Vestaburg High School - Wolverine Yearbook (Vestaburg, MI)

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The Learning Experience: Four quarters of tough-fought basketball and a crushing loss to the Beal City Aggies taught the girls that life isn't always all glory. The Triumphant Victory: In the game against rival Montabella, the lady Wolves proved their superiority once again by whip- ping the Mustangs. Sweating It Out: The stage was set, the girls were ready, and then the edgy crowd was whipped into a frenzy as the Wolverines edged out Sacred Heart 23-21. On the Edge: Forget the glamour, forget the glory, it was crunch time in the tourneys. The score was tied until a Central Montcalm girl hit one from the charity stripe to hand Vestaburg a heartbreaking 19-18 loss. Going through Motions: In the game against Central Montcalm everyone got to play, and the lady Wolverines tromped all over Central Montcalm by 14,28-12. —------------------------------------ Ups and Downs — !! LOOKING FOR TWO. 7th grader Erin Anderson contemplates taking a shot but thinks better of it in the home game against Beal City. !! PUTTING IT UP. Shelby Graham fearless- ly takes it up strong against a taller defender, in the home game against Montabella. !! RUN AND GUN. Brandi Stratton pounds down the court looking for an opening, that opening turns out to be Holly Rotunno in the home game against Montabella. 8th GRADE GIRLS BASKETBALL — FRONT ROW: Holly Rotunno. Brandi Stratton, Kristy Sharp. Rebecca Johnston. Veronica Cyphert. BACK ROW: Coach Cheryl McClellan. Lisa Beach. Jennifer Johnston. Christina Fleming. Bobbi Scharaswak. Candy Morey, Christa Buchanan. 7th GRADE GIRLS BASKETBALL — FRONT ROW: Marnie Carr. Gloria Price. Sarah Jackson. Beth Hassenzahl. Shelby Graham. MIDDLE ROW: Christine Ozment, Kaci Graham. Shana Throop. Shannon Jenkins. Tanya Buck. BACK ROW: Erin Anderson. Carol DeShano. Jackie Buskirk. Amy VanSickler. Bonnie Parrish. Sports ! 15a

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Junior High Basketball 7th 8th VHS-OPP VHS-OPP 28- 12 Central Montcal m 33-13 21-14 Sacred Heart 28-25 24-13 Beal City 34-35 24- 7 Shepherd 41-14 9 26 Montabella 21-32 18-16 Beal City 13-42 38-19 Shepherd 17-28 23- 21 Sacred Heart 14-19 16-26 Montabella 30-40 18-19 Central Montcalm (T) 35-28 Montabella (T) 37-18 Saranac (T) 24-42 Overall: 7-3 Overall: 5-7 Lakeview Montabella Ashley !! COOL AS ICE. Coach Neff explains the situation to her attentive disciples during a short 4th period rest in the game against Central Mont- calm. ECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTION by Garilee Janofski and Sharia Holmes The ball was heading for the basket. Seconds ticked off the clock as it sailed toward the hoop. The air was thick with anxiety; then swoosh, the ball had found its destiny. Beth Hassenzahl had just gained a point for her team by shooting the renowned “Granny shot” and this be- came an item for much teasing and ridi- cule. At that moment Beth hadn’t led her team to victory but she had shown them all there was more than one way to play the game. On and off the court, the 7th and 8th grade girls learned a lot about the game and themselves. For one thing they learned how cool a coach can be. Miss Neff, the 7th grade coach, was dif- ferent as a coach than as a teacher. For instance, out of the classroom she became “Lady Cool” as one player said in amaze- ment. “She has shades, those ones like mirrors!” The 8th graders affectionately dubbed their coach Cheryl McClellan as “Coach Roach.” Being on the basketball court during an 8th grade game could sometimes be more dangerous than walking into a herd of stampeding elephants. Bobby Scharaswak found out just how dangerous it could be when she was bit by a girl she was guard- ing. Holly Rotunno provided a little aggra- vation of her own to opposing players as she was known for burping while they tried to shoot. There were other casualties during the season. Christina Fleming discovered the importance of paying attention as she was rudely brought back to reality by a thun- dering basketball that had mistaken her head for the backboard. Luckily she wasn’t slamdunked. Probably the most exciting game all sea- son came in the 8th grade tournament game against Montabella when a despera- tion shot at the buzzer clinched a two-point victory. Holly Rotunno passed to Jenny Johnston, who pivoted, sent the ball to- ward the basket and watched it miracu- lously drop through as her teammates went wild. Even exciting events that happen at a junior high basketball game can be over- shadowed by the happenings afterward. The 7th grade girls found this out at their game in Shepherd. It was a rainy night and the moon was out, but it wasn’t in the sky. While taking a stroll around town, the girls ran into the moon of their lives — on the street in front of them. They quickly made their way back to the gym. What made these teams so special was that they were made up of more than just girls who wanted to play basketball. They were made up of friends who stuck togeth- er through bruises bites and bashes. Each of these girls gave more than just their effort to the game. They gave their spirit, and they took away with them some valu- able knowledge about the game. 14a t Junior High Basketball

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VHS Varsity Basketball OPPONENT 78 Northshore Christian 33 52 Belding 46 41 Central Montcalm 52 77 Montabella 67 43 Saranac 44 55 Portland 70 64 Carson City 63 56 Lakeview 83 47 Montabella 69 61 Ashley 55 73 Belding 41 68 Central Montcalm 71 52 Lakeview 73 51 Beal City 85 45 Saranac 49 62 Portland 60 62 Sacred Heart 73 62 Carson City 56 63 Sacred Heart 67 60 Beal City 78 50 Sacred Heart (Dist.) 66 League: 6-8 Overall: 8-13 !! RIGHT ON TARGET. Senior Tim Beach goes up for 2 of his 20 points in the home loss to Montabella, 47-69. EMORABLE SEASON ENDS ON A ROLL by Gary Keyes The players were tired. It was the sec- ond overtime, and Vestaburg was ahead by two points. A Vestaburg player was shooting a one and one. He missed the free throw and a Portland player grabbed the ball and threw up a “Hail Mary” shot. It missed! Vestaburg had won the game! That game was just one of the more memorable games from a season which was filled with memories. The season started out with a very big victory over Muskegon West Shore Chris- tian, 78-33. In that win, 13 of the 14 Vesta- burg players scored. In the second game, the team had to play without Tim Beach, a three-year starter. Two other seniors, Ike King and Gary Keyes, picked up the slack and won a toughly fought game against Belding. The Wolverines were riding high on their first two wins when Central Mont- calm brought the Wolves down to earth with a 52-41 victory. The Wolver- ines bounced back, however, with a 77-67 victory against Montabella. The next nine games were plagued with six losses, two very close. Another problem faced at this time was getting fired up. “The last three games of the season, it was easy because the school spirit was real high, but the earlier part of the season, there wasn’t any school spirit,” comment- ed Steve Kolenda. The next two games continued on a downward trend with losses to Beal City and Saranac. The next game, however, against Portland produced a very exciting time and a better playing Wolverine Team. “It was the best game I played all year and I was really excited we finally beat Portland,” said Gary Keyes. “Portland always seems so invincible,” said Jerry Johnston. “They killed us at Portland, and when they came here, we returned the favor!” The last four games included two heart- breaking losses to Sacred Heart, and excit- ing win over Carson City and a hard loss to Beal City. Going into the districts, the fans were starting to come alive, starting with the last two games of the season. The fans decided to pump up the team with many, many rolls of toilet paper which were thrown after the first Vestaburg basket. “Seeing all that white toilet paper flying through the air because of the shot I made was just a great feeling!” said Troy Morten- sen. Even with that boost of confidence from the fans, the Wolverines couldn’t over- come a tough Sacred Heart team. “Playing in this league is tough because we are the only Class D school in it,” said Coach Lesky. “As a whole, I felt the season went well. Getting the upset win over Port- land was one of the highlights.” 16a ! Varsity Basketball