Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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Strive For Consistency Despite inconsistency, a Iacko depth, and tough com petition, the varsity basketball finished their 1980 season with a winning 18-14 record. Finishing district with a 6- 8 record, t ey posted a 4-3 record in the second half, coming within one game of the post season play-offs. Led by Ben Langston and Mark Selz, the team won its first seven games. Ben Langston was the leading scorer in District 17-4A and named to the first team of All District. Mark Selz made honorable mention All District and was the seventh leading scorer in district. We had an outstanding season, winning seven the participants, the more an games in a row and setting a injury affects the team in school record, said Varsity Coach Guy Barre. The season was a mild disappointment, said Senior Mark Selz. We could have done a lot better than we did. lt's mental discipline, and we were inconsistent. David Taylor, the only sophomore on the team, summed up the season. We played perfect, then hit a valley and went down, and then got back up again. Coach Barre summed up the season by saying, We had an outstanding year. No excuses if you have injuries or sick people. The fewer cohesiveness and consistency. ln pre-season we were picked fourth, and we finished fourth, but we were second in the second half. We finished on an up- note and collected some individual awards, and that's important because it's a stimulus for our younger people coming up. The team began the year bythumping Lee 64-52. Next, they squeezed by Clear Creek 62-61. In their third game, they beat Shargstown by ten points, 59-4 .Against Nederland, the Spartans won handily, 68-50. The varsity crushed i 1 I Westbury 69-48, and against Brazoswood, the varsity,was up to the task, slipping y 49-48. In the Coliseum Classic, the Spartans beat Brazoswood 49-48, and Spring Branch 54-52, before falling to eventual District Champion Westchester 43- 46. Next, the varsity took a rest between tournaments beatinglSouth Houston, 47- 46. In t e Nederland Tournament, the Spartans fell to state-ranked Port Arthur Lincoln 59-68, and then dropged consecutive games to orest Park 53-56, and Reagan 61-66, and Bryan 59-66 before clobbering La Porte 71-32. Hoping for two, Senior Bobby O'Brien 1222, shoots from outside against Westchester. The Spartans won the game 51-49, in their second meeting. Being watched closely by the refer- ees, SeniorsBill Alford 5341, and Mark Selz 5502, go up for the offensive rebound against Westchester. varsity basketball 123

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if 1 61 ri :?, L' Q - 5' , A K S 'ti--.....,-. Leaping above the onlooking play- ers, Senior Mark Selz 1502, lakes a jump shot during their Westchester game where the Spartans lost 43-46. Jumping high olf the floor, Senior Mark Selz f50Q, is backed by Senior Ben Langston 5401, as he shoots for two . Kgs: , . f L . . X 122 varsity basketball eee - K p X My . , fir-- 1980 Varsity Statistics Stratford Opponent 64 L 52 ee 62 Clear Creek 61 59 Sharpstown 49 68 Nederland 50 69 Westbury 48 49 Brazoswood 48 54 Spring Branch 52 43 Westchester 46 47 South Houston 46 59 Port Arthur- Lincoln 68 53 Forest Park 56 61 Raegan 66 59 Bryan 66 71 La Porte 32 51 Jersey- Village 52 66 McCullough 59 59 Aldine 51 73 Klein 54 8820 '7 .1 Readying himself for the next play, All District Senior Ben Langston watches the action. Being louled by a Memorial player, Senior Bobby O'Brien 5221, preparej to dribble after grabbing a detensiv rebound.

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Bebound in district Next was Jersey Village in the Cy Fair Tournament where the varsity lost 51-52, but they rebounded, beating McCullou h 66-59, Aldine 59-51, an3Klein 73-54, thereby winning the consolation championship in the tournament, and ending predistrict with a 12- 6 record. Our toughest game in pre-district was Port Arthur Lincoln in the Nederland Tournament, said Senior Forward Ben Langston. ln the first round of district, Ben Langston was sick, and that hurt us, said Coach Barre. inthe second round we were in contention until the final game. The coaches thought we were playing the best basketball int e district. Langston averaged twenty-five points a game in the second half. Going into the last game, he needed twenty-two points to win the district scoring title. He scored thirty shooting an outstanding 15-19 from the field. ln the first round of district the team finished 2-5. We started out well, said Senior Bill Alford, but we messed up the first round of district. We played well in the second round. 124 varsity basketball M151 'Z H' 'ft' ,:-'MQW 4 f ' - 591 -1 . i The varsitty dropped the first game o district 46-54 to Hastings. Next was another loss, this time to Westchester 46-57. The rest ofthe first round district games were as follows: pring, Branch, 57-58, North rook, 56-803 Spring Woods, 69-605 Elsik, 55-345 and Memorial, 37-53. ln the second round of district, the Spartans stayed in playoff contention up to the last game. Our biggest win of the season was over Westchester in the second round of district, said Senior Bobby O'brien. A 'GSO Senior Mark Selz 1501, readies to pass the ball to a teammate during the Westchester game. During the Memorial game in which the Spartans lost 37-53, Senior Bobby O'Brien 1221 jumps for the ball. tough Hastings team beat the varsity' 35-5 in the first game oft e second half. Next was Westchester and the Spartans stunned the Wildcats 51-49. Against Spring Branch, the varsity hit a snag, losing to the Bears 35-41, but next crushed Northbrook 88-68 in a scoring feat in which the team shot an unbelievable 7396 from the field. The Spartans then triumphed over Spring Woods 63-56, and Elsik, 2-45, before falling to Memorial in the ggal game of the year, 53- M -1' iti-:Li . if : gift ffl.. -fw'-'--g- Blocked by a wlldcat, Senior Mark Selz 1501, shoots the ball while backed by Senior Bobby O'Brlen 1221.