South Eugene High School - Eugenean Yearbook (Eugene, OR)

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Even before the Axemen had set foot on the basket- ball court, rumor had it, that predictions of disaster were being voiced by the local paper and the citi- zens of this fair town. Now, an uninformed observer might be inclined to agree with this because of the fact that we did not have a single letterrnan return- ing this year: it goes without saying that last yearls varsity was composed entirely of seniors. Well, that is not the case this year. There are a number of jun- iors and even a few sophomores on the squad. And with a little diligent searching, one might even find a senior! Undaunted by these, so-called stagger- ing odds, our capable coach, Hank Kuchera, set out to do the best he could with what he had. Now this might sound like things were pretty dismal, and, it must be admitted, they were for awhile. The first encounter of the season for the Axemen was with the always-tough South Salem Saxons on the latter's home floor. In this game the Axernen surprised many by putting up a right smart battle right down to the wire before losing out 61-48. Fortunately, this was a non-league game. Coach Kuch started just two seniors in this game with junior, Sandy Nosler, getting high point hon- ors for the Axernen with 12 points. The first quar- ter saw the lead change several times, but South Sa- lem got the advantage in the Hrst three minutes and headed after that, The Saxons must have had a radar fix on the basket as they banged away without a miss, taking an unfair advantage over the slightly cooler Axemen. WCTC never Too bad Larsen forgot the ball! Who says I can't fly? Hey! Is that guy jabbing Dave in the 113 Hey Nosler, Who are ya' waving at? P back.

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The first district game for the Axemen was with Cot- tage Grove on the Lion's home floor. Cottage Grove, showing unexpected spirit, fought to little avail, as the Axemen rolled over them 54 to 50. The play was rather ragged showing the results of a long lay-off from competition. A trip to Albany turned out rather disastrous as the Axemen dropped a close 52-45 decision to the host Bulldogs. The loss may be blamed on a bad case of nerves, for the Axemen appeared to be at odds with what to do with the ball once they gained possession of it. Several excellent scoring opportunities were missed as the result of this. Mel Counts spelled the difference between victory and defeat for the Axemen, for without his skyscraping height, Marshfield would have never won. His advan- tage on the backboards was just too much for the Axe- men as he repeatedly grabbed rebounds and stuffed them back in, something which the shorter Axemen could do little. Despite a gallant try in the final quar- ter by the Axemen, they fell 75f56 with Bo Blair high for the Axemen with 13 points. Any game between South Eugene and Springfield brings out the best in both of the teams. This time was no exception, but more good came out of our team than that of Springfield's. The Axemen showed the Hrst real signs of real team play in this game as they rolled to a 55-52 victory over our cross-river rivals. Wally Larsen, Bo Blair, and Dave Wetzell all had themselves a big night as they collected 16 points apiece. Losing a ball game by one point is always a heartbreak and losing 54-53 to North Bend was no exception. Both teams showed flashes of really great basketball with North Bend being the most fortunate of the two by having possession of the ball in the closing minutes of the game. Their one-point lead lasted throughout the last two minutes of the game because of a stall which was quite successful in freezing the ball from the anxious Axemen. The first game between North and South Eugene gave the Axemen rooters quite a scare before we finally pulled it out of the fire by defeating North Eugene 51-45. The Highlanders showed signs of good basket- ball throughout the game and should be up on top next year. However, they could not cope with tall men such as Blair and Wetzell, and lost the game mainly because of their inability to get rebounds. The final outcome was in question right down to the last four minutes before Larsen and Wetzell put it on ice for keeps. Roseburg, averaging a little over 6'4 in the front line, found out that their height was no advantage to them as they were the victims of a 50-39 shellacking at the hands of the vastly-improved Axemen. Big Dave Wet- zell had a field day for himself by dumping in 23 points. Besides carrying the bulk of the scoring load, he thrilled the crowd with several brilliant defensive efforts, as several times he would seemingly come out of nowhere to block shots. Bo Blair also looked out- standing as he accounted for ll points. North Salem, ranked number one in the state, set the Axemen down in sloppy style, causing many to won- der who gave them their rating. Their 6, 9 pivot man, Grant Harter, managed to snare enough rebounds to keep the Vikings out in front for the majority of the contest. A third quarter rally brought the Axemen to within one point of the Vikings who were ahead 29-21 at the half. Blair and Larsen tied for high point honors with 13 apiece. Axemen watch with eager eyes. May I have this dance?