McConnellsburg High School - Sparta / Flashlites Yearbook (McConnellsburg, PA)

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Scotland dispelled some of the doubts. As the season proceeded and the undefeated string grew, the Spar- tans became the “big game for all of the opponents. Everyone wanted to gun down the Spartans. But when the final game was history, the Spartans were cutting down the nets at Han- cock High School and an undefeated season had been recorded. It was a team effort with both Bri- an Davis and David Thomas breaking the career 1000 point barrier and teammates Tommy Souders, Jeff Garber, and Barry Spriggs coming through with big games several times during the season to preserve the per- fect record. Both the MORNING HERALD and the PUBLIC OPINION named David and Thomas to their area all- star squads, and Mr. Sowers was named Coach of the Year by both papers. Front Kenny Welsh. Matt Cover. Barry Spriggs. Jeff Garber. Bobby Morgan. Back — Kerry Burke. David Thomas. Brad McClain. Tommy Souders, Mark Hollinshead. Keith Brady, Coach Dave Sowers. Top Tommy Souders and Brad McClain look on while David Thomas goes high for a jump-ball. Tommy scored 259 points during the season and Brad scored 54 points and shot 4IT coming off the bench. Middle The fast break is one of the Spartans keys for success. Barry Spriggs is starting one of many for the Spartans. Barry had 46 assists during the season. Above - Jeff Garber lays it in during the warm-ups of the Scotland game. Jeff scored 286 points during the season. 29

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AN UNDEFEATED SEASON It was a once in a lifetime exper- ience — marching through the regu- lar season without a loss, winning the Cove and Sideling Hill Leagues, and advancing as far the second round of the Pennsylvania State playoffs. These were the accomplishments of the Varsity boys basketball team. Easy early season wins failed to convince many people of just how good the Spartans were, but a 62-45 thrashing of perennial powerhouse MHS OPP 63 Grccncastlc 55 79 N. Bedford 48 64 at Chestnut Ridge 45 49 at N. Bedford 38 73 Hancock 49 74 at S. Huntingdon 42 73 Chestnut Ridge 54 64 Clear Spring 47 56 at Grccncastlc 52 65 at Forbes Road 57 78 at Everett 61 74 at S. Fulton 45 87 Everett 60 62 Scotland 45 71 at Fannett-Mctal 48 85 at S. Fulton 64 46 at Claysburg 41 74 Forbes Road 61 62 at Tusscy Mt 53 49 Fannett-Metal 36 90 at Clear Spring 67 90 S. Huntingdon 38 93 Claysburg 49 69 at Hancock District 5 Playoffs 44 73 Shade 50 50 Berlin 48 60 Concmaugh Twp. Stale Playoffs 72 76 Bishop McCort 56 53 Karns City 73 Season record (28-2) Top The Spartan team got lots of recognition from the community. Right - During the Everett game Brian Davis grabs a rebound. Brian averaged 13.8 rebounds per game. Above David Thomas lays it up for two during the Scotland game. David averaged 21.8 points a game. 28

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Varsity Boys Go To Second Round Of State Tournament If there was any doubt that the Spartans' undefeated regular season was a fluke, those doubts were dis- pelled in the District V and state play- offs. In the opening round district game the Spartans used an explosive second half to put away Shade by a score of 73-50. Berlin, the opponent in the dis- trict semifinals proved to be a tougher opponent, but VIHS held on for a 50- 48 win. This win set a dream District V championship game between two undefeated teams — The Spartans and Somerset County powerhouse Conemaugh Township. Township proved to be too much for the Spar- tans and they fell for the first time, 60-77. With the undefeated string ended and the pressure off, the Spartans moved on to the University of Pitts- burgh at Johnstown for an opening round state playoff game against Dis- trict VI champs. Bishop McCort. Powerhouse McCort came into the contest cocky and confident, but the Spartans played a flawless game and shocked the Crushers, 70-50. On to Clarion State College and the second round of the state playoffs with Karns City as the opponents. The Spartans were one of the final 16 teams in the state. Down by only 2 points at the intermission, a flat sec- ond half spelled defeat. The final score was 53-73 and the long and suc- cessful season came to an end. The final record of 28 wins, 2 losses was the best ever posted by an MHS team. Going in style to the state playoffs. 30