Elkhart High School - Pennant Yearbook (Elkhart, IN)

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Rowdic Power brings the packed stands to their jet as tliey aQticgp Being the first to cut the net at Sectionals is a well deserved feat for Dan The Man Glanders. The spirit of Blazer Country is celebrated with a derby intermingled with schoolwork by Pam Quirk. With the Sectional trophy in hand. Warren Lawson expresses his exuberation with a hoopla. The |unior Class of ’80 struggle to complete the folding pyramid at the Banana Split eating contest. Rowdie Power 29

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‘R codie PauA i Spirit redirects to positive ends as season unfolds by Me Me Chung and Mary White Highdi-highdi-highdi-ho: wiggly-waggly, wiggly- wo. Raise your hands up to the sky, cause the Central Blazers are shooting by. No. this is not your typical two bits” cheer, but it served the purpose of exciting Blazer fans and inducing Blazermania. “Went to state in '78, doing fine in ’79!” another popular cheer, echoed from the student section to every corner of North Side Gymnasium. Although there was controversy between the administration and the student body over the lack of discretion in the content of cheers, spirit abounded. The cheers transcended from vulgar obscenities to Amen!, Amen! as the season progressed. Blazer spirit uplifted and unfolded with the improvement of the late-blooming basketball team. Despite the lack of enthusiasm from adults. Central fans let everyorie know who was the best team around! As the sectional rolled around. Blazer fans originated the cheer, “Heyyy you, over there. Check it out up there!” as they pointed to the '78 State finalist banner in hopes of another trip down the road to Indianapolis. Images of blue and white dots and faces combine to promote the student body loyalty. 28 Row'die Power

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by Jeff Vamos After receiving an inside pass, skyhook” Jim Grandholm goes for the easy dunk. Sectawtal (Zuwwt Good shooting carries team through hard times With fond memories of their berth in the final four in 1978, the Central basketball team entered pre- season practice. The press had high hopes for the team at the outset of the season, ranking the Blazers second in the state and tenth in the nation. But, the high ranking proved false as the Blazers had some rough times following their first few games. What the press didn’t realize was that we didn’t have the guards we had in '78, and the people we did have were fairly inexperienced. They were inexperienced because we operated from an eight man rotation. Many guys came in without a lot of experience,” stated Coach George Leonakis of the Blazers’ early season play. Good shooting seemed to be the strong spot for the team that carried them through some of the times when they weren’t at their best. One of the factors which hurt the team was their amount of turnovers. One of the landmarks for the Blazers' season was actually a loss. S.B. Adams, ranked number one all season by high school polls, was definitely surprised by an outstanding Central effort. Central, after a hard fought battle lost to Adams by only a point. For the first time in many years, Central went into the sectional not favored to win. A draw that put them in the bracket opposite Penn and Memorial was only an extra boost to a fired up Blazer team. After defeating Goshen and Concord soundly, the team went into the final game against Penn ready to win. And win they did, but only by a slim margin of one point. Hopes of another state appearance arose in the minds of fans and players alike, but this was not to be. After a fine performance in the first round of regional play in which the Blazers beat Tippecanoe Valley, the team met their match. Although twice the size of ‘tiny Argos’, the Blazers were unable to overcome Argos’ quickness and were defeated soundly. 30 Basketball Muscling in for an easy lay up. James Norman works the boards in a game against MC Elston.