Portsmouth Trojan History

[TrojanBuff]

Everyone knows this year's Portsmouth Trojans team has talent. However, I hope this team understands the history and tradition of wearing the Trojans uniform.

Trivia: Who are the 5 individuals below and what did THEY accomplish?

[Hoppy]

The starting five from the 1978 State Championship team!
Scott Taylor, Jeff Lisath, Scott Burrows
Tommy Boden,Craig Tubbs.

There is not a day that I don't think about
this great team! Very proud to have been
the ballboy for this team!

[TrojanBuff]

Hoppy, you are correct! That was a great TEAM.

This photo is just for you:

[ssusoccer]

Sweet looking threads Hop! lol
That was a great team!

[trojandave]

That 1978 team was 11-7 heading into the Class AA tournament........if Jeff Lisath had not missed several games near the end of the regular season, the Trojans would have had a better record........Wheelersburg beat Portsmouth 54-52 at PHS in the final regular season game, then PHS returned the favor with a 54-52 OT win at Valley in the sectional championship.......Jeff returned for that game and made the game tying shot to send it to OT........

The Trojans also had close games with Washington CH......56-54 OT.......Craig Tubbs made a corner jumper at the buzzer to send it to OT......Jeff Lisath made a great bounce pass from halfcourt to Craig.........in the district championship.......and then squeaked by Cleveland Cathedral Latin 63-62 in the state championship game. The duo of Lisath and Tubbs combined for 40 points in that game.

The 1978 team was a combination of talent, coaching, and chemistry.........and there may have never been a better, more dynamic duo in PHS history than Jeff Lisath and Craig Tubbs........when we needed a big basket, those two stepped up time and again.

Scot Taylor, Scott Burrows, and Tom Boden were PERFECT compliments to the talents of Lisath and Tubbs......they served their roles well and in all the 1978 team was one of the all time best Trojan teams when it came to chemistry.

[rivercat]

We also remember this team in Vinton Co. country. If I'm not mistaken we traveled to Portsmouth that year with a very good team, lead by Mike Patterson, and lost by 18-20 points. Great team, that photo reminds me how old I'm getting!

[Hoppy]

If I remember correctly Vinton Co was undefeated when they came to Portsmouth. That was the game that Jeff Lisath slipped on a sucker stick going in for a dunk and broke his ankle. We only won one more game the rest of the regular season. Jeff returned in the Sectional tournament and we went on to win the State.

[trojandave]

In the tournament, Portsmouth beat the 1977 state runnerup Columbus Mifflin in the regional semifinals in Athens 64-49, then beat defending state champion Cleveland Cathedral Latin for the Class AA championship.

[Coach Kelley]

Wow...love the stories and pictures of the legends I hear about each day at practice (from Coach Lisath)...however, the one thing I want to see is JIM STANLEY....Coach Stanley is a legend at Piketon, and from what I hear, he could wear the 'Fro'...Stan still lets the tears roll when he speaks of those times and memories of the State Championships...Seriously, I can listen to those stories all day long...If you love Ohio High School basketball, you have to love the history of Portsmouth Basketball!

[OZZIEOHIO]

Can soneone put a name with all the faces??

[mysonsfan]

Back row: Kirk McMahon, Rob Rickman, Wilburn, Jack Bendolph, Scot Taylor, Jim Murray, Dennis Shipp, Tom Boden.
Front row: Kreg Jones (not shown), Chris Heller, Jeff Lisath, Craig Tubbs, Scott Burrows, David Hopkins (ball boy).
RIP...Scott Burrows...
This was a great team to watch...it was a great season!

[TrojanBuff]

TROJANS!

[Coach Kelley]

wow...still no picture of Jim Stanley??? And I thought he was a legend in P-town!

[Jeff Lisath]

Wow....Thanks for the memories....what a great group of guys...we talked about winning the state when we were in the 7th grade....little did we know...God was listening!

Today is Craig Tubbs birthday....just talked to him and told him about this post. It took us down memory lane....wow.... do we have some stories!!!!!!

Coach Kelley....I will look for an old picture of Jim Stanley....yes he is still a P-Town legend.

[sparky]

what was the final record of the 78 state championship team?

[TrojanBuff]

Picture of Mr. Lisath during the 1978 state title game versus Cleveland Cathedral Latin. Jeff ended the game with 22 points and was named MVP of the state tournament:



BTW, Cleveland Cathedral Latin, who won the 1977 state championship, was a heavy favorite going into this game.

[TrojanBuff]

sparky, the 1978 state title game was a back and forth game. With 32 seconds remaining, Portsmouth took a 63-60 lead and held on to win the game 63-62.

[TrojanBuff]

Other stats about the 1978 Portsmouth Trojans:

-Jeff Lisath and Craig Tubbs combined for an average of 43.5 points per game throughout the 1978 season.

-Scot Burrows and Scot Taylor led the Trojans in rebounds.

-Tom Boden led the Trojans in assists.

-Jim Murray was the main ‘6th man’ off the bench.

-1978 was Portsmouth's first year in the Class AA Division.

-The 1978 state title was the school’s 3rd State Title at the time.

-The head coach of the 1978 Trojans was Richard "Dick" Hopkins.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth's final record was 19-7........the other PHS state championship teams had better records.......1931 (20-2), 1961 (22-3), 1988 (27-1).........at the time, Portsmouth's 19-7 record tied Springfield's 1950 Class AA State Champions for the most losses by a state championship team......in fact, Springfield had the same exact record as the 1978 Trojans. Portsmouth and Springfield were in the same league at the time, the GOL, and the Wildcats finished near the bottom in the league standings, yet won the state.......which tells you how tough the GOL was.

The very next year saw Portsmouth go 18-0 and win its only Associated Press poll title.......unfortunately for the Trojans, the defending state champions lost 54-52 in the district final to Ironton.......it was the last game for Craig Tubbs, Scot Taylor, and Scott Burrows.......3 starters from that fabulous 1978 team.