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PAGE • - PLAINDEALER - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7,1981 The Third a Half Joel Wakitsch • Sports Editor assing The Buck: Woodstock Coach Blamed In fairness to all readers of the sports page, I said I would give all readers a chance to be heard in my column. But because of the fully iam-packed McHenry bleachers, the Woodstock vulgarity was not heard and therefore, Woodstock slides by free and McHenry is ruled unsportmanlike. Sure there were some vulgarites in the McHenry crowd and the vulgarities are what is unsportsmanlike,but the yelling and cheering being done at our games is hot. Because as you may know, that is what is to be expected when the predictors (oddsmakers) of professional predict who will win. A large part of. the predic _ sed on the size of the crowd which is usually larger for In past months I have used your comments concerning the "McHenry Split" and other sports auestions. - The past weds has brought the following letter to my attention as a rebuttal to my Third Half article of both Jan 2,1961 and an earlier column of Nov. 14, 1980 concerning the emergence of the Sports Fact Sheets. The letter reads: Dear Mr. Wakitsch, , \ t In regard to your story of "When in Doubt, Blame the Fans," I would say the headline should read, "When in Doubt, Blame the Coach." Because if you recall, The Woodstock coach made the mistake of choosing to shoot into the Woodstock crowd the first half and into the McHenry crowd during the second half of the game, which a good coach would not choose to do. Also, if you remember (and for proof, check some photo6 you may have taken) the Woodstock crowd contained about 40 people who were quite unruly themselves. I was informed of this while discussing the game with a teacher who was sitting quite close to the Woodstock crowd. the home team. The home crowd does and should largely determine the outcome unless of course the opposing team is so much better. None the less, the home team will play better with the cheering of their fans. Also, I would like to thank you a lot for giving the fans the credit for such a well-deserved win. Getting on to a different subject, I recall last year sometime that a McHenry family wrote in and commented about the sports publicity of McHenry compared to Johnsburg in which Johnsburg came out the leader. Well, I and a number of the people that I talk to, seem to feel that Johnsburg st^ll seems to be ahead of McHenry on the sports page. But their is one thing I happen to find amusing on the sports page. It refer back to one of the writers commenting on why Johnsburg has more publicity than McHenry. I can't recall who exactly wrote it, but I do remember what it said. It said that all the Johnsburg publicity was due to all the stories being given to the Plaindealer by Johnsburg students, parents, teachers or coaches. If that is true that McHenry coaches teachers, parents - or students don't hand in no stories, how come all the McHenry stories are written by coaches and teachers for example, Dick Rabbitt, Marty Sobzcak and his wife. The proof of their writing is written after the story. All Johnsburg stories, however, are as far as I can see, written by Joel Wakitsch. I see no proof of any teachers or students or coaches involved in the writings of any Johnsburg stories. Jack Jablonski and the Madcap laughs. Unfortunately for Mr. Jablonski, no letter is published without a rebuttal from the sports editor. I credit Mr^ Jablonski for his first thoughts concerning the decision of the Woodstock coach to have his team shooting at the same end as the McHenry fans? While doing some checking, I did discover that the visiting coach does have a choice of "picking a basket." Maybe the Woodstock coach was wrong, but unsportmanlike conduct on the fans' part is also wrong. The "home court advantage" can be taken to the limit. Maybe you are righVthe fans should be credited with the win, but as far as I'm concerned, the community is charged with a big loss. In the second part of your letter, you recall an article about Johnsburg getting more publicity than McHenry. After reading your letter, I researched tne article that you mention (Nov. 14, 1960-Third Half). Nowhere in the article did I hint that 'Johnsburg publicity was due to all the stories being given to the Plaindealer by Johnsburg students, parents, teachers or coaches. i did say, however, that "It could be that the neihboring school that 'gets all the coverage' has sent in the copy ana has taken the time to boast about his team." Could it be, Mr. Jablonski, that in fact that 'neighboring school' was indeed McHenry High School and that the Joh ou licit referring to Johnsburg as the' 'neihboring schooF when in Because you (and talk complaints were originally from Johnsburg High School? id othei g all the irg as th fact, it was the opposite way around ;rs you Johnsburg is getting all the publicity, you th to) think that ought I was ool whe To prove my point, I thumbed through Plaindealers last month and counted the total inches devoted pro from the to McHenry, Johnsburg and Marian High shool on the Plaindealer sports pages. Even I was somewhat embarrased by the findings. I INCHES DEVOTED TO McHENRY 445 \ - INCHES DEVOTED TO JOHNSBURG .155 k INCHES DEVOTED TO MARIAN 78 " - . . S It seems to me, Mr. Jablonski, that Johnsburg and Marian are getting the short end of the deal for the last months The reason that you see my name at the bottom of each Johnsburg story is because there is no one else to do it. Dick Rabbitt has written for the Plaindealer for many years, and thus, McHenry has always been well-covered. I have sent the afore mentioned Sports Fact Sheets to Johnsburg and Marian, but only Johnsburg has chosen to use the fact sheets from which I write my stories. 1 appreciate your letter4hat helped to make me aware that Johnsburg and Marian Central still does not get the coverage they deserve. Plaindealer McHENRY HEARING AID CENTER ROBERT STENSLAND--(is tw. ROBERT DECKER- m.a . Audiologist 15 YRS Of SERVICE IN MCHENRY 3937 MAIN ST. 385-7661 SERVICE CENTER HOURS WEDNESDAYS ONLY 1010 5 •EVENINGS BY APPOINTMENT Sales & Service All Makes ALl REPAIRS GUARANTEED BATTERIES </2 PRICE Zenith and Zenetron direc­ tional aids can help mild moderate and severe hearing losses-see if one can help you. FREE cie year supply cf batter ies w.th purchase t FREE Crown, McHenry Clash 'Hawks Beat Harvard _ With a double overtime 68-66 victory over Harvard last Tuesday, the Johnsburg Skyhawks ran their overall record to 10-4 in capturing the consolation championship of the Northern Illinois Classic in Hampshire. Johnsburg could have avoided the overtime affair in the last minute of regular time when after Tom Pieper hit two of his 22 total points with 40 seconds left, Frank Jakubicek miscalculated a stuff shot and blew what could have been a three point lead with 10 seconds left. As it was, Harvard came down with the bound, and Tim Anderson connected on a free throw after being fouled to knot the score at 60 as regulation time ran out. / Harvard then took a 62-60 lead in the first overtime period on a Steve Perenchio bucket, but Rick Neiss tossed in two free -- throws to tie the score again. Johnsburg then took the lead, but two Harvard players hit free throws to leave the first . overtime at 64-64. • Johnsburg then took a 68-64 lead in the second overtime as !38eiss and Chuck Novy hit the hoop, but Harvard's Perenchio rUt two free throws to bring the Hornets within two. $ v After Johnsburg's Gary Guetzloff was called for travelling with a minute left in the second overtime, the Hornets played for the last shot in an effort to tie again , but both Perenchio and Haldeman missed last second shots and Johnsburg came away \$th the 68-66 victory and the consolation championship. The game was not always as close as the final score indicated. Harvard led at one time, 43-30 in the third period, but the quarter ended at 49-42. The Skyhawks knocked the lead to one at 3:50 of the final stanza as Jakubicek hit a layup and gave the Skyhawks a chance in overtime. For Johnsburg, Rick Neiss showed mid-season consistency throughout the tourney, racking up 99 points in four games and was a selection on the all-tourney team. His 25 points were overall high in the final game, while Tom Pieper, who struggled in the scoring department early in the tourney, came through with 22 in the final game, including a big one towards the end. Other scorers for the Skyhawks included Jakubicek, 6, Russ Beck, Scott Valentin and Chuck Novy had foijr, while Gary Guetzloff hit for 3. Harvard had gotten to the consolation finals by beating Marian, 71-70 on Monday, while Johnsburg advanced by beating Walther Lutheran, 74-61. Providence St. Mel won the overall championship of the Hampshire event by handling Lake Zurich, 92-68 in the final game. Genoa Kingston, who beat the Skyhawks in the opening £me of the tourney, ended up in third by handing Rockfora fferson a 77-66 loss. The Skyhawks will take their 10-4 mark to Richmond- Burton on Jan. 6 in a non-conference affair. They seem to be flying pretty high at the moment with Neiss and Pieper both hitting 20-25 footers in the final game and Frank Jakubicek starting to score a bit more. He averaged over 10 points per game in Hampshire and pulled down his usual 8-10 rebounds per game. JoerWakitsch The Crown high school Viking Fox Valley con­ ference leader and the 19th ranked team in the Chicago area will be here Friday night to take on the Warriors. The Vikings of Jim Hinkle truly the class of the Fox Valley this season, will bring an 11 and 1 record to Buckner gym. With all starters returning from last year, the Vikings have set two goals this season. Winning the conference championship, and a trip to the Super Sectional are the two uppermost thoughts in the minds of the crew from Crown. Led b£ a potential all- stater, Gary Gliesman, a 6'6" forward, and con­ ference scoring leader the past two seasons, along with 6'7" Mike Szxepanski and 6 3" Mike Dorgan, the Warriors will have their hands full on Jhe boards. These three along with the floor general Kevin Kepp, who always seems to have his best nights against the Warriors and Leroy Leske running mate of Kepp will indeed present some problems for the Warriors. The Vikings can also call on four reserves ' Fred Boxleitner, Nate Linhart, Mike Kilhefner and transfer Rick Crenshaw who all see quite a bit of action. Last year these teams split a pair with the Warriors winning 67 to 64 at Crown, and in the "Big Shootout" at West campus the Vikes came out ahead 80 to 79 in a real barn burner. If you can recall in that game the first eleven shots taken, all hit the bottom of the net in an amazing display of shooting for both teams. ' It was also in that game when a Warrior basket was nullified by a three second " violation in the second period that "Mac" Mc- Cracken remarked "that may hurt the Warriors in the end." It did indeed as the final score indicates. Coach Ken Ludwig will have his Warriors ready for the game. Playing three games in the Wheeling tourney gave some of the players some needed ex­ perience, and although the Vikes are heavily favored,it will be still quite a ball game. This is your chance to see one of the top rated teams in the area play, and no doubt they will bring a large following to the game. Dick Rabbitt fv Things were slow and rather boring on the bench as Coach Tom Pieper's Wildcats fell to an early 5-3 deficit... Montini Girls Beat St. John's In an almost carbon copy replay of their previous game, the Mustangs eliminated a stubborn St. John's team 31-21 in the first round play of the girl's FVCL Tournament. Outstanding defensive play by Cindy Kinsala, along with Karen Thompson and Helen Kennedy repeatedly kept St. John's from putting together any consistent scoring drives. Thompson drew four fouls in the first half, but became even stronger in the second half, not drawing another foul. Kinsala went out with five fouls with 1:45 left to play and Kennedy, Montini's top scorer with 12 points, fouled out with one minute left, but the game was in hand by then. Patti Johnson and Gerry Haner continually used up precious time, particularly in the fourth quarter when a furious St. John's press threatened for awhile to overtake Montini. After a strictly defensive first half, the Mustangs , down 11-10, opened the third quarter with quick layups by Johnson and Haner along with two Kinsala buckets and eventually built a 24-13 third quarter score. jn the fourth quarter, St. Johns came out storming and cut the lead to five. Two clutch free throws and two steals by Monique Betan- court broke the momentum and great follow-up defense by Jody J us ten, Deanne Martin and Jenny Wirtz held off the Supersonic charge. Along with Kennedy's 12 points, Johnson had 7, Haner tossed in 6, Kinsala tallied four, while Betancourt had two. Montini will now play league champion St. Catherines on Thursday night at St. Peters in An- tioch. Don Kinsala Gaining Experience ...but the Johnsburg bench got more interested in the second quarter as they took a commanding lead over the Trojans of McHenry... The Johnsburg Skyhawk wrestlers ended up last in the Jacobs Invitational Dec. 13, but coach March is still optimistic about the future of his wrestlers. Supporting a 1-4 so far this season, March explained that his team is not doing as badly as the record in­ dicates. "We do get beat as a team because of inexperience, but we love to wrestle the bigger schools to gain just that," March noted. The grapplers have wrestled only a few small school teams to date. In the opening match of the season, Wcs Johnsburg lost to Marian Central, 30-31. The second was a win over Richmond Burton, 28-20. The Skyhawk strengths this year come in the form of Lars Swanson, who supports a freshman record of 6-1 at the 105 weight class, Ken Pedraza , 3-4 at 112 lbs as a freshman, Mike Hurckes, a 119 lb sophomore with a 3-2 mark and Mike Dalan, a 185 lb. junior with a 7-3 record. "We are a young team, starting 7 freshmen, 13 sophomores apd 7 juniors at the varsity level," March admitted. The coach also had a valid excuse for the teams' poor showing at the Jacobs In­ vitational. - "Because of sickness, we wrestled only eight weights,"March said. ...and jubilation rang out as the first half ended with the Wildcats in front of the Trojans, 23-8. The Johnsburg Ave went on to defeat McHenry in the first game of the Legion Tournament, 43- 22 as Bill Peccuci of Johnsbarg led all scorers with nine points. Teammate Ken Baker dumped in eight for the Wildcats, While little Ken Klapperich of the Trojans could only muster Ave points to lead his team. In Monday's second game, the Montini Mustangs, led by Scott Freund with 16 points, beat Parkland 43-32. Pat Dunne of Parkland had 10 points to lead the losers. A rundown of the whole three-day tourney will appear in next Wednesday's Plaindealer. STAFF PHOTOS-JOEL WAKITSCH \ DR. JACK R. CHULENSARIAN cSttving of <y out (PODIATRIST) C7fie. Soot cJfeaCtfi <zNltdi Samity , Off cm cA Soot Examination & Conxu[tation (upon price request only) •General Care •Out Patient Foot Surgery •Sports Medicine •Childrens Foot Problems Call (312)223-6066 " FOR AN APPOINTMENT .Medical/Surgical Insurance Accepted For Free Foot Health Information .• Office Located in Downtown Graysloke Area 106 Center Street TrueStory -January, 1979 Mr. X of McHenry bought eyeglasses from someofte else costing him $106.00 and waited 6 weeks for delivery. --June. Mr. X came to McHenry Opticians, bought glasses costing him $44.00 and waited only 26 minutes! 3 Fishing Derby Set Fool Fact* On Tape at (312)223-2700 "See the difference I Mr. X $42 and youH be $$$ ahead r McHENRY OPTICIANS McCullom Lake, a private lake, is opened once a year to ice fishermen in the Annual Ice Fishing Derby scheduled for Jan. 17 and 18. The McCullom Lake Conservation Club will hold the annual affair, and club president Jerry Raycraft said that in the past, the lake has produced Northerns to 16 pounds and Largemouth that push the 6 pound mark. The lake also has a good population of Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish and Yellow Perch. Bait, tackle, food and beverages, along with registration forms will be available at the beach house in the Village of McCullom Lake headquarters located north of McHenry on Mc­ Cullom Lake Road. For more information, contact Jerry Raycraft at 385-1819. 1301 Riverside Dr. McHenry Acro»« f rom Fo* Hole) I l l inois 38S-9240 Dennis Conway 3319 W. Elm St. McH*nry 385-71]! 4- "See me for a State Farm Homeowners Policy with Inflation Gvverage.n Like a good neighbor. Stale Farm is there