SCHOHARIE CENTRAL SCHOOL CLASS OF 1968 VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM WENT UNDEFEATED

In 1968 The SCS Varsity Basketball Team had a record of 18-0: winning all their league games and achieving what sports team strive for – perfection. Team members are now in their mid-seventies. Team records, trophies and memorabilia have been discarded except those maintained by players and their families.

Flipping through the yearbook I happened upon this picture which reminded me of what a special year it was for SCS. It motivated me to connect with those players and gather some of the recollections of that special year. Following are summery recollections gathered from discussions with the starting five players.

Team members are shown below as extracted from the YO-SKO-HA-RO Year Book (1968). Kneeling: Mike Negus, John Adams, Jim Gorman, Fred Hendricks, Allan Baldwin, Harold Conklin, Jon Shultes Standing: Mr. Pafunda (Varsity Head Coach), Don Diamond, Jeff Senecal, Duane Sidney, Tom Stark, Doug Martin, Jim Sacket, Bob Chirieleison, Steve Foland 

Schoharie competed against opponents such as Middleburg, Cobleskill, Berne Knox, Richmondville, Sharon Springs, Greenville, Fonda, Canajoharie.

Origins. The core of the starting 5 were moved up from modified level to JV and played together from JV through varsity under Coach Pafunda.   The decision to move these young players up was hastened by the seniors graduating. Tom Stark joined the team in 7th grade and Doug Martin joining his freshman year. It was a good JV team with a record of 14-1

Continuity. Continuity over the seasons enabled the team to work on similar personal development skills drills as well as understanding teammate intent

The starting five. Fred was the point guard. his priority was to advance the ball and distribute the ball to other players, however if the ball was kicked back out, he would shoot, even though he wasn’t normally the 1st option.  Jimmy was the primary shooting guard and did not hesitate to launch a shot.  This had the effect of either scoring or generating motion if the offense was getting stale. Tom Stark was positioned in the low post and focused on rebounding.  Most of Tom’s scores were generated by rebounding.  Doug Martin was always around the ball and had a propensity for scoring off of offensive rebounds.  Duane was a wing player with the skills to dribble drive with either hand, leading to a layup or dish off to a team mate when the opponent reacted to the action.

Coach Pafunda didn’t substitute much, but if one of the starters was in foul trouble Bob Chirieleison was usually the 1st off the bench playing a wing position, Guards being substituted were replaced by Allan Baldwin,  Jim Gorman or Don Diamond. On rare occasions Duane Sidney switch to a guard position. There were many talented players on that team, many of whom did not get much playing time, but would have started at other schools.

Leadership. Two captains were assigned for each game with a different pair of players for each game.

Full court press. The Indians deployed a 3-2 full court press with Doug Martin on the ball; Duane Sydney and Tom Stark denying from the wings and Jimmi and Fred dropped deep. The press was very effective as the team set a record for points scored in the 1st quarter: outscoring Middleburg 43 -5 in the 1st quarter with Tom Stark recording 21 points in the 1st quarter. Shortly thereafter the record was toppled by scoring 44 points vs Duanesburg. Coach Pafunda seemed embarrassed by the situation and sat the starters for the remainder of the game. Everyone played.

Defense. The team primarily played man-to—man however, the team was not averse to modifying their defensive strategy such as playing a box and 1 defense with Duane Sidney playing Gary Hamm and the other four players in a zone alignment.

Offense. Other than out of bounds plays there was no set offensive plays.  The free-lance offense lot of pick and roll with Doug frequently operating from the low post and feeding Tom or Duane.

Practice. Practice would begin by running 5 laps to loosen up, followed by drills such as rebounding drills, fast break drills, 3-man weave or ball handling drills.  Finally, practice would conclude with a half hour scrimmage.  Often the scrimmage would be used to model the opposing team and practice the planned defense.

Coach Pafunda. Although big wins were possible Coach Pafunda took a “Don’t rub it in” philosophy as exhibited vs Duanesburg – a team lacking in talent that year. He stressed fundamentals and defense.  Playing solid defense, usually man to man, was a focus.

Recognition this team was going to be special. In 1968 Cobleskill was regarded as the class of the league. The team began to acknowledge that this season was special after beating Cobleskill twice mid schedule. Defeating Cobleskill bolstered expectations.

Milestones. The team the team averaged 85 points per game in the league and 78 points per game overall with There was no 3-point basket in those days. All five players recorded double digit scoring average for the year. In the record setting Middleburg game Tom Stark scored 23 points in the 1st quarter.

Sectionals. SCS. Played three competitive games opening vs Hoosac Valley, defeating Chatham High School and losing to Draper High School of Schenectady, NY 74-70.

Lasting Memories. The spectator stands being completely packed.  Spectators would save seats for family arriving late to see the team play. The comradery and lasting friendships among the players. From a fan’s view riding the bus to the games and being part of the cheering section. We expected to win, and did!

Christmas 2022

During the power outage we cooked dinner at the neighbor’s house since our generator does not power our stove. We had a very nice, sociable meal. Our generator runs our furnace, TV, refrigerator and some lights so we are good; toodstove adds some additional warmth. Outside temp is 6.

Girls Utah Vacation

Kathryn played volleyball in the Huntsman Senior Olympics accompanied by BillieJo and Dakota. After the volleyball games they took a tour of the nearby National Parks: Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reefs. They took horses to Bryce Canyon and rode a challenging zip line ride.

New Mexico Vacation

From the El Paso airport we drove to Carlsbad Caverns and arrived in time to witness the thousands and thousands of bats and swallows exit the cave for their night time meals. The next morning we walked into the caverns via the Natural Entrance. The caverns includes a large limestone chamber, named simply the Big Room, which is 4,000 ft long, 625 ft wide, and 255 ft high at its highest point. The Big Room is the largest chamber in North America and the 31st largest in the world.

White Sands National Park is completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers 145,762 acres in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a 275 sq mi field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River. For thousands of years, groups of ancient nomads used caves above the Gila River as temporary shelter. In the late 1200s, people of the agricultural Mogollon culture made it a home. They built rooms, crafted pottery and raised children in the cliff dwellings for one or two generations. By approximately 1300, the Mogollon had moved on, leaving the walls behind.

Truth or Consequences is the county seat of Sierra County with a population of ~6,000. The unusual place names is due to renaming itself in March 1950 after the Truth or Consequences radio show. We enjoyed the hot springs for a 1 hour relaxing soak.

Finally we spent four days at the Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch in the heart of the Gila National Forest. a private ranch located in the middle of millions of acres of protected national forest land.

New Well

Starting in June we experienced air in our water lines, which after investigation turned out to be due to our well not re-charging fast enough. After 40 years of supporting family and livestock it was time for a new well. The well was drilled to 260 feet resulting in a lot of water, but also some particulate matter in the water. Two months of flushing the water cleared up most of the water. More filtering would be necessary in the future.

Tom and Debby Visit

Tom and Debbie visited for a few days. We hiked the Trenton Falls trail and toured Fort Stanwix and Fort Klock.

Known as “the fort that never surrendered,” Fort Stanwix successfully repelled a prolonged siege in August 1777 during the Revolutionary War. For thousands of years the ancient trail that connects the Mohawk River and Wood Creek served as a vital link for people traveling between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Ontario.

Fort Klock is a fortified homestead one mile east of St. Johnsville. The stone structure has walls over 2 feet thick and is heavily loopholed on every side for defense , windows could be covered by sturdy wood shutters. A spring bubbling up in the cellar provided fresh water to the occupants. The self contained Fort Klock was utilized during both the French and Indian war and the American war for independence, as a place of refuge for family and neighbors. The home remained in the Klock family through the 1950’s.

County Line Flow

Matt & I planned a day trip paddling the County Line Flow. A short gravel path leads from the 4 vehicle parking area to the south shore of County Line Flow. One can paddle the flow but are not allowed to step onto the shore except at the put-in. Paddlers are allowed to get out along Fishing Brook upstream of the flow. The transition from the flow to Fishing Brook took a little scouting but paddling the brook was very rewarding.