The Lions are Roaring…. Again!
CF2023 Varsity Basketball Team, pictured from left to right: Asst. Coach Mike Bonagura, Matthew Kelly, Maurice Davoren, Aaron Falkena, Noah Swart, Leam Powell, Luke Falkena, Mikey Bonagura, Bryce Hollo, Jaden Mezetin, Michael Dingle, Head Coach Brad McDuffie, Micah McDuffie, Drew Hollo, Jonah McDuffie, Anthony Bonagura
Our school is beaming with pride over the season that our boys’ basketball team has had this year. After an excellent regular season, they have gone on to defend their Section IX championship, defeating The Mount Academy and by defeating Bridgehampton and then later South Kortright in the regionals, they secured a ticket to the State Final Four. They will be competing this Saturday in Glens Falls in the State Semi-Finals against North Warren. It is a joy to be represented by such fine young men and it has been exciting to watch them play all year. As they won last Saturday, they became the first Chapel Field boys’ basketball team since 1991 to make the state final four. It was a moment of great joy and one that brought back sweet, and at the same time, painful memories for those of us who have been around Chapel Field since the beginning.
It was in the fall of 1988 that Chapel Field first entered the OCIAA, the Orange County Athletic Association, part of the New York State Public School Athletic Association. This was a big decision for a little school. Chapel Field had only recently opened in the 86/87 school year. At that time, we had only grades 9-12 and had an enrollment of about 40 students. Needless to say,we took our licks in the league and struggled to compete that first year. Our first year of OCIAA basketball we were 1-17, our first ever win coming in our last game of the year, against Florida (which gives me a certain measure of satisfaction.) The next year we went 8-11. It was exciting. We were beginning to compete and hold our own.
When a new school enters the league, they must compete for two years under probation status known as “Friends and Neighbors.” As such they may compete in the regular season, but not in the post season. After two years, if approved by the league a school may become a full member. As we entered our third year, we really hit our stride in boys’ basketball. We had a team that was unbelievably fun to watch. That year we went 18-4, averaging 79 points per game, beating schools in the upper classes, some of them literally 20 times our size.
As like today, we faced the challenge of not having a gym, but unlike today, we didn’t even have a gym to practice in. Pine Bush Central Schools let us use Circleville elementary school gym in the evenings after their modified team was finished with their practices. It made for long days, but the boys handled it like pros. As the season went on the crowds began to grow and the boys became local celebrities. The papers loved the story of the new kids on the block and the local television stations did as well. My office wall was covered with articles written on the team. We went on to win the OCIAA National Division, no small feat, and we were set to enter the post season.
Pictured above from left to right and back to front, Man Thompson, Greg Williams, Garret Dykstra, Tim Spanjer, Brian Piscatelli, Rob Piscatelli, Terry Naylor, Lateef Meyers, and David Julien. The ’91 team in the picture taken just before we received the news.
After three hard fought games we won the Section IX title. The crowds were growing, and the enthusiasm was intense. In the regional tournament we beat North Salem in the first round andin the Regional Final we beat Bridgehampton, earning a spot in the New York State Final Four. Who could have imagined? As the sports commentators from the local Cable 6 network would say, “The Lions are roaring baby!” We were all riding a high, ready to get back to the gym and prepare for States.
On that Monday however, my father received a call from the league informing him that our team had been disqualified from the state tournament. My father was incredulous. “How could it be?””Why?” The representative from our league said that the state did not have Chapel Field in their records as a member school. Apparently, there was, unbeknownst to us, some process that needed to be accomplished at the state level and not only at the league level in transferring from “Friends and Neighbors” status to full members. Meanwhile we had played five games in the post season, and no one had stopped us or told us that something was lacking. We asked for an appeal and for the chance to file whatever papers were necessary in order to allow our boys to play, given that we were in good standing in our league. We awaited news on our request and the next day received word that it had been denied. Chapel Field would not make the trip to Glens Falls, rather Bridgehampton, the team we beat in the regional final would take our place.
At that point the boys had no idea of any problem. We called the team down to the office. They were brimming with excitement and debating who was going to room with who in the hotel. My father and I took them out of the school up to his house where we broke the unbearable news to them. What had been a fairy tale year had instantly been cut short. There were no more practices and no chance to test ourselves at the highest level, to compete for the prize that every high school athlete dreams of. The boys of that team dealt with one of the worst heartaches an athlete can experience.
Not since then had we made it back to Glens Falls… until this year. As the boys this year beat South Kortright to go to States, the win brought a rush of memories and emotions. I received a text from David Julien, one of the leaders of the ‘91 team, “I am crying right now, brother.” and then another, “The Lions are roaring baby!!!” I later got a text from Terry Naylor from the ‘91 team, “Brings tears to my eyes thinking of Coach.” (my father)
Yesterday Dave Julien came up to the school to join this year’s team for lunch. We got the chance to tell the boys the story and to let them know how proud we are of them. It was beautiful to see the boys locked in as the stories were being told and as Dave shared his emotion over their success. What a beautiful community, connected through decades, we have here at Chapel Field.
I am personally so proud of our boys this year. They represent the school with excellence and character. They play with heart and resiliency. I am thankful for the commitment of their head coach, Brad McDuffie and their assistant coach, Mike Bonagura, who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to bear on the team. They have brought us back to Glens Falls after 32 years. As the boys go, they go not just for themselves alone, but for the boys of the ’91 team as well, some of whom will be there to witness it. Win or lose, they will close a long-openedchapter of Chapel Field Athletics. Either way they have made our entire school community proud including all the guys who have gone before them.
Bill Spanjer serves as Head of Schools and Chairman of the Biblical Studies Department at Chapel Field.
