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Champions
Champions
Beginning the 1961-62 basketball campaign with a new first year coach and high expectations, Astoria was looking to get back to the state tournament in Eugene, as they had so many times before, in their storied basketball history. Astoria High selected Pete Bryant as their coach to fulfill these expectations. He would not disappoint the locals. Over his eight years as head coach he would get the fishermen to the state tournament several times and eventually be inducted into the AHS Hall of Fame himself. However the real story is his first two teams.
The Fishermen got off to a rough start with two preseason losses to Corvallis High, however bounced back to beat R.A. Long and Seaside. Then they had to face the tough Metro League competition they needed to defeat to make their dreams a reality. They started with a six game winning streak which was stopped by a strong David Douglas squad. Their second league loss would come at the hands of Milwaukie High, the eventual league champion.
Astoria hit its prime and continued through the last half of the season, winning seven of its last eight games. The big game was a 57-55 win over Milwaukie the last league game of year. The team finished in second place with a record of 15-3 and fulfilling their goal of going to the state tournament. Dave Romppanen and Jon Norgaard, juniors, were chosen for the Metro League all-star team and senior guard, Dave Palmberg, made the second team.
The state tournament proved to be one of the most exciting in recent history. The first game saw the Fishermen beat P.I.L champions Grant Generals, in a squeaker, 60-59. Then came a hard fought win over Molalla 49-44 to propel the Fishermen into the semi-finals, where they lost a heart breaker to Grants Pass 48-50 and settled for sixth place. Jon Norgaard was chosen First Team All-Tournament and Dave Romppanen second.
The 1962-63 cagers had high expectations following this year, as coach Pete Bryant’s team had four starters that were juniors returning. Tragically, one of these players, Chris Pohl, passed away unexpectedly that next summer. Astoria High School’s outstanding football award is given annually in his honor.
Astoria’s hopes for a state championship burned high during the 1962-63 basketball season. Led by two All-Staters, Dave Romppanen and Jon Norgaard, the Astoria Fighting Fishermen earned a hard-fought state tournament berth and shared the Metro-championship with Milwaukie.
Beginning with the first preliminary game and finishing in the state finals, Astoria compiled an impressive 20-6 win-loss record. In Metropolitan league contests the Fishermen registered a 15-3 record, with two of the losses to Milwaukie.
For the second year in a row Astoria made it to the semi-finals in the state A-1 tourney with wins over Tillamook 57-51 and Pendleton 51-48. In the third round by 53-48 Astoria lost to North Eugene, the team which eventually became the A-1 state champs. In the final game the Fighting Fishermen bowed to Sandy 44-35 and had to settle for 6th place in the State Tournament.
Jon Norgaard and Dave Romppanen were named to the Metropolitan League All-Star team, while Jerry Wood received honorable mention. Both Romppanen and Norgaard were named to the 1st and 2nd team A-1 All-State basketball teams respectively. Dave Romppanen was also named to the first A-1 tourney team.
This ended one of the best two year runs in recent Fishermen basketball history.
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