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Martinsville High School Alumni
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And the Beat goes on: How about them Dogs! - 54 |
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03/17/06
Irvin Painter
(1958)
rip622002@yahoo.com
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Did the Class of '58 start something or what!? Actually Mel Cartwright & Husky Hall started it with the class of '58! And current coach Troy Wells has continued it!
Martinsville's Bulldogs won it's 13th AA Sate Championship in basketball(the record by far) last Sat. nite in Richmond. But first, a little recount of the season for those not living here now(honest, this is true!.
Last season, the Dog's lost to Robert E. Lee in the state semi-finals by 10 points. Lee won their 2nd consecutive state title the next nite. The Dog's lost 4 starters off their team,so this season was to be another re-building year. Lee was bringing back basicly their entire team for '05-'06. It looked like this season was for 2nd place for all the rest of the AA teams.
The Dog's lost their first 3 games to AAA teams. They also lost their Soph.point guard when he quit the team. They also lost their only 'big' man to a broken foot during a Xmas tourney in Roanoke. So, when coach Troy Wells gathered the team for their next practice, he told them to look around--what you see is what we got! Let's make the best of what is left of the season. What was left was the District games & the Dog's lost their 1st games with the preseason favorites, Bassett & Magna Vista(Bassett game was on the Dog's home court!). With 2 weeks left in the reg. season, the Dog's had 2 district losses & Bassett had none & Magna Vista had one. About this time, their injured center was starting to practice some, but he still needed to get back in shape. The Dog's preceded to beat Magna Vista at he Dog-House & beat Basset at Bassett to finish the season in 2nd place to Bassett's one loss.
The Dog's beat Bassett by 3 points each game the next 3 weeks in the District Tourney, Regional Tourney & in the State semi-finals(as you can see Bassett & the Dog's were evenly matched!).
Now all the Dog's had standing in their path was Robert E. Lee(remember them?) with a 30-0 season record & 85 consecutive victories the past 3 seasons. "Piece-of-Cake! With great coaching & scouting reports from 2 ex-Dog's(Troy's sons) & with a now very confident bunch of "Mad-Dog's, Lee didn't know it, but they never had a chance!
The Dog's beat Lee by 9 points for the State Title & #13 overall for Martinsville! And, that center with the broken foot. He was usually counted on to provide a 'big' body in the middle along with 3-5 points & 6-7 rebounds a game. Well, in the final game, he had the game of his life: 19 points & 10 rebounds! What a story, but I didn't make this up(not nearly that smart!).
I guess 'ol' Mel knew what he was doing,when early in his career as head coach, he stopped the bus returning from Blacksburg & threw a 'runner-up' trophy in the Roanoke River!! He took some 'flack' for that but, his answer to why he did it makes sense to me "We won't have room in our Trophy Case for runner-up trophys when we get through!". I loved it then & I still love it! Wish all of the old dogs could have been here for this season, but we've had a lot of them. I'm rounding 3rd & headed for home! Irvin |
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