Elgin Academy - Hilltop Yearbook (Elgin, IL)

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' The l95l Varsity Footbull Schedule O . Sept. 29 at Chicago-Harvard School, 21: Elgin Academy, 0. ' Oct. 6 at Elgin-Elgin Academy, 19: St. Willabrord, 6. . Oct. 13 at Elgin-Todd School, 0: Elgin Academy, 0. . Oct. 20 at Lake Geneva-Northwestem Military Acad.. 20: Elgin Academy, 0 Oct. 27 at Elgin-Wayland Academy, 25: Elgin Academy. 0. . Nov. 3 at Glenwood-Glenwood School. 33: Elgin Academy, 0. . Nov. 10 at Elgin-North Shore Country Day School. 52: Elgin Academy, 0. O O O O O O The Varsity Football Squad O O O O O O O O The Homecoming Game North Shore Country Day School vs. the Elgin Academy O O O O O The Iunior Varsity Football Squad

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FO0TBlll.L September, October, and November are months for football, and the Academy played seven games during these months under the direction of an entirely new coaching staff. Climaxing two weeks of conditioning, instruc- tions on plays, and shaping of a balanced organization, the Hilltoppers were ready for their first test of team strength. This test came at Eckersall Stadium where we were pitted against Harvard's as yet untried eleven. The result of this contest showed that the Acad- emy eleven was still a novice group. The regulars of the previous year provided the moral backing for the shakier, untried mem- bers of the team with a spark of determina- tion. After a week of hard drilling, of mis- takes made in the previous game, we were ready and eager to show our new found might against the foe of that week, St. Willa- brord of Chicago. The might was very evi- dent in the form of one left half, Kent Grune- wald, and field general, Don Hedrick, who paced the Hilltoppers to their first victory of the season, conquering St. Willabrord 19-6. The previously unresponsive line responded this time, pushing the Blue and White all over the gridiron with their unusual offensive and defensive play. Still filled with unconquerable enthusiasm, the next week the team met Todd in the Academy Bowl. Their enthusiasm wasn't quite enough to force the pigskin over the goal line, as they played to a scoreless tie. Nevertheless, the Hilltoppers controlled the pigskin, playing inside the Todd forty yard 28 V . Major Club line throughout most of the game. Northwest- ern, the following Saturday, undid the Acad- emy's plans of conquest, 20-0. The game was a stalemate until the second quarter, when the cadets made their first tally. Then in the second half, the Hilltoppers showed some spirit as they launched an aerial attack which showed some signs of really developing into a late threat, but an off-side penalty clinched a shutout for Northwestem. On October 27, the Academy played host to the Wayland eleven in a one sided contest which the Beavers won by a decisive score of 25-0. The Wayland eleven had just a bit too much class for the understaffed Hilltoppers. but dynamic, five feet four Pancho Nunez surprised many a Wayland giant as he averted a number of their scoring threats with his brilliant tactics. In the sixth game, at Glen- wood, the elements, as well as Glenwood's spark-plug team, gave the Academy a trou- blesome time, as they fell victim to an early winter blizzard and a 33-0 score. As the team took the field, the snow had been falling for a couple of hours and by the time the game had ended the gridiron was a crust of ice. with the Hilltoppers in the same condition. The North Shore Raiders came, saw, and con- quered the Academy in its Homecoming and final game of the season, which was played on Elgin High's field as the Academy Bowl was under a foot of snow. Though the score was one-sided, our lads exhibited some fine, sharp blocking and tackling, interspersed with a few bits of uncanny offensive play.

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BASKETBALL The basketball record was none too impres- sive for the nineteen fifty one-fifty two season, as you can tell by looking at the record. Prac- tices started the Monday after the North Shore football game. The team showed real promise the first few weeks, and when we played the Todd School we had a good game, losing by only one point. However, the team then lost some of its original fire and lost the second game by ten points. The second loss to Todd was the turning point in the season, and if we had won it the season probably would have been much different. Almost all of the games were fairly close, excluding the games with Lake Forest, Park, Harvard, and Northwestem but the score always went the wrong way. Individually, the first six players stacked up as follows: At center, Kent Grunewald did a terrific job of rebounding, for his height was six-foot-one. Also he was cr good shot. It would have helped a great deal if we had not lost 30 him at mid-season. The guard, probably the most effective defense man on the team, was Don Hedrick. our veteran senior, who always was in there pitching. His height was five- foot-eleven, and he rebounded well. The sec- ond guard, Rex Conrad, a sophomore, drib- bled through practically anything. Rex was a fast thinker, and was a great asset to the team. Ion Schurmeier, a six foot freshman, took over the center post after Kent graduated and displayed excellent basketball ability. His spirit and hard work helped the team considerably. We predict a great future for Ion on the hardwoods. Last but not least, was the freethrower expert of the team, Fran- cis DeSalvo. He really proved his accuracy in hitting twelve of the fifteen freethrows in one of the last games. The other forward and scoring star was Dick Moulton, who in two consecutive games made twenty-two points. Dick was also a good team man and really added balance to the team. There was one person that deserves men- tion. He was an important cog in the wheel of operations, Coach Iohnson. Win or lose, our coach was always in there. We look for- ward to his coaching again next year. 5 r' ' KX Q - lf'