Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

Page 126 text:

, .qu - . 'N 7 W' ' 'nfl' ,yEe-?Eijs::,?'if- E- i ' Fr fr:,faVitla,.w H '.1.,a,-- 9,51 Fay A1- Stopping a Wildcat drive, Senior Bob Moran C321 traps the ball in a defensive maneuver against Westchester in the first round of district play. a nd runnin plagued by injuries, inexperi- ence, and inconsistent ball handling, the varsity basketball team managed to overcome a poor rating in pre-season polls and completed a grueling 31- game schedule with a respecta- ble ll-ZO record. With only three returning start- ers, lunior Ben Langston, and Seniors Bob Moran and lim Car- nett, the team lacked valuable varsity experience. ill x arsity basketball Receiving a coach from Mem- orial, Cuy Barre, also forced the players to adjust and adapt to changes. It was a tough trans- ition, but Coach Barre tried to do the same things Coach Kroll did last year. Coach Barre pushed us a little harder thoughf' explained Senior lim Garnett. Ernphasizing the basics trebounding, shooting, passing, and dribblingj, as in previous years, Coach Barre also stressed In front of the goal, lunior Ben 1401 executes a finger-roll layup i Coliseum Classic, against the Cardinals. the importance of training conditioning. lim explained, ran two to three miles a day ing spring training, After all we were in really good shape. Changing game strategy, Varsity began running a full-c press, in which every player ered the length of the court ing the entire game. Considered a slow team adoption of the full-court was unusual. For a slow t

Page 125 text:

'lt was a lot different with ueople watching us pIay.' Falling to Cypress Creek the first me of the season, O-8, the B-team lst the next four games: LaPorte, 6- 5 Lamar Consolidated, 0-20, Alief ik, O-20, and Spring Woods, 6-16, he B-team rallied to beat Memo- i 8-O, and Alief Hastings 8-6, but t the last three games: Spring nch, 8-20, Northbrook, 6-7, and stchester,6-12. espite disappointing records, a sitivefeeling about the season ained. I wish we had a better ord, but I think the team has tured, and we're going to try der next year, said Randy. aping two tackles, Freshman Randy ughty C325 picks up a few yards inst Alief Hastings. On the strength Doughty touchdown, the Spartans n 7-6. der the careful eye of the referee, the shman B-team runs the option inst Alief Hastings. Both freshman ms finished the season with 2-8 ords. -sw, freshman footbali 121

Page 127 text:

1 , x .4 .....r,, x ,,, W. really pressed well. We yed as a unit, it was good m basketball, commented ach Barre. ovember 15, in the first game the season, the team whizzed st Robert E. Lee, 52-42. Two 'For a slow team we really pressed well' s later led by lunior Ben Lang- n with 20 points, they beat ar Creek, 50-45. urther into the season in the liseum Classic, the Spartans tdistanced the Bellaire Cardi- s, 62-56, and advanced to the cond round of competition ere they fell to Klein, 58-72. Competing in the Nederland urnament in Beaumont, the m captured a semi-final play- spot by consecutive overtime '49 t ,- 4 'T' . 7 x 'Q . 5. f ' ' fx N 1'i'tf -qafg ' . ' 9 f,-li-'il-, 't it-f,'.'lE'5 - 9'4 ' L.. Goini up for a layup against Spring Branc ,lunior Mark Selz l50l adds two as Forward Ben Langston l40l awaits a possible rebound. The Spartans edged past the Bears 41-40, points, wins against Beaumont Herbert, 67-63, and Beaumont Lincoln, 46- 45. Finally overpowered by Sils- bee, 67-88, and Beaumont South Park, 60-64, the Varsity took third place in the Nederland Tourna- ment. Finishing pre-district play 8-9, the team played good consistent basketball, with lunior Ben Lang- ston the leading scorer, averaging T8 points a game. December 19 the team faced Alief Hastings in the start of first- round district competition. Tied at 40 at the end of the third quar- ter, Hastings scored T7 points in the fourth, and slipped past the Spartans, 57-52. In the second round of district play, Senior lim Garnett l44l tips off against Northbrook. lim said, They had a good team, adding, three of their guys were 6,7,,.,, i 'llilfil Blocking a shot by Westchester's Ricky Hosto, is lunior Bobby O'Brien l22l, as Post Mark Selz C503 waits for the rebound. i l varsity basketball 123