Evening star., 1938-02-27
EvENF|RST ROUND
WILL PACK PUNCH
Eastern, St. Johns to Get
Lexington Tourney Bids.
Girls Dates Delayed.
Bx BURTON HAWKINS.

championship.
Thursday. at 7:30 o'clock, st. Johns
polished passers, victorious in l8 Of 10
scholastic battles, will inaugurate
tourney action squared off against
I Fredericksburg High. Following that
tbattle. Bethesda Chevy Chase. only
schoolboy conqueror of the Cadets, will
stack up against Mount Rainier's up
and-coming club.
Eastern, interhigh champion and
thrice winner of the metropolitan title,
will face Georgetown Prep's deter
mined dribblers at 7:30 o'clock Friday
night with Western. defending cham
pion, tackling Washington-Lee High
OF Ballston, Va. in the nightcap
Girls Tournament Delayed.
Semi-final games will be played at
the same spot Saturday starting at 2
O'Clock, with the final fray scheduled
Monday night at O'clock The girls
section Of the tournament will b.. held
separately on dates to be announced
\ later.
Meanwhile, it has been learned from
Dick Smith. genial Washington and
Lee University athletic director, that
both Eastern and st. Johns tomorrow
will be rendered formal invitations to
compete in the South Atlantic scholas-
tic tournament at Lexington. Va,
March 10, II and IL. Assistant Princi-
pal Thomas j. Holmes of Eastern and
Brother Eadbert. athletic advisor at
st. Johns, indicated their schools
would accept.
Il St. Johns, triumphant over Eastern
Yin a hectic game earlier this season.
1ealously hopes to employ The Star
event as wedge to national recog-
milton. Last year the Johnnies reached
the final of the metropolitan tourney
and the semi-final of the South At
lantic competition and generally is re-
garded as having more talented team
this season. Following the Washing
ton and Lee test, ST. Johns hopes to
compete in the National Catholic
Scholastic Tournament at Chicago
March 1927
\ Eastern Hot Road Team.
Eastern, which captured The Star
championship in 1884, 1885 and 1896.
also has experienced great success at
Lexington, snatching titles there in
1888 and 1885. The Lincoln Parkers
also won the Eastern States champion
ship at Glens Falls N. Y, in 1885, and
currently are awaiting a bid to that
tournament.
Thus the Metropolitan brings to-
gether some Of the Nations most high
1y regarded schoolboy quints ST.
Johns, despite its recent defeat by
Bethesda Chevy Chase, believes Coach
Gene Aususterfer has nodded the
finest outfit in the schools history,
while Coach Mike Kelley of Eastern
feels his present team, at its peak,
compares favorably with any produced
at the Lincoln Park institution.
St. Johns appearance in Chicago
largely will be dependent on how fol-
lowers of the club rally to its enticing
game with La Sale High of Philadel-
phia tomorrow night at Catholic Uni
versity gym at BIS o'clock. for the
Johnnies must obtain fund in order
to make the journey.
La Sale Formidable Quint.
The Cadets game with La Sale ap-
parently is proper medicine for their
warm-up to the Metropolitan. La Sale
last year advanced to the semi-final
round of the National Catholic tour
ney and this season has won IA of
19 games against the best teams pro-
duced in New Jersey, Philadelphia and
Delaware
Coached by Charles OBrien, 1888
Temple captain, La Sale is regarded
as one Of the foremost quints in the
Philadelphia area. Two of the last
three years, the Little Explorers have
won Philadelphia Catholic League
championship, finishing second this
season to West Philadelphia High.
st. Johns will rely on Jim Mulvi-
hill, joey Gallagher, Frank Battiste,
Jim Gibel and Johnny Swagart. while
La Sale will start Charley McGlone
1onk O'Donnel, Joe Swoyer, Pope Nc
Laverty and Stan Jarecki Coach
O'Brien rates McGlone the smoothest
hecholastic player he has viewed in 10
4ears. which indicates the caliber of
the team St. Johns will meet.
Fredericksburg No Pushover
Likewise it is with some apprehen-
sion that st. Johns moves into the
classy Star tournament Fredericks-
burg's team has improved rapidly un-
der Coach Johnny Fenlon and is de-
termined to squelch the Johnnies and
thereby grasp sizeable portion OF
prestige.
Mount Rainier's recent games are
mute warning to Bethesda Chevy
Chase not to take them too lightly,
and although Eastern will enter its
game with Georgetown Prep q de-
'cided favorite. the Little Hoyas feel
they are capable of springing an up
set. The Western Washing Lee
High fray looms as another hotly
contested struggle.
Unlike former years, when the in
terhigh champion rated a pronounced
favorite to annex the Metropolitan IT,
tie. and invariably has. this years
card promises heated action through
y out, with Bethesda Chevy Chase and
St. Johns the most generally liked
teams to end the public high school
reign.
It is a tournament which never has
been equaled here and comes at
time when scholastic athletics in this
sector definitely have returned to pop