1970 Waverly Tigers State Tournament Team

[trojandave]

First, I want to congratulate the 2022 Waverly Tigers, Coach Travis Robertson, his staff, and the Waverly community on making the Final 4 at Dayton Arena. To advance to the state tournament is a very difficult feat, as only about 25% of all schools in Ohio have ever made it that far.

As this is Waverly's 2nd appearance in the Final 4, I thought it would be appropriate to look back to the first Waverly team to make the Final 4, which was the 1970 Tigers. That team finished 22-3 with star player Denny Thompson and legendary coach Carroll Hawhee.

The Tigers survived some very close games in getting to the Final 4:

Sectional Final: Beat Ironton
District Semifinal: Beat Chillicothe in 3 OT 67-65
District Final: Beat Athens (SEOAL champions) 63-56
Regional Semifinal: Beat Columbus Walnut Ridge 58-56
Regional Final: Beat Canton Lehman 58-55

Won the district and regional by a total of 14 points!!

The Tigers' season ended in the Class AA state semifinal with a loss to Dayton Chaminade 73-55. Chaminade went on to win the state title with a perfect 27-0 record. One note that stands out about this year was that it was the last season of the 2 class system in Ohio. The very next year, the OHSAA went to a AAA, AA, and A class system which lasted until 1988, when 4 divisions were introduced.

No doubt that the 1970 Waverly Tigers were playing as one of the smallest schools in Class AA.

[oldschoolqb13]

Good stuff!

[4out1in]

Great post Dave. I was young, but I remember both Walnut Ridge and Canton Lehman winning state titles the following year. Beating Walnut Ridge was a major accomplishment, even as juniors because that team is considered by many to be one of the greatest teams in Ohio's history.

[trojandave]

4out1in: That Walnut Ridge team you are referring to had 2 players who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels.....Ed Stahl and Brad Hoffman. The Scots went undefeated in 1971 and won the very first Class AAA state title.

[4out1in]

Yes. They started 5 players who all played D1 basketball in college. It's a sad commentary on how old I actually am but I remember Stahl and Hoffman.