Washington High School - Cherokean Yearbook (Cherokee, IA)

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Cherolcee's IQ53 Football Season IDA GROVE 7 CHEROKEE 0 The Braves opened their 1953 season, under new head coach, M. E. Christopherson, by bowing to a powerful Ida Grove eleven 7-0. The Hawks, sporting their only touchdown early in the game as Cherokee stiffened on defense. Ron Hahn, Ralph Martin, and Pat Ryan showed well in holding the Hawk attack. EMMETSBURG 7 CHEROKEE 6 Leading until late in the fourth quarter by Don Burkhart,s recovered fumble in the end zone, Cherokee again fell as Emmetsburg drove for the touchdown. The try for the extra point was good and Cherokee was on the short end of a 7-6 score. Larry Johnson, Burkhart, and Martin were stand- outs on offense and defense both. ESTHERVILLE 26 CHEROKEE 0 Estherville's Midgets, fresh from their 14-12 victory over Spencer and ranking fifth in the state in class AA, completely dominated the game and whalloped Cherokee 26-0. Frank Mahan and company simply out- charged the Braves and were never in trouble. Ralph Martin and center Jim Smith were defensive standouts, however, for the outgunned Tribe. SHELDON 18 CHEROKEE 6 Sheldon, buoyed by homecoming, spoiled a determined Cherokee bid and rolled on to a hard-fought 18--6 victory. The Braves again scored first on Martin's plunge. Hahn and Johnson were mainstays in the line. CHEROKEE 26 SPIRIT LAKE 13 This time homecoming worked in Cherokee's favor and they rolled on to victory. Martin, Marvin Corrington, and LeRoy Nelson all scored for the Braves. SIBLEY 20 CHEROKEE 6 Playing on a cold rainy night at Sibley, the Braves sank to a new low, by losing to the Generals, for the first time in over 15 years. Cherokee once more scored first, but then seemed to fall apart. Martin and Chuck Stiles showed well offensively. SPENCER 28 CHEROKEE 6 Playing one of their best games of the year, Cherokee threw a terrific scare into Spencer before bowing to superior power. It was Chuck Stiles who sprinted 97 yards from scrimmage to give the crowd its greatest thrill of the season and sent the Braves ahead 6-0 at the half. From then on, al- though the Braves refused to let down, Spencer simply poured on the power. They scored with 3 seconds left to give the margin. Bobby Creel, Martin, Smith, Hahn, Burkhart, Johnson, and Peterson on defense, were Brave standouts. ..52..

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i 4 Cherokee Football Braves FIRST TEARI ., i Y - i 4'1J! is .-, : X. ft:-J. al... - f- .: i Iirnnl Row: Pat Ryan, Larry johnson, Ronald Hahn, Leonard Ranney. ,lim Smith, Don Burkhart, Bob Montgomery, Bob Arm- breeht, Chuck Peterson. Bark Rmr: Karl Corrington, Marvin Corrington, Chuck Stiles, Bob Creel, XVillard XVebb, Ralph Martin, LeRoy Nelson, Ronald Scott. FROM THE RECORD BOOK XVith two new coaches, M. E. Christopherson formerly from South Sioux City, and Bruce Pickford from Sanborn, and the adoption of the single-wing offense, Cherokee's football record fell below .500 for the first time in many years. However, the Braves' 2-7 record wasn't a good indication of their potential. The Braves simply couldn't grasp the new type of blocking demanded by the single-wing. Therefore, with three games left on the schedule, a switch to the old T somewhat buoyed Cherokee's lagging spirits. This was demonstrated by their fine showing against powerful Spencer. Statistically speaking, the Tribe gained 1,245 yards compared to 1,513 for opponents. Opponents out- scored us 160 to 89. Cherokee was penalized 205 yards to 265 by opponents. Our punting average was 38.7 compared to 29.6 for the opposition. We completed 23 of 48 passes compared to 22 of 54 for oppon- ents. The season's final, supposedly a toss-up with Storm Lake, saw the Braves behind 14-0 only to roar back in the second half to win 33-14. It, along with the Spencer game, was a great demonstration of Cherokee courage and explosive ability. Another factor for the losing season was the fact that every team in the conference was pointed for the Braves. This was evidenced by the fact that many teams said the Cherokee game was their hardest contest. Eleven seniors who played their last game for Cherokee were Stiles, Martin, Marvin Corrington, John- son, Smith, Hahn, Burkhart, Ranney, Peterson, Ryan, and XVebb. Larry Johnson, steller Tribe tackle, was picked on the first all-conference team. Jim Smith, center, and Ralph Martin, back, were placed on the second team, and Chuck Stiles, back, and Ronald Hahn, tackle, received honorable mention. ...51...

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LE MARS 27 CHEROKEE 7 Scoring first, for the fifth time of the season Cherokee started like they meant to win. However, a LeMars attack, which featured over 21 passes, started to Click and the final score was all the Bulldog's. The Braves ground attack, good at times, was led by Martin, XVebb, and Stiles while the Braves forward wall forced LeMars to the air. CHEROKEE 33 STORM LAKE 14 Losing by 14 to nothing and seemingly headed for another defeat, Cherokee suddenly turned savage and chased the Tornadoes all over the field. Nelson scored first. Then Chuck Stiles threaded his way 41 yards for another. Martin then tallied twice on bull-dozing smashes through the middle and finally, near the close, Stiles applied the coup-de-grace as he scored again around end. It was a terrific close to a dismal season and Coach Christopherson was carried from the field by the over-joyed Tribe. The resurrgent Brave barrier was again manned by Ryan, Johnson, and Hahn as well as a host of others. FOOTBALL SQUAD ' - , . I 1 . , Very Frmzf: Roger Perrin. lfrrmf Rout Marvin Corrington, Larry Johnson, Ronald Hahn, Pat Ryan, Ralph Martin. XVillard Webb, Chuck Stiles, Chuck Pet- erson, Leonard Ranney. Srrollif Row: Don Burkhart, Jinx Tock, Bob Arinbreeht, Ronald Scott, Karl Corrington, Bob Montgomerv, Leliov Nelson Bob Creel, jim Smith. i ' i Tbiril Razr: Dennis Holmes, Dick Sagness, jim Light, Bob Pinkerton, Paul Rausch, jim Ainslie, Dennis NVr.xy, Bob Klart, Iohn Andrews. ' llurfc. Ku-ir: Coach Christopherson, Tracy Anderson, Bill Kreykes, Dennis Mummcrt, Don Nelson, lim Nelgon, Meri I A l N Pruett, As- sisant Coach Picktord.