Looking back Villa Grove Blue Devils hoops history
By Tony Hooker
In the absence of a high school basketball season in Illinois due to the Governor’s pandemic response, I will be writing a series of articles covering teams from the past four VGHS teams to win a regional tournament, the teams from 1959, 1965, 1975 and 1984. All info contained herein has been culled from editions of the Villa Grove News that are housed at the Camargo Township Library.
1959
Backtracking a bit this week, as I missed these results when I initially did my researching.
Ambush Warriors
Jim Duncan netted 20 points, Bob Gaines had 14, and Larry Beccue chipped in 11 as the Blue Devils crushed Tuscola 70-44 on January 9, 1959.
Race past Casey
Bob Gaines poured in 27 points to lead VG to a 93-85 win over Casey on January 10. Jim Duncan added 22 points and Dan Corbin helped out by swishing 19 tallies. Larry Beccue also reached double figures for the Blue Devils, netting 10 points.
1965
Corral Buffaloes
Georgetown came into the game as heavy favorites, sporting a gaudy 16-2 season mark, but it was Villa Grove’s unheralded quintet who came out on top, 70-61. John McGrath led the balanced VGHS scoring attack, netting 18 points in the win. Allyn Montgomery and Larry Sigler each chipped in 11, and Jerry Harvey added 10 points for the victors. McGrath was a beast on the glass, netting 19-1/2 caroms in leading VG to a 62-43 rebounding advantage.
Collar Bulldogs
John McGrath continued his strong play, netting 24 points to lead the Blue Devils to an 81-49 pasting of Bement. Larry Sigler chipped in 13, Chuck Smith tallied 12 points, and Don Burgett added 10 for the balanced VGHS attack.
1975
Cage Panthers
Stan Prosser netted 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Villa Grove to a hard fought 70-65 win over Homer. Tim Keith added 15 points and Joe Waymire had 10 points for the victors.
Buck Broncos
Prosser continued his all-league level play, netting 18 points and grabbing 19 rebounds and Keith backed him with 15 points and 12 rebounds of his own. Swiss Army Knife guard Brian Carr continued to contribute in multiple ways, scoring 8 points, grabbing 12 boards and handing out 5 assists.
1984
Slice Rajahs
Chris Brown, Andrew Turner, Mark Waymire and Doug each tallied 12 points to lead VGHS to a 69-48 win over Atwood Hammond. Dale Brown added 9 points to the balanced Blue Devil attack.
Joust Knights
Kevin Moraski had 20 points, Doug Reed added 19 and Dale Brown exploded for a career high 17 points as VG, playing without Big man Mark Waymire, defeated Arthur 76-61.