St Joseph High School - Magnet Yearbook (Saginaw, MI)

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FOOTBALL . . . First row: William Yule, Russell Bostwick, Harold Preuter, Raul Ceja, Julian Soria. Second row: Floyd Gabrish, John Passariello, Albert Soto, Gerald Higgins, Raphael Michalski, Anthony Gembrowski, William O'Brien. Third row: Richard Sullivan, James Sullivan, Robert Bonk, Leo Gembrowski, Coach Joseph Stelter, Edward Bogar, Louis Vescio, Thomas Laundra. Cooperation With Authority Brought Success Seated, left to right: Dale Sage, John Passariello, Julian Soria, Raphael Michalski, Harold Preuter, Leo Casarez. Standing, left to right: Thomas Launclra, John Ezop, Chester Pawlik, Albert Soto, William O'Brien. 44 BASEBALL The 1948 Baseball season at St. Joseph is considered an uphill battle as only a few letter- men of last year return to the coaching instruc- tions of Lynn McDonnell. McDonneIl's main problem will be to produce batting power and strong pitching talent. With fine moundsmen as Tom Looloy and Roy Dunn gone through graduation, the pitching chores will rest on the shoulders of Al Soto, another regular, and Dale Sage both righthanders. The infield will be shifted around and with serious practice can become one of the best in the league. Infield candidates will be Frank Gonzales, John Ezop, Leo Casarez, Bill O'Brien, Jim Nowaczyk, Tony Kusloa, Jerry Higgins and Ben Gonzales. The out- field will be strong as all the regulars are return- ing. They are Ray Michalski, John Passariello, Dale Sage and rookies Manuel Hildalgo, Tom Laundra, and Floyd Gabrish.

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ior Gridsters Battles of The Gridiron Although featuring a fast charging line, the Buccaneer gridsters of '47 were unable to keep on the tracks long enough to win more than two of the seven scheduled football games. Lack of spirit plus menacing injuries proved to outweight talent and experience as the Bucs were trounced into 5th place when they failed to coordinate against equal if not tougher competition. lt was only against the cellar dwellers, Bay City, St. Mary and St. James that the Bucs were able to connect and pour it on with respective scores of 32-0 and 36-0. SS. Peter and Paul and St. Mary, Saginaw, rated by the local paper as the teams to beat, did iust that with respective scores of 20-'I2 and 'I4-7, but only after trying and tense moments, did the Buccaneers take an impressive lead in both games. The second half in the Midget clash proved to be too much for the maize and blue who faltered under a McColgan-Kruske air attack while fumbles marred the St. Mary game as the Bucs powered their way across the field six times only to lose it within the five-yard line. St. Andrew fthe Valley Championsj silenced all hopes for the title when they literally ran all over the Buccaneers who could not even manage to gain one first down, losing 44-0. Lack of team spirit was blamed for this defeat. Crippled, the Bucs ventured against a powerful Bay City, St. Joseph eleven November 2, only to get beaten solidly again by the score of 41-7. Big guns in the Buccaneer forward wall were Ray Michalski and co-captain Leo Gembrowski, vicious tackles, Bob KAII-Valleyl Bonk, Ed Bogar and Mike Guevera at the guards and Frank Gonzales, Jerry Higgins and co-captain Al Soto at the flanks. Tom Laundra fMost Valuablej handled the Center chores most of the time with Jerome Miller helping him. Raul Ceia and Ben Gonzales were used as utility men on the line and displayed sparking de- fense work. The scoring threats in the backfield were led by John Passariello and the Sullivan brothers, Jim and Dick. Harold Prueter and Tony Gembrowski rounded out the other slots and played splendid defensive games. 43

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BASKETBALL St. Joseph Basketball squad of '48, although placing sixth in the VPL race, were right in the midst of the fireworks all the way to end a somewhat successful season. Under the new coaching reins of Tom DePrekel, St. Mary alumnus, the Bucs combined a handful of small and semi-experienced players into a well balanced, fast fighting team. Feature games produced by the Buccaneers were with Saginaw, St. Mary, St. Andrew, and SS. Peter and Paul. Paving the way for the Buccaneers was forward, Al Soto, three-year letterman, who devel- oped into an outstanding ball player, specializing on defense and the backboards. He played his best games against the league leaders and pitched in with a total of 124 points for the season. Paired at the other starting forward position was Bill O'Brien, lanky Junior who showed his value through his fine floor play. His point total for the season was 78. John Passariello, starring Junior guard and also a three-year letterman, added speed to the squad. Although plagued with an off-season, he showed occasional signs of his scoring ability, totaling 147 for the season. Julian Soria, a pint-sized Sophomore, came up with some excellent floor play and some deadly accuracy on his shots to clinch the other guard berth. He scored 98 points. Thomas Laundra, husky center, standing only six feet, one, proved his worth by outiumping and outfighting taller opponents under the backboards. He was one of the main scoring threats also, notching 137 points for the year. The Reserves were headed by two Seniors, Floyd Gabrish and Chester Pawlik, who saw limited action but did well. Michael Guevara, Leo Casarez, and Cooper Orosco showed through their play that they will have something to say about who starts next year. After notching three consecutive non-league games, the Bucs dropped their first VPL game against St. Pete's 53-31, but came back to trounce Saginaw, St. Mary, 52-45. All title hopes were dismissed as the blue and gold lost two straight to Saginaw, St. Andrew, the last being a 25-21 thriller. After being set back by Bay City, St. James, 33-30, the Buccaneers gave SS. Peter and Paul a run for their money falling on the short end ofa 45-36 score. Producing such a good show- ing against the champions raised the hopes of the Buc rooters but again they fell on the job as they dropped the next two, to Bay City, St. Joseph and Saginaw, St. Mary to slump into 6th place. The District Tournament, March 4, 1948, the Buccaneers again suffered defeat at the hands of Saginaw, St. Mary, 45-37. The Seniors played their last game for St. Joseph with Al Soto notch- ing 16 points to lead the Bucs. Julian Soria, Mike Guevera, Cooper Orozco, Thomas Laundra, William O'Brien, John Passariello, Chester Pawlik, Albert Soto, Floyd Garbrish, Leo Casarez. Coach DePrekeI.