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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 2, 1967     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 2, 1967
 
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,/) ;: :i:  i!:i  Cli b Whip Wol F Fi L I Bill Oickie's SIDELINE SLANTS / m ers ves or rst eague A Successful Sfray Refurns :Y Shelton quintet raced to a 71 to 53 win Jerry Vermillion returns tomorrow night to the stepping stone from which he climbed 4 i/ years ago into college coaching •.. Shelton gymnasium. In the interim, since ending a four-sea- son stint as basketball mentor at Shelton high school, the last three of which repre- sented the lushest period in Highclimber hoop history, he has become firmly estab- lished and thoroughly respected among his - fellow practitioners of the cage art at the collegiate front. Tomorrow night he leads his fifth t. Martin's maple court brigade "back home" for his former sports neighbors to look over as they play the host role to the University of Alaska Huskies. It is a treat Vermillion has accorded Mason County basketball buffs each year since his departure to the campus at Lacey. It has been nothing short of a treat for him, too, for his Rangers (nee Saints) have yet to lose on the Shelton maple. They figure to keep that string intact tomorrow, too, although the Huskies come stoutly fanged and figure to be a serious contender for the NAIA regional playoffs this year, as do Vermillion's minions also. St. Martin's basketball has come a long way since Vermillion put his hand to the helm in 1962, giving the one-time Orphan Armies of Northwest college basketball a stability and respectability it had never before known. Vermillion's own satisfac- tion with his role as a small college coach makes for the stability. The respectability comes from the solid improvement in the record St. Martin's has shown under Ver- million's coaching. In the four years under his leadership the Saints have won almost as many games as they did in the ten years prior to his advent at the school. In 1965 the Saints earned a berth in the NAIA regional play- offs, an achievement never before realized at St. Martin's. That was St. Martin's pin- nacle basketball season, a 19-10 mark, with two of those deficit digits coming in the NAIA playoffs, Further respectability ve- cumulated last year when the Saints upset small college power Seattle Pacific, which was constructing the greatest season in its history on the way to the NAIA western finals. Yermilli,on's won-and-lost record since taking charge of the St. Martin's basketball program is not, statistical- ly, startling on the face of it, slightly over the break-even point, but it's a tremendous improvement over what it was prior to his coming into the Saint picture, when a winning season virtu- ally escapes the memory of avid school alumni, and achieved against generally tougher competition. Vermillion has been strengthening the St. Martin's schedule slowly but surely just as he has been beefing up the Saints' per- sonnel through a recruiting program which reflects his ability to persuade quality prep grads to enroll at the Lacey parochial institution of higher learning. Such an example is furnished in the person of Terry Easter, this year's Saint point-leader, whom Vermillion describes as "a tremendous offensive player, the best I've ever seen". Easter is the son of for- mer big league baseball bomber Luke East- er. Another example is Henry Kappezt, last year's state high school scoring cham- pion, and starting pivot man for Vermil- lion, though just a freshman, until he broke a leg recently. Very likely tomorrow night could be the last year Vermillion will bring his Rangers (pardon, Saints) to Shelton, and the last year the team will, in reality, jus- tify the cognomen "Rangers". The ne'v gymnasium, which is part of the all-pur- pose pavilion nearing completion on the St. Martin's campus, is expected to be ready for play by next season. By then Vermil- lion hopes the nickname "Saints" will be fairly well established as a replacement for Rangers, the nora-de-plume under which St. Martin's basketball teams have traveled JERRY VERMILLION for several years while they wandered from gym-to-gym, at whatever high school hap- pened to be available, for their home games to escape the infamous "phone-booth" gym which has been the only playing floor on t'te campu for years. Anyway, Saints will be the name ere.- blazoned on the St. Martin's uniforms to- morrow night when the team trots out on the Shelton gym floor. Vermillion is a fellow who has ex- perienced only a passing acquaintance- ship with basketball failure. From his firsthigh school days in Montana until the present he has associated consist- ently with cage success. His brief en- counters with disappointment followed immediately after taking on new coaching assignments, when he inher- ited material from his predecessors. His initial season at Shelton, for instance, netted a 5-14 record, but the next three were 13-7, 15-3 and 14-5 with finishes ef second (8-2 in Shelton's last year in the Central League) and two ties for first in the Seamount league (11-1 with North Thurston in 1961 and 10-2 with Curtis and Fife in 1962). This was a 3-year mark of 42-15 (in league 29-5). No other three years in Highclimber history ever matched it. St. Martin's won only four games his first season with the Rangers, but the rest have been in the black far enough to give him an over-all winning record for the four years. His own collegiate playing days were at Gonzaga, where he held something like 15 records at the end of his career and the Bulldogs enjoyed outstanding success. Some of his records still stand after 15 years of assault by some excellent players. 'Incidentally, Vermillion has succeeded in adding Gonzaga to the Saint schedule this year, plays Seattle Pacific in a home- and-home series again, takes the Saints on a repeat of their 1965 trip to Alaska for a 4-game tour, and next year has a trip lined up to the Southwest which includes Pep- perdine College in California and Nevada Southern as he strives to hoist the Saints ever higher on the collegiate basketball plateau. Yes, success is no stranger to Jerry Vermillion, the handsome hunch-shoulder- ed young coach who returns to Shelton gym tomorrow evening• To further success, we'd predict. Catholics Undefeated In Church Loop Play • Church League basketball sprang into action three weeks ago with seven teams reprc. senting the league. Those teams are; First Christian, Baptist, Catholics, Methodist, Mt. Olive Lutheran, Faith Lutheran and Episcopal. Thus far this season the Catho- lic entry is the only undefeated team as they undoubtedly hold a detains€ion in .speed, height and ability. The Catholic team. is also an entry in a league that accepts a berth to state. Sunday they took on a talent- less team from Bremerton. Led by guard Rick MComb and cen- ter Jim Olson, the Catholic entry raced to an early 38 to 14 half- time lead. The two church stars hit for 20 and 18 points, respec- tively. Second half action saw another brand of ball played by one of the Catholic reserves. Muscular, Dave Mendenhall, playing in his fir.st hame of the season, potted 14 points as he played King under the backboard. Men- denhall, an ex-Highclimber tack- le, kept the scoring spree alive 0wough a lot of the second half as Coach James McComb de- cided to give his church league clowns a rest. Rick Marshall, another tall and lanky clown, showed m, uch improvement in the second half. He threw in 10 counters for his .season's best. The regular church league tip- offs start at 6:30 every Tuesday night with three different games being played between starting time and 9:30. The price is right (FREE) and the action is stimulating, so get out and support the church of your choice next Tuesday night. over the South Kitsap Wolves here last Friday as Coach Jack Wright's team:registered its first league win of the season. Working against a zone de- fense all week, Wright's forces took the floor with a poise they haven't shown all year. The highlight of the game was the offense Shelton's cagers put together as every member of the starting five used his efforts to the best of his ability to show quite an individual scoring pttach. South held its only lead of the night as it opened the night's scoring with a quick bucket by Dan Miller. After that it was Shelton all the way though South did keep the score within striking dis- tance. Pivot man Dave Bayley hit the nets for Shelton's first score, followed by Steve l_x)oney's out- side set shot, after which Jerry Sparks pumped in two quick field goals to put the Climbers out front 8 to 4. After trading baskets back and forth, Shelton held a slim 14 to 9 lead at the quarter break. Second quarter action saw Chief Clayton join the scoring merry-go-round as Jerry Sparks continued one of his best efforts in a couple of weeks. The fast-moving action ended with Shelton walking off the floor with a slim 28 to 24 lead as the half-time buzzer sounded. Second half action started with the same type of ball control, with both team sticking to the same type of game strategy. Dan Miller, a spunky Kitsap guard, seemed to be holding the game together for South as his sharp outside shooting riddled the nets all night. Late in the third quarter, Shel- ton's fast-moving ball control started to hamper the WTolf zone defend. After a South time out, they came on the floor with a man-to-man defense that allowed Sparks, Clayton and Jan Donald- son to go wild. Donaldson made the scene late in the second half but ap- parently liked the Wolf defense as he scored Seven quick points in a row. South remained close at the quarter break as both teams showed no signs of tiring. The fourth quarter remained much the same as the closing minutes of the game drew closer and closer. With about 2V2 min- utes left on the clock a spark hit the Shelton five that sent them on a sudden ten-point spree to give them a 12 point lead. From there on it was down hill all the way as they coasted to their, first league win. Game honors went to South Kitsap's Dan Miller who burned the nets for an amazing 28 points Chief Clayton led the Shelton five with 22 points and Jerry Sparks came back to life with 19. Chris Close kept up his scor- ing efforts with 7, but bettered on the rebound end with 15 in- dividual rebounds. Center Dave Bayley had a fairly good night from the field also as he hit for 6. VARSITY SHELTON (71) Clayton 23, Sparks, 19, Bayley 6, Close 7, I.z)oney 7, Donaldson 7, LaMarsh 2 SOUTH KITSAP (53) Miller 28, Cressman 4, Nornen- berg 6, Clark 4, Bulten 4, Frans- worth 3, Laber 2 Climbers Set For Two Tilts By TOM MARSHALL • Highclimber hopes for a berth in the state tournament brighten as they face a doubleheader this week. Coach J a c k W'ight's forces are working on the East Brem- crton strategy this week as they face the long climb up after losing five straight league con- tests. • The Climbers are at full strength now, though jumping- jack Chris Close picked up a shoulder injury this week in turnouts. Friday night the Climbers battle with East Bremerton in a grudge match over their first meeting. :If it picks up a win Friday, then works on Port Angles Sat- urday, Shelton could find itself back in the running after five weeks of frustrating losses. Team merrbers are gaining a lot of poise as they are starting to believe in them:selves and handle the ball with complete confidence., Clayton and Sparks are back in the groove while Bailey, Close and Looney are starting to burn the nets with perfection. Close and Bailey are handling the rebound chores with Sparks and Clayton helping out when needed. Guard Steve Looney seems to be handling the ball club with a lot of poise and confidence as Climber miscues and poor pass- ing are dwindling down to nothing. A HUSTLING DEFENSE aided Shelton's ttighclimbers in their first league win of the season, a 70-53 conquest of South Kitsap, Friday night. Here Chief Clayton (24) and Dave Bayley (40) close in on a South dribbler reach shooting territory. Scialabba's Troops Clobber Hoquiam • Wrestling Coach Roy Scia- labba's warriors chopped down a bunch of Hoquim Grizzlies here last Mxmday nigh! as his Climber forces pushed the Griz- zlies to hibernation 37 to 13. The Grizzlies salvaged only three matches as the Climbers picked up nine individual honors five by pin, w'fth three in suc- cession. As the match got underway both teams registered five points apiece with forfeits in the 103 class and the heavyweight di- vision. Hoquiam, held their first and only lead after the 114 pound face off. Hoquiams Dan West slid by Shelton's Curt Snitzer with a two-point reversal late in the third period to decision Snitzer 6 to 4. It didn't take Shelton long to jump out front as an aggressive Dan O'Neil toed charge of the of the mat. The 120-pound grap- pler wrestled his best match of the year as he pinned Hoquiam's Ben Thomas, 1:05 of the first round. Shelton held a slim 10 to 8 lead as the 129 class took over the ring. With Shclton's Chuck Thompson wrestling at his best Hoquiam's 1Vfike Burgess found himself on the short end of a decision 8 to 1. Little Mary Wilson proved himself worthy of a varsity po- ,ition despite his size as the Shelton grappler bounced his man all over the mat for a five point pin late in the first round. Allen Tahja kept his winning ways as the 140-pound class end- ed in the first period with a Tah- ja pin and the Shelton lead boosted to 23 to 8. Shelton fans saw one of the most exciting ma.ches of the evening as Muscleman Chris Thompson took the ring. Wrest- ling against a quick Hoquiam opponent, Thompson was forced to show his aggressive speed as he pinned his Grizsly opponent in 1:47 of the second round. As the 156-pounders took over the matt Shelton saw a much improved Tom Adams throw his man 11 to 1. Adams, who usually runs out of gas late in the .econd round, showed quite an improve- ment in endurance as he went the full three rounds with wind to spare. Scialabba's clutch man, Mark Weston, wrestling in the 165- pound class, had his hands full of fighting Grizzly for three straight periods as he tamed his opponent 10 to 8 with a last minute reversal. ,Karate man Don Armstrong showed Shelton fans as well as Coach Scialabba how to be ag- gressive as he walked away with a 10 to 4 decision. Hoquiam picked up five count- ers as Sheltons lWike Hopkins was pinned in 1:23 of the first period. Shelton fans were let down in the heavyweight division as Ho- quiam's Milt McGuire couldn't make the thatch for reasons un- known. VARSITY SUMML¥ 103 ...... (H) won by forfeit 114 West (H) decision Snitzer (S) 122 O'Neil (S) pin Thomas (H) 129- Thompson (S) decision Burgess (H) 135 .... Wilson (S) pin Bitar (H) 140-- Tahja (S) pin Johnson(H) 147 ..... Thompson (S) pin Bennett (H) 156 .... Adams (S) decision Logan (H) 165 Weston (S) decision Shrau- gcr 175 Armstrong (S) decision Bohrnsen (H) 191- Snyder (I) pin Hopkins (S) Heavyweight Gunter (g) won by forfeit. NM Trips SHS Jayvee Wrestlers • Shelton Jayvee wrestlers tra- veled to North Mason last week and fell at the hands of the Bulldogs, 24 to 20. North Mason picked up the first three matches by decision before Shelton's Ron Elson came lhrough with a Shelton victory, decisioning his North Mason op- l)onent 13 to 6. Steve Steinberg narrowed the gap 29 to 8 when he picked up a pin in the second round of the 140 pound class. ii::: Then Mary Wilson gave Shel- i:} ton a slight 13 to 9 lead after he picked up a pin in his division The score changed hands af- ter Wilson's pin when North Ma- son picked up 15 quick points on iw() pins and a forfeit. With the score at 24 to 13, I)on Armstrong and Dave Gun- ter fought the last two matches of the day but the twelve-point lead was too much to overcome even though Gunter pinned and Armstrong decisloned. Drive Defensively! 0 SHELTON'S Dave Bayley (40)fights for a a South Kitsap caer during Friday night's on the Shelton floor. In the background is the era' Chris Close. Page 12 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, February 2, 1967