Circleville, WCH led 1961 campaign
By
Bob Patton-
As the 1961 SCOL football season got under way, Coach Bob Watts’ McClain Tigers faced a rugged schedule with six games on the road and only four on McClain Field.
The ’61 Tigers would be generally smaller than the 1960 team, and, would lack some of the speed and quickness which was one of the trademarks of their SCOL champion 1960 team. They had lost many of the key players from the ’60 team through graduation, although they did have linemen George Ford and Raymond Smith back, along with running back Gene Garrison.
Additionally, the schedule didn’t favor the Tigers. They opened with tough Marietta at home. Marietta was one of the toughest class AA teams in the southeast district. They would be much bigger than McClain at almost every position.
Then the Tigers would face Jackson and Chillicothe, both on the road. Jackson had one of their best teams ever, and Chillicothe was always a rugged opponent.
McClain lost all three games, 30-16 to Marietta, 46-6 to Jackson and 26-8 to Chillicothe. The Tigers were 0-3 almost before the season got a good start, but they had lost to three outstanding teams. They would not be a pushover in SCOL competition.
Meanwhile, across the county, in Hillsboro, Coach Bill Atsalis was beginning his third year at the helm. Forty-eight boys had come out for the team, this year, and the Hillsboro coaches were looking forward to a successful season, after winning only one SCOL game in each of Atsalis’ first two seasons.
Varsity lettermen Bob Storer, Phil Stout and Harry Glaze were returning, along with Will Parr, Bob Stanforth, Doug Bays, Bob Hottle and Mike Collins. The forecast appeared to be bright for the Indians.
Atsalis’ team opened with three home games against Bethel Tate, Ironton and Williamsburg, before their first SCOL contest,
The Indians scalped Bethel 48-0 to open the season, then dropped a 35-0 game to Ironton, and beat Williamsburg 40-6. Both McClain and Hillsboro opened their league seasons the last week of September, with Franklin Heights plastering Hillsboro 38-8 and McClain taking the measure of Miami Trace 40-30, with Fred McCoppin, Jim Byers and Bill McCoy running wild on offense.
The next Friday night, the Tigers of McClain posted a 16-8 win over Pleasant View on the road, but they suffered debilitating injuries to McCoppin, Byers and Tom Doyle. Since Gene Garrison, Dick Warfield and Rich Grooms were already on the injured list and Raymond Smith was ill, the Tiger coaches had some major problems.
The same night, Washington downed the Hillsboro Indians 22-8 at Gardner Park, as the Indians coughed up the ball 5 times on turnovers.
Wilmington seemed to be emerging as the league powerhouse, as the Hurricane blew Circleville away 30-0, then clobbered McClain by an identical 30-0. Coach Dean Waddell’s orange and black was still undefeated, and appeared to be easily the class of the league.
In the middle of October, Wilmington and Franklin Heights both sported 3-0 records in league games (Wilmington was 6-0, overall), while McClain, Washington and Circleville were all tied for third place with 2-1 records and Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Pleasant View were all 0-3.
Lovely 17-year old-Sheila Stuckey was crowned Homecoming queen at McClain High School. Dianne DeHaas was senior attendant, Beverly Burris was junior attendant, Ann Gessner was sophomore attendant, and Sheryle Hamilton represented the freshmen. They were presented before the Franklin Heights game, at McClain. But Franklin Heights put somewhat of a damper on the evening’s festivities, by downing the Tigers 44 – 28. The same night, Hillsboro got their first league victory, beating winless Pleasant View 20-8.
Also, Wilmington was ambushed by Washington C.H., when the Blue Lions scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to stifle the Hurricane 22-12.
As a result of these games, Wilmington, Washington, Franklin Heights and Circleville were all tied for first place in the SCOL with 4-1 league marks. But on Nov. 3, in a drowning, drenching rain, the Indians of Hillsboro traveled to Wilmington and threw the league standings into a turmoil when they upset the Hurricane 14-8 in the quagmire. At the same time, Washington was hammering McClain 30-0 at Greenfield. The next Friday night, on the final night of a strange season, Hillsboro beat McClain 30-14, at Hillsboro (Hillsboro’s first win over the Tigers since 1952). Washington, Circleville and Wilmington all won their games, leaving the final SCOL football standings:
School W L
Circleville 6 1
Washington 6 1
Wilmington 5 2
Franklin Heights 4 3
Hillsboro 3 4
McClain 2 5
Miami Trace 2 5
Pleasant View 0 7
Ed Isham of Washington was the leading scorer in the league, racking up 13 touchdowns and ten extra points for a total of 88 points.
George Ford and Raymond Smith both represented McClain on the All-SCOL football squad. They were joined by: Harry Glaze and Phil Stout of Hillsboro, Pat Rooney, George Dade and Keith Thomerson of Circleville, Ed Isham, John Enochs, Ernie Herman and Carl Anders of Washington, Dwight Wallace, Larry Vanscoy, and Ron Nance of Wilmington, Robert Williams and Charles Wallace of Miami Trace, Robin Pendleton and Harold Cartright of Franklin Heights and Ray Palmerton of Pleasant View.
The age-old question, “Why do coaches get gray?” was brought to mind when Coach Dean Waddell’s Wilmington team stormed into week eight with a perfect 7-0 record, then lost two of the three remaining league contests, to drop to third place in the loop. That’s why they play the games.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press. Send comments to the Press at: hcpress@cinci.rr.com.[[In-content Ad]]
The ’61 Tigers would be generally smaller than the 1960 team, and, would lack some of the speed and quickness which was one of the trademarks of their SCOL champion 1960 team. They had lost many of the key players from the ’60 team through graduation, although they did have linemen George Ford and Raymond Smith back, along with running back Gene Garrison.
Additionally, the schedule didn’t favor the Tigers. They opened with tough Marietta at home. Marietta was one of the toughest class AA teams in the southeast district. They would be much bigger than McClain at almost every position.
Then the Tigers would face Jackson and Chillicothe, both on the road. Jackson had one of their best teams ever, and Chillicothe was always a rugged opponent.
McClain lost all three games, 30-16 to Marietta, 46-6 to Jackson and 26-8 to Chillicothe. The Tigers were 0-3 almost before the season got a good start, but they had lost to three outstanding teams. They would not be a pushover in SCOL competition.
Meanwhile, across the county, in Hillsboro, Coach Bill Atsalis was beginning his third year at the helm. Forty-eight boys had come out for the team, this year, and the Hillsboro coaches were looking forward to a successful season, after winning only one SCOL game in each of Atsalis’ first two seasons.
Varsity lettermen Bob Storer, Phil Stout and Harry Glaze were returning, along with Will Parr, Bob Stanforth, Doug Bays, Bob Hottle and Mike Collins. The forecast appeared to be bright for the Indians.
Atsalis’ team opened with three home games against Bethel Tate, Ironton and Williamsburg, before their first SCOL contest,
The Indians scalped Bethel 48-0 to open the season, then dropped a 35-0 game to Ironton, and beat Williamsburg 40-6. Both McClain and Hillsboro opened their league seasons the last week of September, with Franklin Heights plastering Hillsboro 38-8 and McClain taking the measure of Miami Trace 40-30, with Fred McCoppin, Jim Byers and Bill McCoy running wild on offense.
The next Friday night, the Tigers of McClain posted a 16-8 win over Pleasant View on the road, but they suffered debilitating injuries to McCoppin, Byers and Tom Doyle. Since Gene Garrison, Dick Warfield and Rich Grooms were already on the injured list and Raymond Smith was ill, the Tiger coaches had some major problems.
The same night, Washington downed the Hillsboro Indians 22-8 at Gardner Park, as the Indians coughed up the ball 5 times on turnovers.
Wilmington seemed to be emerging as the league powerhouse, as the Hurricane blew Circleville away 30-0, then clobbered McClain by an identical 30-0. Coach Dean Waddell’s orange and black was still undefeated, and appeared to be easily the class of the league.
In the middle of October, Wilmington and Franklin Heights both sported 3-0 records in league games (Wilmington was 6-0, overall), while McClain, Washington and Circleville were all tied for third place with 2-1 records and Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Pleasant View were all 0-3.
Lovely 17-year old-Sheila Stuckey was crowned Homecoming queen at McClain High School. Dianne DeHaas was senior attendant, Beverly Burris was junior attendant, Ann Gessner was sophomore attendant, and Sheryle Hamilton represented the freshmen. They were presented before the Franklin Heights game, at McClain. But Franklin Heights put somewhat of a damper on the evening’s festivities, by downing the Tigers 44 – 28. The same night, Hillsboro got their first league victory, beating winless Pleasant View 20-8.
Also, Wilmington was ambushed by Washington C.H., when the Blue Lions scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to stifle the Hurricane 22-12.
As a result of these games, Wilmington, Washington, Franklin Heights and Circleville were all tied for first place in the SCOL with 4-1 league marks. But on Nov. 3, in a drowning, drenching rain, the Indians of Hillsboro traveled to Wilmington and threw the league standings into a turmoil when they upset the Hurricane 14-8 in the quagmire. At the same time, Washington was hammering McClain 30-0 at Greenfield. The next Friday night, on the final night of a strange season, Hillsboro beat McClain 30-14, at Hillsboro (Hillsboro’s first win over the Tigers since 1952). Washington, Circleville and Wilmington all won their games, leaving the final SCOL football standings:
School W L
Circleville 6 1
Washington 6 1
Wilmington 5 2
Franklin Heights 4 3
Hillsboro 3 4
McClain 2 5
Miami Trace 2 5
Pleasant View 0 7
Ed Isham of Washington was the leading scorer in the league, racking up 13 touchdowns and ten extra points for a total of 88 points.
George Ford and Raymond Smith both represented McClain on the All-SCOL football squad. They were joined by: Harry Glaze and Phil Stout of Hillsboro, Pat Rooney, George Dade and Keith Thomerson of Circleville, Ed Isham, John Enochs, Ernie Herman and Carl Anders of Washington, Dwight Wallace, Larry Vanscoy, and Ron Nance of Wilmington, Robert Williams and Charles Wallace of Miami Trace, Robin Pendleton and Harold Cartright of Franklin Heights and Ray Palmerton of Pleasant View.
The age-old question, “Why do coaches get gray?” was brought to mind when Coach Dean Waddell’s Wilmington team stormed into week eight with a perfect 7-0 record, then lost two of the three remaining league contests, to drop to third place in the loop. That’s why they play the games.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press. Send comments to the Press at: hcpress@cinci.rr.com.[[In-content Ad]]