat Whitko’s heaviest wrestler during the Warrior Classic. Wawasee won the match and eventually finished third in the competition. (Photo by Mark Huffman).

Grapplers pin Bremen, 49-17

SYRACUSE — Wawasee raised its wrestling mark to 7-2 Tuesday evening as the Warriors whipped Bremen, 49-17, in a Northern Lakes Conference match held at Wawasee. Although the victory was never in doubt, Wawasee head coach Dave . VanLue expressed some «?o!!cera about the Warriors’ inconsistency. “We have some young, and inexperienced wrestlers who make a lot of mistakes,” informed the second-year coach. “We still have a long way to go.” In claiming the lopsided win, Wawasee took the first eight weights. Only Joel Reynolds, Jason Prescott and Garrett Ponciroli failed to win.

Grace’s next action will be in the Malone Tournament this weekend. The Lancers face TriState Tuesday, Dec. 8, and Manchester four days later. In January, Grace will compete in the Great Bahamas Goombay Shootout before returning to Winona Lake.

Coach Neal Frantz’s squad looks for victory number four Friday night against Concord.

Concord trips Tigers

DUNLAP — Concord’s sixthranked Minutemen were expected to take the Tigers by the tail in Friday’s Northern Lakes Conference opener. Instead, Warsaw took the air out of the ball and nearly upset the Minutemen, only to drop a 44-40 decision at McCuen Gym. Concord improved its record to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference. Warsaw fell to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the NLC. Around the NLC The Minutemen put their unbeaten record on the line Friday evening at Wawasee, 1-2. The freeze strategy could have worked if the Tigers connected on their perimeter shots. Warsaw took 16 three-point shots, hitting just two. With Concord’s size, mainly, Shawn Kemp, the Tigers were unproductive in getting second shots at the basket. The Minutemen controlled the tempo in the first period, outscoring the visitors 14-6. But the middle two quarters were slow, to some, boring to watch. The intensity, however, increased as the final quarter opened. Trailing by nine, 26-17, after three, Warsaw rallied to cut Concord’s lead to four, 39-35 with :53 left. Both learns traded twopointers, Kemp a field goal and Warsaw’s Jason Zimmerman, two free throws, with :29 remaining but the Tigers had an opportunity to close the gap to two seconds later. After Concord’s Steve Larkin sank one of two free throws, Warsaw rebounded the missed freebie. Trailing 42-37, Warsaw’s Don Jones attempted a threepoint shot. The shot was blocked by Kemp, who retrieved the ball, then drove the length of the court

Rick Weaver opened the match with a forfeit victory. Then the ball started rolling in Wawasee’s direction. Brad Gerstner, a first-year wrestler, pinned Terry Burkins in 1:20. After Shawn Jones won by technical fall at the 2:20 mark, Chad Jones and Dan Beath wrestled to a 9-9 draw. Kevin Lepola, 130, pinned Mike Shumaker in 3:59, giving the Warriors the momentum and a comfortable margin. Tom Mangas decisioned Eric Gilbert, 8-2, before Bob Doerr pinned Shawn Kerth in 1:58. Chuck Losee continued to dominate his Bremen opponent at 145, outdueling Brad Blosser, 11-9. In the final five w.eight divisions, the Warriors claimed just two victories. Josh Lantz picked up the first one, a forfeit from the Lions. Then, in the match’s closing bout, Dan O’Haver, heavyweight, embarrassed Andy Rans, 20-6. Reynolds was pinned by Bob Sudhansky in 1:17, while Ron Coffel won by technical fall over Prescott in 3:40. Ponciroli was decisioned by Cory McKenzie, 7-2. In junior varsity action, Wawasee took five of the seven weight classes in rolling to a 26-9 victory. Winners for the Warriors included Matt Stump, 112, a 20-6 decision over Gary Bouge. Alex Lozano, 135, pinned Jeremy Higgins in 1:24, while Terry Schrock, 140, won by technical fall. Tony Hostetter pinned Chris Weslowski in 2:31 and Fred Gar-

for his sixth slam dunk of the game. Jones added a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded closing the margin to four points. The Kentucky-bound Kemp led Concord’s attack with 21 points and 14 rebounds. No other Concord player reached double figures in scoring. Zimmerman paced the Tigers’ attack with 14 points, while Brandon Creighton had 12 and Ty Woodruff added 10. NORTHRIDGE 71, BREMEN 59 — Good free throw shooting and a strong bench were enough for Northridge to win its first Northern Lakes Conference boys’ basketball game, whipping Bremen 71-59 Friday at Bremen. The Raiders hit 13-of-18 free throws in the final quarter to preserve the win. Until then, it was deadly perimeter shooting that carried Northridge. Northridge opened the contest by taking a 16-7 lead. The visitors extended the margin in the second quarter, thanks to poor field goal shooting by the Lions and a 13-0 scoring run. Bremen outscored the Raiders 42-34 in the final half, but the comeback fell short. Gary Zimmerman led Northridge’s attack with 17 points, including one three-pointer. Rod Davis added 13, while Kenny Rozzi scored 10. Mike Baer grabbed nine rebounds for the Raiders. Bremen enjoyed a balanced scoring attack as four players scored in double figures. Joe Bennett led the charge with 19 points, while Perry Mann, Casey Miller and Mark Tucker each scored 10 points. Bennett added six rebounds to the Lions’cause. a WAWASEE 84, MISHAWAKA 78 — Darin Atwood scored a careerhigh 27 points Friday as Wawasee slipped past Mishawaka, 84-78, in

za decisioned Pete Martin, 9-6, to close the match. The Warriors take one week off to prepare for Goshen in their second Northern Lakes Conference match. Wawasee Wrestling Results WawM«e4? (7-2), Brenwnir (1-5-1) 103 pounds: Rich Weaver (W), Forfeit 112 pounds: Brad Gerstner (W), pin, Mike Hochstetler (B), 1:20 119 pounds: Shawn Jones (W), T.F., Terry Burkins (B),2:20 125 pounds: Chad Jones (W), draw, Dan Beath (B), 9-2 130 pounds: Kevin Lepola (W), pin, Mike Shumaker (8),3:59 135 pounds: Tom Mangas (W), decision, Eric Gilbert (B),8-2 140 pounds: Bob Doerr (W), pin, Shawn Kertai (B), 1:58 145 pounds: Chuck Losee (W), decision, Brad Blosser (B), 11-9 152 pounds: Bob Sudhansky (B), pin, Joel Reynolds (W), 1:17 160 pounds: Josh Lantz (W), Forfeit 171 pounds: Ron Coffel (B), T.F., Jason Prescott (W), 3:40 189 pounds: Cory McKenzie (B), decision, Garrett Ponciroli (W), 7-2 HWT: Dan O'Haver (W), decision, Andy Rans (B), 20-6 JV Results Wawasee 26, Bremen 9 112 pounds: Matt Stump (W), decision, Gary Bogue (B), 20-6 130 pounds: Kerry Martin (B), decision, Chad Lauer (W), 4-2 135 pounds: Alex Lozano (W), pin, Jeremy Higgins (B), 1:24 140 pounds: Terry Schrock (W), T.F., Gary Johnson (B), 3:45 EXH.: Tony Hostetter (W), pin, Chris Weslowski (B), 2:31 189 pounds: Lee Wesley (B), pin, Ken Wright (W). 2:57 HW: Fred Garea (W), decision, Pete Martin (8),9-6

a non-conference boys’ basketball game. The win improved the Warriors’ mark to 1-2 and sets up Fri-) day’s showdown with undefeated Concord. The game begins at around 7:30 p.m. and is expected to be a sellout. The Warriors had things under control through three periods, only to see the Cavemen explode for 30 points in the final period. The surge erased a 62-48 lead, making the game close at the end. Matt Dick joined Atwood in double figures, scoring 16 points off the bench. Fred Steffen scored 14 and grabbed nine rebounds, while Brian Rensberger scored 13. Mark Benner scored 18 points for the Cavemen, while Steve Gruler added 17 and Glen Fairley, 15 and 10 rebounds. Phil Thornton added 11 points for the visitors. GOSHEN 44, ELKHART CENTRAL 41 — Mike Essig scored 22 points, half of Goshen’s output, as the Redskins bested Elkhart Central, 44-41, in a non-conference boys’ basketball game at Elkhart. It was a poor opener for both squads, evident by their poor shooting percentages. The Redskins managed just 37.5% field goal accuracy (16-for-43), while the Blue Blazers were 11-of-40 for 27.5%. Many of Goshen’s missed field goals were within six feet of the basket. In all, 13 shots failed to find the bottom of the net from inside the paint. Jeff Kollat scored 14 points to lead Elkhart’s attack. Pat Dempster grabbed 11 rebounds and i scored three points for the Blue Blazers. The Redskins travel Saturday ; to Warsaw for a Northern Lakes Conference clash with the winless Tigers. Goshen opens its home season six days later • against Fairfield.