Our record as 14-6 going into the tourney. Noblesville led briefly in the first quarter. Jeff took the lead midway through the first period and never gave up the lead. With four minutes to go Jeff led by a 56-54 score. Jeff rallied and went on to win by a 64-55 score.

Our second game was with Sheridan who had won this Sectional seven years in a row. They were coached by Larry Hobbs, an outstanding coach. His teams were known for their outstanding outside shooting, press, and ball control play.

Jefferson Township had a double pivot due of Roy and Tom Watson, who were cousins, and who both stood 6-3. Facing this height disadvantage, Hobbs decided to press most of the game. Their center fouled out in the second quarter and three more starters fouled out in the final quarter.

Jeff led 21-14 at the end of the first period but Sheridan led 26-19 at the half, and 36-32 at the end of three periods. Sheridan never used their ball control offense and just kept pressing. With 1:30 to go Sheridan led 41-40 when John Woods of Jeff hit a jumper to put Jeff up by one. With 56 seconds to go Sheridan hit two free-throws to regain the lead, but Jeff put the game away when Fred Bell, Dick Beard, and Woods hit six consecutive free throws to give the Yanks a 48-43 win.

When the gun sounded to end the game, Sheridan had hit five more field goals than Jeff, but the Yanks used a 20-7 edge at the line to post the win.

The Saturday afternoon opponent for Jeff was Walnut Grove. In spite of missing all nine of their field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, the Yanks won, thanks to a 11-14 effort from the free-throw line.

The game was tight all the way, with Jeff holding a 18-11 lead at the end of the first eight minutes. Walnut Grove rallied to tie the game at 23-all at the intermission, and Jeff held a slim 44-42 lead after three.

Roy Watson led the Yanks with 17 points, and the two little guards, Beard and Bell, chipped in with 13 and 11 respectively. Sixth man Don Foster hit two big free throws in the final quarter.

Jackson Center, which had won two sectional games by one point, provided the opposition for the Yanks in the championship game. Jackson got off to a quick start, taking a 12-2 lead before Jeff rallied to cut it to 14-8 at the end of the first quarter. Jeff stayed hot and took the lead at half-time by a 21-20 margin, and still led, 37-34 after three quarters.

Jackson came back to tie the score in the fourth, and took a three point lead when Don Gellinger converted a three-point play. Roy Watson duplicated this feat for Jeff, and the score was tied at 40-40 with just 2:46 left in the game.

Watson gave the Yanks a two-point lead with a couple of charity tosses, but a basket by Walnut Groves’ Don Hodson knotted the contest up for the final time. Jefferson held the ball for a final shot, and Woods began a drive to the basket with just six seconds left, and was fouled two seconds later.

The 5-10 senior calmly stepped two the line and tossed in his first shot to give the Yanks a 43-42 lead. He missed his second shot and Walnut Grove grabbed the rebound and called time-out with only two seconds left. Their desperation shot was off the mark and the Yanks had their first and only sectional title.

This sectional was also unique in the fact that Jefferson Township was outscored from the field in every game, but hit more free throws than did their opponents. Four game totals had the Yanks being outscored from the field by 15 field goals, 77-62. But Jefferson Township had a big 91-43 edge at the free-throw line.

The majority of time all season and during the tourney, six seniors did most of the playing. Foster, our sixth man, took over for any of the starters and did a good job. Four of the boys were college graduates and at least two of them coached. All of them are doing very well today.

Roy Watson was the leading scorer in all of our games and had 84 total points for the sectional. The other four starters all scored in double figures at least once during the sectional.

During the season we had beaten every school in the sectional with the exception of Tipton, who we did not play.

After our big win many of our fans headed for Kempton, the location of Jefferson Township High School. Keith Wellman, the Noblesville Daily Ledger sports writer, was one of the participants. After the celebration I took Keith to the local armory where we practiced. He couldn’t believe what he saw. The floor measured 60x30 feet, was lit by eight-150 watt bulbs, and the dressing room contained only two shower heads. We seldom scrimmaged full court, but when we did, it was four on four. We played a few home games in the Tipton Armory, while most of games were played away. I felt this was an advantage to us, especially during the tourney.