Below is an excerpt from the TVHS yearbook

The Varsity Boys' Basketball team endured a difficult season but gained valuable experience for next season. The team consisted of no seniors and thus took its lumps from far more experienced opponents. The team finished the year a disappointing 0-21 overall and 0-10 in the PAC, which was good for a sixth place finish. The cagers did show bright spots by competing with state ranked Northwest and Tuslaw until the final buzzer sounded.

"We played tough in those games, but we just didn't hit enough shots in the final minutes to pull out wins" commented Junior Phil Eckinger.

" The losses to Sandy Valley were the worst because we knew we were a better team but all our hard work just didn't pay off," said Zach Fait, junior.

The cagers also stepped their performance up a notch against foes such as Fairless and Coshocton. Once again. they came seconds away from victory but had given a superior effort. A positive in the Trojans' season was their spectacular free throw shooting. They were around 72-75% the entire year. This often kept the cagers in games and made them eligible for a prestigious OHSAA award.

The good news is that the Trojans will return everyone, with a year more experience, to next year's squad which should be very competitive. Next year's group will include Zach Fait and Josh James who garnered All PAC honors and led the team in scoring. Hopefully with the experience from this season, future Trojan clubs' victories will offset the growing pains encountered in the 1997-1998 season.

One of the upsides to this year's basketball season was the development of young talent and experience they gained. Two freshman, Jeremy Eckinger and Mike Rumer, made valuable contributions to the team in late game situations as well. Eckinger also lead the team in scoring in a game. Sophomores Nick Stotzer and Rocky Argento also proved to be valuable assets to the team.

"The younger guys got in late in games and showed they can be a force in a couple of years if they continue to improve," added Chad Tillapaw.

Much of the cagers difficulty came from the inability to finish their opponents when they appeared beaten. They can be attributed to many things including the fact the Trojans returned only two letterman from the previous year's sucessful team.

"The schedule was difficult and tiring and our fatigue caught up with us at the end of the year," said Junior Mark Ginther.

The Trojans never gave up as the season went on, determined to gain a victory. The odds were stacked against them and consequently they never met their goal, but no fan in attendance could say the cagers gave up at any point in the season. Post-season awards went to: Zach Fait, (Jr.), Best Offense. Josh James, (Jr.). Best Free Throw Shooter. Phil Eckinger, (Jr.), Coaches' Award.