Odebolt High School - Trojan Yearbook (Odebolt, IA)

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JIM BROWER Senior Center, guard. A ter- rific floor man, Jim, as well, held top hon- ors in scoring for the record average of l9.- 9 points per game. His effective jump shot and defensive timing puzzled all o o p o n e nts. Brower was honored on the all county team and received state wide recognition. JOHN REX Junior Forward. A key man in Odebolt's fast break. John meshed a total of 315 points for the season, an even l5 pt. average per game. His ball hawkinq tactics and his hard-to-master push shots from the corner broke the backs of many en- vious opponents. VERN OGDEN Sophomore Forward. A southpaw with plenty cf finesse and basketball savvy. Developed an effec- tive fadeaway shot and was a consistent- lv good floor man. Never relinauished his starting berth in his first year of regular varsity competition. KENNY FERTIG Senior Guard. Kenny was one of the guiding hands in bringing Odebolt a winning season. A terrific rebounder-he was never bested ir- this dept. Might be considered the most improved plaver on the squad since in winning his first let- ter he was also as- signed a first team berth on the All- County team. GENE GUNDERSON Sophomore Guard. An aggressive, spirited player whJse greatest value came as a rebounaer and defensive man. Gene was given the bulk of the responsibility cf stopping Lange of Sa: City in the Sectional finals. Everyone ex- cept Sac City players and fans were delight- ed with his work. His drive-in shots, tip-ins, and fine floor play were extremely instru- mental in bringing the Trojans a i9-2 record DICK BERNHARDT, Senior Guard. ln his first and last year at Odebolt, Dick took a back seat to no one. Despite his lack of height he grab- bed his share of rebounds and could always be depended on to put on a steady performance. DICK SWANSON, Senior Center, guard. A very dependable re- serve. Dick saw limited action, but was always there when he was needed most. A good defensive player, Dick also scored 8 quick points in the Early game at the County Tourney. LOWELL BROWER, Sophomore Center. Lowell gave the Trojans added strength on the side-lines. After starting the season at a regular guard position Lowell was shifted to what seemed to be a more comfortable position. He tackled the job of doubling for his brother at center. Lowell, along with Ogden, Rex and Gunderson should give the Trojans another great winning combination. PAGE FORTY-NINE

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Back Row: Cleft to right? Myron Dreessen, Manager, John Rex, Dick Swanson, Gene Gunder- son, Jim Brower, Kenneth Fertig, Lowell Brower, Coach Russell McLaughlin, Front Row: Robert Hart, Manager, Donald Hoefling, Joe Kipp, Bill Teaquist, Vern Ogden, Dale Richardson, Wally Duffy, Richard Bernhardt. HWS' llllEllflllllll The l95l Odebolt Trojans basketball team was the hottest scoring outfit for miles around. In breezing through a regular schedule of sixteen games, the boys racked up a total of 943 points for a 59 point scoring average per game. They won l5 out of I6 games in season play and 4 out of 5 in tournaments. The maplers of '51 copped the County Conference Tournament trophy, the Sectional trophy, and shared top honors with Lake View in the County Conference race. Games highlighted during the season were those with Alta, Early, Schaller, Sac City, and Manning. Fifteen teams, with the exception of Lake View, fell easy prey to the always hustling Trojan team, before Early caught them looking far ahead at the state series of tournaments. Surprisingly, only four days before the Early upset, fans witnessed a blistering shooting affair between Odebolt and Alta, with both teams running and shooting at a terrific pace. The half ended 46-30, and the Trojans won No. l4 with a final score of 67-60. Members of the Odebolt squad were, at one time during the season, honored by being placed as the l lth best team in the northwest section of lowa,, topped only by such powerful teams as Sioux City Central, Manning, Sioux Center, Ames, and Storm Lake. Against Schaller the high scoring Trojan machine pushed through a record number of buckets and piled up 84 points for the night. This is the highest number of points ever to be scored by a high school team in the Odebolt gym, a record that will be hard to beat. ln the sectional tourney, Odebolt was matched with Sac City in the finals. The Trojans avenged the one- point defeat by the Indians in the sectional last year, by taking their scalp this year 55-47, in what has been described as the sweetest Trojan victory of the Year. In district tournament play, Odebolt was paired with Manning, thus far undefeated and the No. l team of Northwest lowa. The story might have been different if they had drawn a weaker foe, but, as it was, when the final buzzer sounded, the O. H. S. team bowed out of the district series and the basketball picture of l95l. On the whole, Odebolt can be proud of its accomplish- ments during the basketball season. PAGE FORTY EIGHT

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Back row: Jim Brower, Manager, Kenneth Fertig, Cletus Wingert, Richard Taylor, Jerry Rey- nolds, Gene Gunderson, Donnie Gunderson. Second row: Dick Swanson, Joe Kipp, John Rex, LaVern Haradon, Vern Ogden, Danny Hansen. Front row: John Miller, Jack Nuetzman, Howard Einspahr. lllllill It was fifty days after the last basketball game that the Odebolt thinclads were able to skip over the cinders in competition. Bad weather forced postponement and eventual cancellation of the annual Holstein Relays which was the first scheduled meet, April l3. We did not enter the Pocahontas Relays, scheduled the following week, because on that date most of the boys went either in the State Speech Contest at Oskaloosa or to the F.F.A. Convention at Sioux City. The Holstein Relays new date was April 24, which was the date set for the Trojans to run at Sac City in the Good Indian Relays. We withdrew from the Good Indian Relays, and foul weather forced a final cancella- tion ,of the Holstein Relays. On April 27, a warm, southerly, gulf breeze brought mild temperatures to lowa and at last made conditions favorable for a meet. A squad of fifteen, only six of whom were veterans, gave a good account of themselves in the first meet of the year, the Alta Relays. Kenney Fertig ran the half-mile at a record clip, but had to settle for second place a stride behind Rapp from Aurelia who broke Ken's record of two yieagslago. The old record-2:14.35 the new record- Danny Hansen also was headed for a record in the 440 yard dash, but faded the last,thirty yards t0 PAGT FIFTY finish just behind Brownmiller of Aurelia who broke the old record of 56.2 by .3 of a second to establish a new record of 55.9. Vern Ogden had a new record all sewed up in the broad jump, besting the old mark by 6 inches, but a leap of l9 feet lO inches by an opponent made Vern's jump of l9 feet l inch second best. Dick Swanson won his heat in both the low and high hurdles, but his steps were off because of lack of practice and the other heats took honors in those events. Don Gunderson threw the discus llO feet 4 inches which was second only to the record smashing toss of l30 feet. John Rex anchored the 880 yard relay team, the 440 yard relay team, and won his heat in the 220 yard dash for a big afternoon. When the points were totaled for the afternoon, Aurelia led the field with 66 points, Pocahontas was second with 47 points, Holstein, third, 34 points, Prim- gahr, fourth, 33 l!3 points, and Odebolt, fifth, 22 l!3 points. At the time this account is being written-May l -it appears probable that the strength of the track squad will come from those fellows and events mention- ed above, with much help coming from Cletus Wingert, Dale Richardson, Lowell Brower, Gene Gunderson, and Howard Einspahr.