Garfield County High School - Yampah Yearbook (Glenwood Springs, CO)

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Basketball O O Reeopntulatuon The Red and White quintet of G. C. H. S. opened their 1945 conference cage campaign on Friday, December 15, by ripping a green Bear array from Rifle, 33-17 on the losers' hardwood. I he Demons, boasting only one returning let- ter-man, versatile Peck Leonardi , in their first string lineup, marched to a quick Z2 - 7 half-time advantage and coasted on this early margin to victory. Round- ing out the Red Devil pentagon was jim Weaver, sophomore defensive ace, and Wayne Johnson, lanky rebound artist at the guard posts plus Bill Huber, sharp- shooting junior forward a d Bill Eiswerth at the front line positions. Huber strummed the strings with 4 goals from the Held and as many from the foul line to garner 12 points and scoring honors. Palisade's unheralded Bulldogs upset a tenacious Demon five after the holi, day season, 19 +16 in the first home fracas of the season to dampen the Dem- ons' title aspiration. The title was close throughout, the quarter counts showing fhe Bulldogs having 4-2, 9-7 and 12 -11 leads which they kept to emerge victorious. The Glenwood basketeers scored evenly, Eiswerth notching 5 points to top the Red and White shooters. Taking in the first quarter, the towering Grand Junction cage crew slaughter- ed rhe inexperienced Demon quintet 53 - Z2 to account for their second straight defeat in a brannigan in the Tiger den. The Tigers won on a 21 point splurge in stanza three while holding the bewildered Glenwoodites to a single marker. Leadi ing the Demons in their vain effort to subdue the rivals was Peck Leonard! who tossed in 10 points and rustled tirelessly for honors. ' Fruitvale's star-studded Vikings. boasting the same lineup that last year won the Western Colorado cage consolation trophy, racked up their third conference win at the expense of Glenwood's fast improving Red Devils, 39-28 at the Vik gym. The Northmen were extended to the limit after advancing to 24-6 half. time lead when the Demons caught fire and cut the lead to Z9-27' before going frigid to leave the floor on the short end of the count. Eiswerth led the Red and White hoopsters in the point production department with a 9 point output. The Demons were strengthened bv the presence of Lard Sullivan, scintillating in- signia-bearer from the '44 club, who sparked the outfit in their inspired showing. Coming back strong after three straight losses, the Demons broke into the victory column with a 19- 17 win over the Fruita Wildcats to get back in the Colorado Valley league race. The tilt was a torrid battle from start to finish, the Red and White bays taking an early lead on the strength of a brief scoring spree and rolling on through the remaining three chapters to emerge victorious, a 19 to 17. Peck Leonardi highly touted center, cleared both backboards a pered the laces for 8 points to spearhead the drive. Meanwhile the Fruitvale Viks were beating Grand junction Z9-ZZ, thus ending the first half schedul a mar to assume the loop title. Victory number three was chalked up the following weekend, the flashv G. C. H. S. shellacking their cross-country rivals, the Rifle Bears 28-13 to tie the maroon-clad Palisadeers for third place in the league standings. Peck Leonarcli, brilliant D- mon wheelhorse, looped in 14 points to surpass the total Bear output by one digit to show the way to victory. Taking the road again, the vaunted Scarlet and White cage quintet battled furiously to the last second to scratch out a 27-25 decision over the hard fight' nd pep- e without

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JOHN MILTON-Monk, peppery Red and White guard who per- formed last year for North's Vikings, was the sparkplug of a calva- cade of stars who won thier letter at the art of blocking and tackling. Although handicapped by his size, this 135 pound fireball was a fast and notorious charger, having been quoted as being in the enemy backfield more times than the opposing quaterback. Offensively, he proved an expert, opening up wide gaps in the defense to lessen the plungers' burden JIMMY MULKEY-jim, tough and agile sophomore tackle, played stellar ball throughout the season. His dauntless defensive tactics distinguished him as a gridder of excpteional quality. lim weighs 145 pounds, is 5' 9 in stature, and he consistently used his husky frame very proficiently. By virtue of his talent as a football p1ayer,lim will undoubtedly be assured a starving berth on next year's eleven PAUL TUOMEY-Fish, senior speed merchant of the Demon eleven, whose ability as a climax runner provided coach lgo with a tailor- made wingback, was one of Glenwood's apt pref srmers in a fast Dem- on quartet of backfield stars. Endowed with dazzling speed which he used advantageously, he excelled on quick openers and wide sweeps around the flank. Serving as the man-in-motion on the Demons T- formation capers, he caught many passes as well as serving as one of the better blockers which led the ball carriers' interfenence. Fish's talent as a breakaway artist was also evident on defense, where as safety he took many punts and ran them back for heavy gains HAROLD VAUGHAN-Vaughny, peerless Demon tackle, whose bonecrushing contacts made him one of the most feared Glenwood linemen, was another of the first year candidates to letter despite an injury suffered in the seasons opener which limited his efforts. Tipping the scales at 158 pounds, he hits with a super-dreadnaught drive ahead of the carrier. Brawny and rugged, Harold, a slicer of no mean ability, is physically capable of handling a power attack. lllvl WEAVER-Tlowhorse, sturdy sophomore flankman, whose brilliant play on both offense and defense earned the praise of all, was one of the two second year men vt ho were awarded letters, This human torpedo, who dynamites the defensive half when leading in- terference on end excursions, and brushes the tackle bruisingly on the off-tackle slashes, was one of the most highly coveted pass snag- gers of the league. Towering five feet, eleven inches in the air and weighing a trim 145, this modest scph terror throttled all comets with his smashing tackles and cnllosal blocks KEITH ZEKBE-Zeb, quarterbacking genius of the Red Devils who proved to be the passing master that spread the defense to make it vulnerable to the long gainers, was the junior sensation who piloted the team throughout the '44 season. A field general of exceptional talent, Zeb was as adept at eeling through the knothole slits as at hitting dowm field receivers with projectile passes. A sizzling 145 er and ball handler deluxe, he was cosidered one of the scin- tillating line backers of the conference, his polished tackling and p :und fe irless attitude distinguishina him.

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ing Palisade Bulldogs tor evenge the stinging upset suffered earlier in the race, and zoom into undisputed possession of third place. The Demons took a 6-2 quarter advantage and maintained the margin through canto two to lead 13- 12 at the intermission. Both clubs headed down the final stretch evenly, the third quarter mark -howing the score tied at 19- 19. A spurt in the final play netted the Demons 8 points while the Bulldogs gathered only 6 to give the Glenwood artists a 27-25 win. Eisweith rattled the backboard for 10 points to lead. Game number seven slapped the fourth mar on the Demon record, Grand Junction posting a 36-24 win over the evidently improved Demons to snap their three-game victory streak and throw them into a tie for third place with Palisade once more. The Bengals held only a 10-9 canto edge but blanketed the Red Devils in chapter two and increased their lead to 19-9 at the mid-point. A heartened drive led by Leonardi, ace Demon wheelhorse who flicked in 8 points for scorirg honors, pulled the locals within 5 points of the Orange and Black. The lasi home game of the season proved unsuccessful for the Glenwood Springs Red Devils, as Fruitvale, erstwhile league-leaders continued their march to the throne room by pulverizing the Demons 51- 21. This caused prognosticat- ors to foresee a post-season tilt between Palisade and G. C. l-1 S. to determine the league third entrant in the Delta tournament Leonardi and Weaver were the Glenwood mainstavs, dunking 6 points each aside from playing a brilliant game. With e ery cog in the smooth working Glenwood machine generating powe er, the diminutive Demons rolled up a decisive 37- 15 victory over the Fruita Wildcats on their court to necessitate a playoffto determine the third D:-lta tour- ney entry. The Glenwood boys were never headed, using their second string the last quarter to win, going away by 22 points. Eiswerth, Huber and Weaver spear- hea iiag the attack by pumping in 11, 10, and 8 points respectively. For the second consecutive year, the never-say-die Demons earned the right to participate in the classic of Western Slope basketball, the Delta tournament. by conquering Pa1isade's Bulldogs 26 - 22 in a post-season playoff tilt at Grand Valley. Exhibiting a snappy performance, the highlyftouted G. C. H S. quintet took a 2 - 0 lead and were never caught except in stanza two. Huber, Leonardi, and Sullivan played inspired games to lead the successful effort, plus ringing up 8, 7, and 7 points respectively for the 1ion's share of the honors. At the Delta tournament, playing an early morning encounter with the Hay- den Tigers, the potent Demons were thrown into the consolation bracket by virf tue of a 35- 17 loss. This initial defeat, however, didn't threaten the teatn's mora lf as they proved the following morning by drubbing the Cardinals from Grand Vallev, 45-29. The Demons led the Red Birds at all points in the game, boasting a 10- 4 quirter advintfige and 20- 10 halftime lead. The Red and White hoopsters in- creased their lead to 36-15 at the third quarter and with the B string playing, continued to their 19 point victory. Leonardi banged in 14 points in a spectacular performance. Sullivan and Eiswerth followed with 8 markers. The highly talented Red Devils of G. C. H. S. scratched out a close 26-24 victorv over the Nflountain League champions, the Ridgway Demons, to annex the Wes'ern Colo'ado consolation c -ge championship in the finals of the three- day tournan'ent The Demons made a gallant last ditch effort to win after trail- ing 7- 2 at the quarter and 15 - 9 at the half. By the third period they were still behind 5 points, but through ace teamwork, tied the count and went on to win, Leonardi looping one in with a half minute to go for the deciding tally. Ambi-dextrous Leonardi was the big gun in the championship battle, dunking 9 points for scoring honors. Eiswerth pressed for honors with 7 points.