Hunt Co., TX - Schools - Devils, Celeste Head For Austin *********************************************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: "Sarah Swindell" Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm *********************************************** Devils, Celeste Head For Austin By Paul Bailey Sports Editor CELESTE--Coach G. W. Tillerson and his Celeste Blue Devil basketball team will pack up and head out for distant play-offs in Austin--Wednesday morning. The Blue Devils, who turned in a mighty performance in the Class B Regional Tournament in Sherman Friday and Saturday, will carry the Region 3 colors to the Class B State Basketball Playoffs. Coach Tillerson said Sunday that a workout for Wednesday and living quarters have already been arranged for in Austin for the regional cage champions from Celeste. Celeste, which has been a highly respected basketball city for many years embedded this fact in the minds of the teams and fans at the regional tournament at Austin College in Sherman. The Blue Devils romped over Collinsville,e Annona, and then tripped up a highly rested Slidell team 54 - 52 in the finals Saturday night for their first regional championship in the schools' history. It has taken Celeste four years to accomplish this feat, although some Hunt County cage fans thought prior Celeste teams should have been in the driver's seat. But they didn't make it and this year's quintet did--and in a big way! Slidell, with its huge center, 6-6 1/2 Butch Pruett, was thought to be unbeatable until the talented Celeste crew hot hold of it. Celeste's own Pruitt--David--along with All-State candidate Joe Tillerson and teammates Jerry Weatherley, Bud Roach, and Lloyd Lanier, handled the job magnificently. TILLERSON GETS 77 Tillerson, playing his normally cool game, scored 24 points in the finale to register 77 points in the three regional tournament games. This is an average of 25.7 points per outing. He collected 38 points against Annona. Also, in the three games Bud Roach tallied 31 points, David Pruitt 33, Lloyd Lanier 23, and Jerry Weatherley 16. The Celeste players will leave Wednesday morning to meet a 30-minute workout schedule at Gregory Gymnasium at the University of Texas. During the stay in Austin, they will reside at the (famous to Celeste) Acorn Motel located at 2530 South Congress in Austin. The team will travel by cars and will be followed by a car caravan of over one-hundred Celeste basketball fans on Thursday. Schools at Celeste will be turned out on Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the state boys' tournament. Finals are played on Saturday. SCHEDULE INDEFINITE Tillerson said the schedule for the tournament was still not definite. Only the times for each game in the Class B had been set up Sunday. Six schools will participate in Class B. Two will draw byes and the other four teams will play at 8:45 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. Thursday. The winners of these two games and the two teams drawing byes will play at 9:00 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. on Friday. The two losers of these contests will collide in the Stephen F. Austin Gymnasium at 8:25 p.m. Friday for consolation honors. Class B's championship game will be played at 9:00 a.m. Saturday. Celeste's Blue Devils will work out at the East Texas State College field house either today or Tuesday, according to Tillerson. (Caption under the picture by Paul Bailey: The Long Arm--Butch Pruett (44), 6 6 1/2 center for Slidell, goes up, up, up, but fails to block this shot by Joe Tillerson of Celeste. Felix Mote (50) of Slidell also tries a defensive move, but fails. Tillerson scored 24 points as Celeste won the Class B Region 3 championship over Slidell, 54-52.) From the article State Meet Opens by The Associated Press Twenty-two teams participated in the State Tournament, only five were making return trips. Teams mentioned wee Fort Worth Haltom (25-4), Dallas Adamson (25-4), Houston Austin (35-1), Graham (20-3), Kilgore (24-3), Clear Creek (24-6), South San Antonio (32-3), and San Antonio Lee (27-4) in Class AAAA and AAA. Clear Creek was defending its state title. South San Antonio was another repeat. Canyon was the lone returnee of Class AA--Lancaster, Hardin-Jefferson of Sour Lake, and San Diego were other in that ranking. San Diego boasted a gaudy 28-2 record. All four Class A teams were new--Sanford, Fritch, Henrietta, Talco (31-4), and East Chambers. McAdoo and Frankston were back in Class B. The article said that McAdoo was the defending state champion with a 33-3 record. I thought Frankston was! Hawley, Celeste, Hutton, and Wall were the other Class B teams. (Undated Greenville Herald Banner clipping, submitted by Bud Roach)