Derry Borough High School - Derrian Yearbook (Derry, PA)

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BASKETBALL RESUME fcontinuedl ln a non-league encounter St. Vincent Prep came to Derryg and after a very close first half, the tall experienced prep team emerged with a seven point lead. During the second frame Derry's second team took to the court, but was slaughter- ed by the baskets of the Rafferty-coached five. With a perfect record and several sharpshooters, Ligonier came to Derry. Our gymnasium was over-crowded with the six hundred Derry and Ligonier fans. The game seesawed back and forth with many thrills until, at the beginning of the last quarter, the score stood at 30-30. With only a few seconds to play, Hantz, a Ligonier substitute, made a basket to win the game by one point! I maintain a moral victory, said Coach Bucci, for the boys who fought so valiantlyf' Another tough game appeared as Derry met her old rival, Derry Township. Although the Sullivan five were much taller than the Borough five, Township was decisively defeated. Gontz, with eleven points, led the Derry attack. The Derry five, tired from the previous game, dropped a close encounter to Pitcairn. As the second halt' opened, Derry journeyed to East Huntington to win a victory again. In this game all the subs were given a chance. Youngwood came to Derry to win, said the Youngwood captain. But things turned out quite differently. With the score 32-28 in Derryfs favor and seconds to play, Youngwood sank two baskets to end the game with a tie. In the extra period, however, Toner sank a one-handed shot to win the game 34-33. Hurst made things tough, but Derry came out on top. Ramsay was our jinxg for they traveled to our back yard and administered another defeat, which nearly jolted us from the league race. Because they faced a more-spirited team, Pitcairn found it harder to defeat us on the floor. Derry's big chance came when the Rams met the Mountaineers, After stiff opposition, Derry was able to defeat Ligonier and was then tied for first place in the league. We are in the running again, said Coach Bucci. But overconfidenee pre- vailed, and Derry lost to her old rival, Derry Township: this destroyed all hopes for a championship team. In a return game with St. Vincent Prep, Derry threatened to upset the strong- ly-favored Prep teamg but a fourth-period scoring spurt spoiled things for Derry. Coach Bucci entered the boys in the Westmoreland County Tourna- ment. After a rather slow game, our first encounter with Bell Town- ship proved to be a win. In the semi-finals, after what was prob- ably the most exciting game of the tournament, Derry lost by a few-points margin to Washington Township. Despite many set-backs, Derry I-ligh came out of the melee with what is believed to be one of the best teams ever to play for the blue and white. FIFTY-NIN E

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Basketball Resume i i l l i The first te to taste defeat at the hands of the Derry High quintet Was Blairsville After leading throughout the game, Derry weakened in the fourth quar- ter but survived the test with victory. When Blairsville came to Derry, they again met. stiff opposition from the Bucci quintet. With twelve points each, Yealy and Wingard played an important part in winning this game. After leading 6-4 at the half, Derry faltered in the second half and met defeat at the hands of Scottdale. Yealy and Walters sparked Derry's attack, the latter getting eleven points to lead the scoring for both teams. Again Derry took to the highway, this time to Latrobeg for the first. time in many years. the two teams met on the hardwood. Only after a scoring spurt in the third quarter was Latrobe able to turn back the determined Rams A strong alumni team was repulsed when Walters began his scoring spree of the season. After trailing 17-12 at the half, a revamped Derry team returned to the floor and was able to overcome the alumni's lead and score a victory. In a return game with Latrobe, Derry again faltered in the second half to lose the game. The margin of victory was decided at the foul line, for each team had seven baskets. In the final pre-league game, Scottdale was again able to turn the tables on Derry. Walters was again high scorer with fourteen points. When East Huntington visited Derry for the first league encounter, we began our drive for league honors with a win. Although the Derry five was able to win. the boys failed to work together smoothly. With that over-confident attitude drilled out of them. Derry's quintet traveled to Youngwood. After a hard-fought battle in which Walters and Wingard scored all of Derry's points, We still had a perfect percentage with two wins and no losses. The Kaiser-coached five rallied in the last period but fell short of victory by three points. Another league Victory, and another star was uncovered as Derry walloped Hurst. In scoring ten points, Gontz led the team to victory. Through the snow storm the Derry cagers motored to Mt. Pleasant to meet Culler's five. A never-to-be-forgotten contest resulted. With the score 19-19 at the end of the game. and with Walters and Bnughman out on personals, the Derry boys lost in an extra-period entanglement. I lFTY-EIGHT

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Junior Varsity Derry Derry llerry Derry Derry Derry Derry Derry llerry l ler ry I berry I Perry I le rry llerry llerry ller ry l berry llerry Front Row: Tony Mastrorocco, Hlllfh Aklns, KJIIIIIITIQI' orur11er.1unn vu-ine., .1-mn ......t.l. ........., --u...l!'l'. JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL SFI-IICDU LE 4 Blairsville ..,,,,,. .. . I2 14 Blairsville ,,,,,, ., ..,, .. X 22 Scottdale Y,., ,,,. . , , 21 I8 Latrobe Snappy Five Zl 25 Latrobe West End I7 Z7 - Scottdale ..,,,,,. .... ll 36- E. Huntinixdon ...,,. ll 16- Youngwood ...., ..,. 23 24 Hurst .,,,,,,, ,.,,A.,,. , , 20 llerry 30 Latrobe Jr. Merchants 26 ' ' ltr 37 Ligonier ,..,, .. .. ltl llerry Twp. Seniors , ll Pitcairn ,,,,,.,,,., , 23 22 E. I'Iuntin5:tlon lil fl Youngwood .,,, , ,, 21 IH Hurst .... ,... ,,,, 7 .20 Ramsey .. lil Ligonier ,, .. . ., lT 20 Derry 'l'wn. Seniors , ll! 'tTough was the word for the Derry Junior Varsity, with the combination of Kuntz and Shomo at forwardsg no pair of forwards worked as smoothly. Light- ning passes from Kuntz to Shomo caught the opposing defense off-guard. Deep A poor start means a good finish proved true, as Blairsville took the initial game. But in a return game the Jayvees got revenge by defeating them by a six-point margin. In this game Blairsville managed to score only one point In a very exciting game at Scottdale, the Jayvees defeated Scottdale 22-21. The game was decided in the last two seconds as Shomo sank a basket and gave his team that one-point margin. Shomo, sinking five baskets, was high scorer The Snappy Five of Latrobe gained a win from Derry. Poor foul shooting After a hard struggle in the next game the boys defeated Latrobe West End. Scottdale was defeated 27-11 in a return engagement. All the Jayvees saw East Huntingdon was no match for Derry and ended on the losing end of ai The Jayvees traveled to Youngwood and met defeat as the midget Keckiclc For the first and only time during the season the Jayvees were administered a second successive defeat, Hurst doing the job in a very close and exciting game. It looks like a defeat, said the coach before the Latrobe Junior Merchant: game. Shomo felt opposite, as he totalled the fourteen points which enabled Derry enjoyed a picnic in the next game before a large crowd, as they scored Pitcairn traveled to Derry and, after a very closely-contested game, returned 'li Bucci Ilack Row: Jai-lt Allison, Ernest Gasbarro, Howard Fritz, Eu e Glasser. Joe Shomo, Simon Bzirnhnrt I shots by Werner and Akins made opposition look Weak. I . during the second half. l and hero of that encounter. spelled defeat in this battle. as Kuntz registered ten points to star. action in this contest. X 36-10 score. i of Youngwood tallied ten points. Derry lost 23-16. l l Derry to win. i a 37-10 victory over Ligonier. l home victorious. At East Huntingdon the Jayvees made it two out of two in defeating them in a slow game. Wait until you come to Derry, said Manager Bill Werner as he left Young- wood after the first gameg you'll get dusted. And they did, in a very interes- ting contest. Revenge was again sweet as Derry traveled to Hurst and gave them an 18-7 set back. The Ramsay Jayvees were determined the first half but gave in at the latter part of the game. Derry won 20-13. Ligonier gained the only revenge of the season by defeating Derry 17-11 in a hot encounter. In the final game of a successful season Derry trounced the Derry Township Seniors in a very impressive manner. SIXTY