At the opening
of the 1927-28 basketball season our prospects seemed bright, but as fate would have it, other schools had brighter ones.
A call for candidates by Coach Williams early in December netted a squad of seventy-five
ambitious passers. After thinning down the ranks, fifteen men remained. Practice brought out the best, and the probable varsity
consisted of Moore, Fitzpatrick and Rummel alternating at forward; Bell, Wilchusky and Martz at guard, and Reed at center.
The first game, Port Carbon at Pottsville, was played at the Armory and proved
successful for the Crimson by the score of 43-19, Nice, Holt, Reid and Reiley saw service in this game. December 19, saw the
official opening of the Eastern Pennsylvania Interscholastic Basketball League, and with it came a victory for Pottsville
when they downed Bethlehem by the score of 19-12. This was Martz's first game. The next fray was at Coatsville. The floor
conditions certainly hampered the crimson, and they lost by a 36-22 count.
The closing of the armory sent the team to the improvised Moose Hall to continue their schedule. Easton was the first opponents
to be met here. After the bank-board had fallen and caused a long delay it was found that Easton was on the larger end of
40-39 score. Serfass made his varsity debut. The band accompanied the teams to Lansford, where the boys suffered defeat by
a 38-28 count. It was a hard fought game throughout.
The game of Friday, 13, was sure to be unlucky for someone. The team played Pottstown at Pottsville. Pottstown succumbed to
the jinx, however, when a final period spurt made the final tally Pottsville 39 (3x13), and Pottstown 30. A four-hour bus
journey placed the team in Doylestown on January 20, where they dropped the fray by a 35-22 talley. The game was played cleanly
throughout, there being no personal fouls called during the entire first period.
At Allentown, Pottsville again tasted defeat. A last minute spurt made things look encouraging,
but failed to secure us the victory. Score was 39-31. Bell did not appear in the game because of serious illness. Two games
in as many days proved too much for the boys, but their opponents were no less than the Alumni of 26, or, in plainer words,
the championship team of 1925-1926 . These wothies trounced the varsity to the tune of 41-32.
The Hazleton game at Pottsville proved to be the hardest fought game of the season,
It ended Hazleton, 36, Pottsville; 21. This game proved that there was not a better center in the league than "Dicker"
Reed. The next game was with the same team, but at Hazleton. This time the fray proved almost disastrous to that town, for
during the first three periods only one goal usually separated the scores. Four fouls, however, removed Martz and Wilchusky
from the game which caused a perceptible slump and resulted in the score, Hazleton, 38, Pottsville, 22.
The next two games, Allentown and Doystown, at home were lost. The first by a 38-28
score, and the second, 36-19. The next night the team journeyed to Hershey where the chocolate boys gave them the worst beating
of the season, 50-38. Serfass entered the game and amssed 10 points, to be the high scorer for the crimson.
Pottstown, away, served us a 37-36 trouncing, and then, with only four games remaining,
Coach Williams made a last and successful effort. The defeat of Easton by a 29-24 score started the rally, to be followed
by Hershey, 27-26: Coatsville, 38-21 and Bethlehem, 37-25, all in the favor of Pottsville. The Bethlehem contest was the last
game for Bell,Reed, Rummel, Wilchusky and Martz. The entire squad saw service in this game. The Crimson Tide scored a total
of 561 points for the season and the opponents scored a total of 620 points for the season.
