Hurricanes, Blue Lions battle for hardwood title
By
Bob Patton-
(Continued from last week.)
The injury to Miami Trace’s all-league player Scott Grooms’ knee turned out to be strained tendons, and he would be out of action for at least a month. The Panthers did not have a great deal of depth, and this would be a major blow to their chances of winning the league title.
Sophomore Jeff King was moved up to replace Grooms.
On Friday, Jan. 5, the two Fayette County rivals met in the WCH gym. When the dust had settled, the Blue Lions were victorious, 53-44.
Wilmington enjoyed a rather easy 74-51 win over visiting Circleville. Hillsboro led Madison Plains by one at halftime, but couldn’t hold on, and dropped a 67-61 decision to the Golden Eagles. Greenfield McClain broke a 22 game regular season losing streak by edging Teays Valley 60-59.
Tuesday, Jan. 9, saw Washington defeat Hillsboro 62-53 on the Indians court behind a 29 point effort by Steve Pritchet. In other SCOL action, Madison Plains outscored Circleville by an amazing 25-4 in the fourth quarter, at Circleville, to turn a close game into a laugher, beating the Tigers 70-56. In Wilmington, the Hurricane blew the McClain Tigers away 85-48. Teays Valley squeaked by Miami Trace by a whisker, 68-67.
After seven league games, the standings were:
Wilmington – 7-0, 8-1
Washington – 6-1, 7-3
M. Plains – 4-3, 7-3
Miami Trace – 4-3, 4-4
Teays Valley – 3-4, 3-6
Circleville – 2-5, 3-6
Hillsboro – 1-6, 2-6
McClain – 1-6, 1-9
Steve Pritchet’s 29 points against Hillsboro was enough to put him in the top spot in the individual scoring race in the SCOL. The 6’3” WCH senior had scored 130 points in seven SCOL games, thus far, for an average of 18.6. Jon Cole of Hillsboro and John Persinger of Miami Trace had each totaled 125 points in seven games for identical averages of 17.9 ppg.
Cole was still in the lead in all games (not just SCOL contests) with a 20.5 ppg average, followed by Wilmington’s Barry Turner who averaged 18.
Friday, Jan. 12 saw the Washington Blue Lions improved their record to 8-3 when they took a 55-48 win over Circleville. The new league-leading scorer, Steve Pritchet, was held to only 9 points. Dennis Dahmer’s 16 markers led the Lions.
At Miami Trace, the McClain Tigers pushed the Panthers hard throughout the game but came up short, 57-49. The Panthers were beset with problems this season.
Scott Grooms had been out nearly a month. He was back, now, but wearing a large knee brace. John Persinger had been in a car accident and was playing in considerable pain. And, three backup players had quit the team. Hall was having one of those seasons coaches wish they could forget, but can’t.
Wilmington traveled to London and took a hard-fought 55-52 win over the Madison South Golden Eagles. The Eagles had the lead in the fourth quarter, but shot only 10 for 21 from the free throw line.
In Hillsboro, the Indians racked up 27 fourth-quarter points to overtake the Teays Valley Vikings, who had held an 11-point halftime lead. The upstart Indians outscored TV, 50-35 in the second half. The final score was Hillsboro 76, Teays Valley 72. Jon Cole’s 21 points led the Indians, while Dickie Brown had 16 for TV.
As a result of Washington’s win over Circleville, WCH remained only one game behind the league leading Wilmington Hurricane, and was trying to keep the pressure on. The next night, Jan. 13, Wilmington’s nine-game win streak was broken when the Hurricane was downed in a non-league game by East Clinton, 80-70. East Clinton was 10-1, so they were a very competitive squad.
January 19 saw the Hillsboro Indians travel to Miami Trace, where they came within a whisker of beating the struggling Panthers. Scott Grooms hit eight free throws in the fourth quarter and the Panthers edged the Indians, 49-47.
Washington entertained Madison Plains and took an exciting 66-52 win from the Eagles after the score was tied 28-28 at halftime. Circleville clobbered McClain, 74-45.
Jon Cole was back in the lead in the individual scoring race, leading the way in both SCOL and overall scoring. Cole’s average was 18.2 ppg in SCOL games and 21.8 in overall competition. He was followed by Steve Pritchet and Barry Turner.
On Jan. 26, Miami Trace appeared to be finally coming around, when they edged Circleville, 61-58. The Panthers played very good defense, hit the boards and ran their offense effectively, resulting in very balanced scoring. Pete Harrison and Mark Morrison of Circleville got 36 points between them, but the Tigers didn’t get much from anyone else. The win raised Trace’s league record to 7-3.
Elsewhere, Wilmington got a 79-67 win over Hillsboro, as the Indians tumbled to 2-8. Even though McClain put 27 points on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, Madison Plains scored an easy victory over the Tigers, 84-62. Washington traveled to Ashville, where they totally wiped out Teays Valley, 79-48.
As a side note, highly successful football coach Fred Zechman resigned at Miami Trace. Zechman had been named quarterback-wide receiver coach at Ohio State University. In six seasons at MT, Zechman had posted an overall record of 53-6-1. He was named Southeastern District AAA Coach of the year in four of his six seasons at Trace.
On Jan. 30, Miami Trace hosted the Wilmington Hurricane, while WCH entertained the McClain Tigers. Teays Valley played host to Madison Plains and Circleville made the trek to Hillsboro.
The MT vs. Wilmington game was a barnburner, but Barry Turner and Bob Williams scored 49 points between them and edged the Panthers, 67-65, as John Persinger totaled 27 for Trace.
The Teays Valley Vikings hammered Madison Plains, 89-64 in what many thought would be a close game. Dickie Brown hit for 31 points for MP, but nobody else contributed much. Teays Valley had four men in double figures. Hillsboro also had four men in double figures as they downed Circleville, 73-67. Cole and Jackson totaled 20 and 17 points, respectively, while Gilliland and Banks each scored 11.
At Washington, the Blue Lions blitzed McClain 82-37. Pritchet and Dahmer scored 24 and 18 for the winners, while McClain had nobody scoring more than 8 points.
Going into February, Wilmington led the SCOL with a 10-0 league mark and an 11-3 overall record. Washington was 10-1 and 11-4, Miami Trace was 7-4 in the league. Hillsboro was struggling at 3-8 in the SCOL and 6-8 overall. McClain was at the bottom of the standings at 1-10 and 1-13.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The injury to Miami Trace’s all-league player Scott Grooms’ knee turned out to be strained tendons, and he would be out of action for at least a month. The Panthers did not have a great deal of depth, and this would be a major blow to their chances of winning the league title.
Sophomore Jeff King was moved up to replace Grooms.
On Friday, Jan. 5, the two Fayette County rivals met in the WCH gym. When the dust had settled, the Blue Lions were victorious, 53-44.
Wilmington enjoyed a rather easy 74-51 win over visiting Circleville. Hillsboro led Madison Plains by one at halftime, but couldn’t hold on, and dropped a 67-61 decision to the Golden Eagles. Greenfield McClain broke a 22 game regular season losing streak by edging Teays Valley 60-59.
Tuesday, Jan. 9, saw Washington defeat Hillsboro 62-53 on the Indians court behind a 29 point effort by Steve Pritchet. In other SCOL action, Madison Plains outscored Circleville by an amazing 25-4 in the fourth quarter, at Circleville, to turn a close game into a laugher, beating the Tigers 70-56. In Wilmington, the Hurricane blew the McClain Tigers away 85-48. Teays Valley squeaked by Miami Trace by a whisker, 68-67.
After seven league games, the standings were:
Wilmington – 7-0, 8-1
Washington – 6-1, 7-3
M. Plains – 4-3, 7-3
Miami Trace – 4-3, 4-4
Teays Valley – 3-4, 3-6
Circleville – 2-5, 3-6
Hillsboro – 1-6, 2-6
McClain – 1-6, 1-9
Steve Pritchet’s 29 points against Hillsboro was enough to put him in the top spot in the individual scoring race in the SCOL. The 6’3” WCH senior had scored 130 points in seven SCOL games, thus far, for an average of 18.6. Jon Cole of Hillsboro and John Persinger of Miami Trace had each totaled 125 points in seven games for identical averages of 17.9 ppg.
Cole was still in the lead in all games (not just SCOL contests) with a 20.5 ppg average, followed by Wilmington’s Barry Turner who averaged 18.
Friday, Jan. 12 saw the Washington Blue Lions improved their record to 8-3 when they took a 55-48 win over Circleville. The new league-leading scorer, Steve Pritchet, was held to only 9 points. Dennis Dahmer’s 16 markers led the Lions.
At Miami Trace, the McClain Tigers pushed the Panthers hard throughout the game but came up short, 57-49. The Panthers were beset with problems this season.
Scott Grooms had been out nearly a month. He was back, now, but wearing a large knee brace. John Persinger had been in a car accident and was playing in considerable pain. And, three backup players had quit the team. Hall was having one of those seasons coaches wish they could forget, but can’t.
Wilmington traveled to London and took a hard-fought 55-52 win over the Madison South Golden Eagles. The Eagles had the lead in the fourth quarter, but shot only 10 for 21 from the free throw line.
In Hillsboro, the Indians racked up 27 fourth-quarter points to overtake the Teays Valley Vikings, who had held an 11-point halftime lead. The upstart Indians outscored TV, 50-35 in the second half. The final score was Hillsboro 76, Teays Valley 72. Jon Cole’s 21 points led the Indians, while Dickie Brown had 16 for TV.
As a result of Washington’s win over Circleville, WCH remained only one game behind the league leading Wilmington Hurricane, and was trying to keep the pressure on. The next night, Jan. 13, Wilmington’s nine-game win streak was broken when the Hurricane was downed in a non-league game by East Clinton, 80-70. East Clinton was 10-1, so they were a very competitive squad.
January 19 saw the Hillsboro Indians travel to Miami Trace, where they came within a whisker of beating the struggling Panthers. Scott Grooms hit eight free throws in the fourth quarter and the Panthers edged the Indians, 49-47.
Washington entertained Madison Plains and took an exciting 66-52 win from the Eagles after the score was tied 28-28 at halftime. Circleville clobbered McClain, 74-45.
Jon Cole was back in the lead in the individual scoring race, leading the way in both SCOL and overall scoring. Cole’s average was 18.2 ppg in SCOL games and 21.8 in overall competition. He was followed by Steve Pritchet and Barry Turner.
On Jan. 26, Miami Trace appeared to be finally coming around, when they edged Circleville, 61-58. The Panthers played very good defense, hit the boards and ran their offense effectively, resulting in very balanced scoring. Pete Harrison and Mark Morrison of Circleville got 36 points between them, but the Tigers didn’t get much from anyone else. The win raised Trace’s league record to 7-3.
Elsewhere, Wilmington got a 79-67 win over Hillsboro, as the Indians tumbled to 2-8. Even though McClain put 27 points on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, Madison Plains scored an easy victory over the Tigers, 84-62. Washington traveled to Ashville, where they totally wiped out Teays Valley, 79-48.
As a side note, highly successful football coach Fred Zechman resigned at Miami Trace. Zechman had been named quarterback-wide receiver coach at Ohio State University. In six seasons at MT, Zechman had posted an overall record of 53-6-1. He was named Southeastern District AAA Coach of the year in four of his six seasons at Trace.
On Jan. 30, Miami Trace hosted the Wilmington Hurricane, while WCH entertained the McClain Tigers. Teays Valley played host to Madison Plains and Circleville made the trek to Hillsboro.
The MT vs. Wilmington game was a barnburner, but Barry Turner and Bob Williams scored 49 points between them and edged the Panthers, 67-65, as John Persinger totaled 27 for Trace.
The Teays Valley Vikings hammered Madison Plains, 89-64 in what many thought would be a close game. Dickie Brown hit for 31 points for MP, but nobody else contributed much. Teays Valley had four men in double figures. Hillsboro also had four men in double figures as they downed Circleville, 73-67. Cole and Jackson totaled 20 and 17 points, respectively, while Gilliland and Banks each scored 11.
At Washington, the Blue Lions blitzed McClain 82-37. Pritchet and Dahmer scored 24 and 18 for the winners, while McClain had nobody scoring more than 8 points.
Going into February, Wilmington led the SCOL with a 10-0 league mark and an 11-3 overall record. Washington was 10-1 and 11-4, Miami Trace was 7-4 in the league. Hillsboro was struggling at 3-8 in the SCOL and 6-8 overall. McClain was at the bottom of the standings at 1-10 and 1-13.
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]