Years of frustration over being unable to qualify for or win the Distinct finals ended in '88 when Trojans basketball did both.

T.V. reached distinct play by defeating Barnesville in the sectionals 77-70. After this accomplishment, the "Dream Team" went on to defeat Mingo 71-56. Derek Vaughan led all scorers with 29 points, while Matt Edwards and Craig Taylor finished with 10 points each.

T.V.'s next foe was Frontier, a team with a 20-2 record until they met the best defensive team in the area. Tusky charged into St. John's Arena determined to take home the District Title and they did. With five people scoring in double figures- Derek Vaughan, 12 points; Darrin Vaughan, 12 points, Duane Wernecke, 17 Points; Steve Franks, 11 points; and Craig Taylor, 10 points, Tusky was unstoppable.

Winning the District invoked feelings of joy, self-esteem, and accomplishment among the players and coaches. Coach Von Kaenel stated his feeling. "I was estactic! We played so well against Frontier that I knew it was the start of something big."

Matt Edwards added his thoughts. "Winning Districts really was a 'high'. It was the first time and basketball team from our school had won it. It really gave me a feeling that we had a chance of going all the way to state. I noticed how many people were supporting us and how many new faces there were attending games. It really felt good that people finally believed in us."

Trojans Advance to State

It was beginning to look as if Tusky Valley would be unstoppable. With an in-your-face defense, an offense that scored at will, and inspiring coaching from Bob Von Kaenel and Don Spinell, T.V. swept the Regionals.

T.V. defeated River 72-59 to place us in the Regional Finals versus Wheelersburg who was ranked 3rd in the state. The roundballers had no trouble with the 'Berg' despite heavy pessimism from most local sports writers.

"No one was counting on us to win. I guess you could say we were the underdogs, and that is how we wanted it. When we win, it feels a lot better to beat someone that was supposed to be better than us, than someone who wasn't," commented Derek Vaughan about Tusky not being forecast to win.

Coach Von Kaenel had similar feelings to those of his senior player. He added, "Winning regionals was the feeling I've never had in coaching. Knowing you've made it to the Final Four brings chills to me."

Winning regionals was another conquest the Trojans captured on the way to the dream. Other conquests included best offensive team (66.7 pts per game), most wins in a season (22), and Derek Vaughan setting record of most points in a game (41) & points in a season (519).

TV Travels Road to State

Capping off the year was T.V.'s first trip to Columbus to play in the State Basketball Tournament. This was earmarked by a week long celebration.

Monday came and the school was buzzing with excitement from Saturday's win against Wheelersburg to Thursday's game vs. Triway. Tuesday night the T.V. community got together to offer their best wishes at the community pep rally held in the gym. Wednesday the cheerleaders gave their own pep rally sending off the team. After Thursday's and Saturday's games the Trojans returned to a welcome home party. Even though the hoopsters couldn't bring back the first place trophy they still made the fans believe they were the were the #1 team.

T.V. fell just short of being first time Division III State Champions. Tusky beat Triway 62-53 to advance to the finals. They led most of the way against a very strong, ranked first-in-the-state Hamilton Badin team. It came down to the final minutes when Badin poured it on and the Trojans could not respond. Badin won it 68-63.

Coach Von Kaenel comments on the state performance, "I was very disappointed. We were so close to being the champions but we could not hold on."

Senior Matt Edwards said, "It was totally indescribable. 10,000 people cheering for a team that always had beaten the odds. I wanted to win for those people as well as the team. Just being there made you feel like a winner. No matter what happened, we can always say we are champions. The dream fell one game short but we can still be proud of our accomplishments."

Season Results