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SECTION 2 - PAGE 12 - l»L.\l!NDEALER-HER ALI>, WEDiNESDAl, MARCH 20,1985 Sports Harvard basketball coach finds season's end hard to fathom By Dick Peterson PUtodMlcr Herald Neva Service It's hard to believe it is over. Coach Bruce Firchau may have wished that it had gone on forever. "I told the boys in the locker room Saturday night after our last game that I was not looking forward to the last game, but I was sure glad they postponed it," he said Monday afternoon as the ac­ complishments of the 1984-85 basketball season began to sink in. They had delayed the end of the season as long as possible, placing Saturday night for third place in Illinois Class A basketball They brought home the impressive fourth-place trophy Sunday to a rousing welcome. It was a most spectacular season; it was the most successful in the 84-year history of the Harvard High School basketball program. And Harvard may have never before rallied around a single event as the townfolks did for its state finalist basketball team. The 1984-85 Hornets won their first regional championship in 19 long years. And they made the most of it. 'Hie regional championship victory over Marengo extended the Hornets' winning streak to 23 games,TH£4ongest in the school's history. Their sectional semifinal win over Elgin St. Edward was their 26th of the season, the most any Harvard team had won in a single season. The Hornets' Super-Sectional win over Ohio rocketed Harvard into the state finals, a first in school history and the first for a Mr»Wonrv County team since the legendary 1952 Hebron Green Giant championship squad. Jamie Martin Droke the single-season school scoring record in Harvard sectional championship win over Stillman Valley. He broke the all-time school scoring record in a most appropriate setting - the state quarterfinals on the basketball court of Assembly Hall. And Tommy King established a new school stan­ dard for assists in a single season. Indeed, it was a wonderful season. The Hornets, who ended the season Saturday night in Champaign with a 29-3 record, will forever be among the top four Class A basketball teams in Illinois for 1984-85. It will take another state finalist team to break the new standards set by the 1984-85 Hornets. They have become the new benchmark for Harvard basketball. "Hie reality that it's all over . . . It's definitely set in. That's the sad part. But there will be a lot of fond memories." v Ever since the Hornets began practicing in November, they have worked hard. They have w.orked towards one goal: Going down state. Firchau got a taste of the Hornets' potential in the first game of the season Nov. 20 when they devastated a solid Woodstock club 82-61. "When I saw us pick up where we left off with Marian Central and Marengo (in the 1984 regionals), I thought, 'Oh my, we've really got ourselves something here.' " Firchau's wife, Mary Sue, had a premonition about the season. "Back in late January, Mary Sue said she had a dream that we would go a lot further man I thought we would," he said. Tournament brings out the best in billiards JOHNSBURG - On two successive weekends in February, Coast to Coast Pocket Billiards Assocation held its Second Northern Illinois 8-Ball Tournament at Greg' Never Inn II in Johnsburg. The double-elimination tourney was sponsored by Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee and Charles Herdrich and Son Distributors of McHenry. The competition was hot and heavy in the field of 32 men and 16 women. bn the final day, the field of 48 was whittled down to four in each division in the $30 entry fee euent. ' i ,eague and tournament director Fred Francis, plus his staff of Carol Miller-Kozuch, Jifri Cox, and Greg Smith, owner of Greg's Never Inn n served as referees and helped to avert the pqoblem of crowd control and bad sportsmanship The first match of the final day began with the women's division, loser's bracket, where Janet Leners met Patti Ronayne, with Leners winning to leave Ronayne in fourth place. The second match was in the winner's bracket, and involved Kathy Bailey and Cheryl Tipler. Bailey was victorious, dropping Tipler into the loser's bracket. The third-place match pitted Tipler and Leners against each other, and Leners emerged the winner, dropping Tipler into third place. The fourth match marked the onset of play in the men's division, where Don Burchett faced Mark Mohar in the loser's bracket. Mohar, with an 8-ball break i in the third game, forced Burchett into fourth position. Jim Tomasik did battle with defending champion Paul Poirier, and Tomasik pulled off the upset, sending Poirier into the loser's bracket. Mohar and Poirier, faced off in the next match, and Mohar again came from behind to force Poirier into third place, setting the stage for the finals. In the women's finals, Leners had her back to the wall. She had to defeat Bailey two-out-of-three in successive matches. Leners began strong, destroying Bailey in two straight to win the first match. The next match went down to the wire, as Leners had just one ball left in the final game. Bailey came to the table with deter­ mination and confidence, and ran out to take the $250 cham­ pionship. The men's finals saw Mohar in a must-win situation, challenging the unbeaten Tomasik. Mohar towered over Tomasik in a match of super shooting and excellent safeties, and won it in the third game. The next match was almost an instant replay of the first, with Mohar coming out on top of the heap to win a hard-earned $500 first prize. The award ceremonies saw the handing over of $2,300 in cash, in addition to trophies and cue sticks. The first-, second- and third-place winners also received trophies. The final breakdown: Women's Division: Kathy Bailey - Janet Leners - Cheryl Tipler - Patti Ronayne - Holly Krause - Debby Thode - Men's Division: Mark Mohar - Jim Tomasik - Paul Poirier - Scott Ludlow - Bob Thennes - Rodney Schanke - $50 Steve Lane - $250 $135 $100 $70 $30 $30 $500 $250 $125 $75 $75 $50 "She wouldn't tell me how far we would go. I was afraid to ask her. But it intrigued me. , "I overheard ner tell her mother we would make it to the Final Four. I found that kind of eerie. I don't know if the good Lord gave ^But, Mary Sue kept telling her husband the Hornets would go a lot further than he thought. She was right. . The wins came by an average margin of 25 points. . „ , In January when the basketball poQs started coming out, Harvard was ranked 14th. Firchau was honored by the ranking, but he was worried. He didn't know how his players would react. He didn't want them to talk about the polls. He didn t want the Slls going to their heads, saying the only poll that counts is the one ken at Assembly Hall in March. But, they paid no mind to the polls. "They literally just took it one game at a time," Firchau said. "This team just absolutely didn t want to be beat. They found ways to win. "I thought we had to be one of the best teams in the state. Last year, Firchau and some other coaches were in Champaign as spectators and they were speculating about Harvard's chances in the 1985 tournament. "It was almost unanimous that Erik ScnimKe would be the key," he said. . fn.iMn „ "You're going to have to do a real good job on the post defense, Firchau told 6-foot-6 Schimke before tourament play began. The job he did against Jeffers of St. Edward, the job he did against Godfread of Stillman Valley, the job he did against Wright of Anna- Jonesboro . . . "I've really got to tip my hat to Erik." And Jamie Martin, The Record Holder. "He's got four great years ahead of him playing," Firchau said. "He had a tremendous tournament - leading scorer, leading rebounder, shot the eyes out of the basket. , . , . __ . "I don't think Jamie has to go to a big school to be a standout. He s deceptively quick, but he's not pure speed. , „ "He could shoot with any Division I player m the country. He could match court sense with any Division I player in the country. But, whether he receives a scholarship to a Division I school remains to be seen. Martin was named to the all-tournament first team and Schimke was named to the second team. The Hornets led charmed lives throughout the tournament, probably beginning with the Marian Central cliffhanger, which Harvard escaped 20-19. "The ball had rolled our way every wayin which it could," Firchau said. "Everything had gone our way. The Chrisman game was the first time it didn't." "We came within one half or one quarter of the big one, Firchau said, looking back on the state tournament and the 62-55 semifinal loss to Chrisman. "If we played them five times, we would have beaten them four times. Montini cagers finish Sears to face 49ers, Dolphins next season LAKE FOREST - The Clicago Bears will open their 1985 exhibition schedule against arch-rival St. Louis at Busch Stadium August 19. The four-game pre-season sKte also includes games a|ainst the Indianapolis Colts (Aug. 17) and Buffalo Bills (Aug. 31) at Soldier Field. The lining game pits the Bears ?a i against the Dalls Cowboys at Texas Stadium. All games begin at 6 p.m., with the exception of the Cowboys' game, which starts at 8 p p.m. The NFL will not release its schedule until mid-April, but the Bears' opponents and sites have already been determined. Chicago will, as always, play home-and-home series with fellow NFC Central foes Min­ nesota, Green Bay, Detroit and Tampa Bay. Other road games include dates with Dallas, the New York Jets, and Super Bowl rivals Miami and San Francisco. At home, the Bears will host Atlanta, Indianapolis, New England and Washington. ishing show set for April 14 in Elgin SLGIN - Fishermen, if you w nt to start catching more fish fr >m our local lakes and rivers tli s season, then you won't want tq miss the Super Show of F shing. Let the experts who fish sijccessfully in the area share their fish-catching secrets with you. Secrets that, starting with your first trip, you can use all year long. Headlining the bill will be Dan Gapen, who is recogninzed as the number one river fisherman in America. Many local fisherman are discovering that Illinois has some excellent river fishing available right in their own backyards, and Gapen has fished them all. He will give you the how-to, where-to and when- to, secrets that should make you a successful river fisherman. Back by popular demand will be Midwest Outdoors editor Ray Hansen. Ray will once again discuss two of Illinois' most popular bodies of water, the Chain O' Lakes, and Shabbona Lake. Rounding out this pro line­ up will be Kankakee River expert Ed Mullady. There will also be discussions about tackle, fishing guides, charters and resorts. The Super Show of Fishing will be held Sunday, April 14, at the Blue Moon Convention Center in Elgin. Doors open at 11 a.m., with the first speaker starting a at noon. Donation is $5 for adults, children under 15, $2. All proceeds will be used to benefit the Illinois Fishery. To get to the Blue Moon, take Route 31 south to Highland Avenue, go west on Highland to Larkin Avenue, about 1 Vt miles. The Blue Moon is on the right. For more information, contact Joe Lasota, (312) 931-0190. The Bears have revised ticket prices for 1985, as well as having established a 'family' seating section. Seats in four northeast and northwest sections of the stadium have been designated as 'family' seating areas, and those tickets have been reduced from $15 to $10. As it currently stands, Chicajgo will have four of the top 105 picks in the NFL draft on April 3 30, and nine selections overall in the 12-round, one-day affair. The Bears lost three choices in trades for Tyrone Keys, Steve Fuller and Dave Finzer. The eighth grade Montini Mustangs finished their 1984-85 basketball season with a sparkling 24-5 record. The Mustangs represented the city of McHenry and their school well in the past season. Their accomplishments were many. Montini finished a respectable third in a very competitive Libertyville Tournament back in November. Following this, Montini won the American Legion Tour­ nament at Johnsburg Jr. High School. Montini then captured the championship of the Fox Valley Catholic Conference, and the FVCC Tournament. The season continued in the Rockford Diocese Tournament, where Montini was entered in the Woodstock Regional. The Mustangs were one of two teams to advance out of Woodstock into the Elgin Regional. It was there where Montini saw its season end at the hands of St. Mary's of Elgin, a team which eventually finished second in the Diocesan Championship in Freeport. In three years of basketball play at Montini, the soon-to- graduate eighth graders were an outstanding 56-12. The members of this year's team, which was coached by John McGee and Bart Winn were: George Buch, Chris Byrnes, Kevin Carney, Joe Gilmore, Dob Gorman, Mike Hetterman, Matt Hopp, Dave Martin, Tim Mauer, Kevin McGee, John Olson, Sean Reilly, Mike Sena, Eddy Wegener, Danny Wray and Christian Ziebel. Joseph Sharp was the team's manager. BAR! mmsk FORD i WE'RE CHEAPER!' Over 400 Vehicles on Sale! 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