PCN revisits 1970 Panthers

It’s been 50 years since the Saco Panthers took third place in the 1970 State C Boys Basketball Tournament.

The PCN caught up with a couple of athletes from that team, starting forward Brian DePuydt, who was a junior at Saco High School and guard Will Eklund, a senior.

The team was led by local legend Rocky Tollefson, who passed away in August of 2005 to cancer.

“He was 6-6, he could handle the ball like a guard, and he could shoot from the outside real well,” DePuydt said.

DePuydt said that Tollefson was able to hit shots from the floor that are considered three-point range in today’s game. The three-point line wasn’t introduced to high school until 1987.

“If we would’ve had a three-point line, he would have had a pile of points, I’ll tell ya,” Eklund said.

Eklund remembered that Tollefson often gave the team the first advantage of the game. Points off of a tip-off.

“When we would line up he would always nod at the guy he was going to tip the ball to,” Eklund said with a smile. “Everybody else was watching and whoever got the ball made a pass to somebody that was breaking to the basket. It was two or three passes and we had a layup just about every time.”

Listed at 6-7 Tollefson, who was All-State junior, was joined by starters senior Dale Hansen (forward, center), DePudyt, senior Will Eklund (guard), and junior Brien Beadle.

“We had a strong team and a lot of good players on the bench,” DePuydt said.

Also on the 1970 team was Wayne Stahl, Craig Robinson, John Sunford, Gary Mavencamp, Lyle Siewing, Russell Marshall, Gary Taylor, Darrell Strain, and Bryon Nelson.

The bench was led by Strain, who was the team’s sixth man.

“He was another guard that was very quick and a good shot,” DePuydt said. “He played a lot and Wayne Stahl played a lot with more of an inside game.”

The team was led by the late Mike Conn, who was a well-respected coach. Conn passed away in 1975 to cancer, at the age of 31.

“He was a really nice guy, who was all for the team,” Eklund said. “He was always doing something for us and he always got 110 percent from his players because we liked him so much.”

Eklund said that the Panthers were the first team to get warmups because of Coach Conn’s efforts. The team also practiced to 8-track tapes.

“That didn’t stop him from running us,” Eklund said with a laugh. “But we were in good shape.”

DePuydt confirmed that the team thought highly of Coach Conn. DePuydt was asked if he had seen Coach Conn lose his composure.

“He was a very level headed man,” DePuydt said. “The players all got along with him and everything worked together really well. I had never seen him upset.”

The team ran a fast-paced game, chock-full of pressure defense that led to transition buckets on the fast break, a style that was popular amongst teams on the Hi-Line.

“We liked to run the ball,” DePudyt said adding that Will Eklund was an excellent passer. “On defense, we did a lot of full-court press all the time.”

Though their defense was fierce, according to Eklund the rules of the game were vastly different than today.

“If the ref was behind you and you took a swipe at the ball, they would call a foul on you whether you touched the ball or not,” Eklund said.

He also said that the way players dribble today would not be legal in the 1970s.

“I guess things change with time,” Eklund said.

As far as offense goes, Eklund said that the team was always trying to push the ball downcourt and the team relied on screens and pick plays in set offenses.

Sharing the county with the Mighty Malta Mustangs, the teams seemed to have much in common and according to DePuydt, the teams never played each other but were competitive as to who they thought was the best team that season. Both teams finished third in their respective tournaments that season, so in 1971, both teams wished each other the best of luck and hoped that they could both win state. Malta went on to win the State B Title in 1971 and Saco made their title game in 1971, but they were unable to defeat Busby.

Prior to the 1970 season, the Saco Panthers had reached the 1969 Eastern Divisional Tournament but not the state tournament. Eklund was asked what clicked for the team the 1970 team.

“We worked together,” Eklund said. “It didn’t matter who made the basket. Rocky was a good shot, so he was pretty much the high-point man and Dale Hansen (was second), but for everyone else, whoever was open took the shot. It was good team ball.”

The Panthers went 17-3 during the regular season losing only to Froid in the opening game, Hingham later that year, and then Outlook. The Panthers who featured an explosive and fast-paced offense, scored over 100 points three times that season, with a 100-66 win over Medicine Lake, a 105-60 victory over Rudyard, and 101-68 win over Dodson.

The team went on to win the district title and conference title. But the team certainly faced adversity at the 1970 Eastern Divisional Tournament. The Panthers reached the semi-finals with an 85-54 win over Bainville.

Saco was then defeated by Outlook, a team led by senior Robin Selvig, who was a legendary player for the Grizzlies and Head Coach of the Lady Grizzlies for 38 seasons. Selvig set a record of 833 points that year, a record that was broken by Highwood’s Reece Gilko, who scored 928 points in the 1990-91 season.

“Robin was like Rocky because he could play any position,” DePuydt said.

Selvig would later lead Outlook to the Eastern C Divisional title by defeating Froid 67-59, while Saco was forced to battle in the consolation bracket. The Panthers then defeated Lustre 82-68, and then Bainville for a second time 86-73. Saco went on to defeat Froid 78-68 in the consolation finals for third place and the right to a challenge game. With Outlook winning the title over Froid, the Panthers were eligible for a challenge game that won 78-67, allowing Saco to go to state. The Panthers of Saco would find themselves pitted against the Panthers of Park City in the opening round of the State C Tournament. Park City won 70-57 and went on to win state defeating Hingham 79-61 in the Championship game. Saco would win their final three games of the tournament to take third, edging out Willow Creek 49-45 in the opening round of consolations. They then exacted revenge on Outlook by sending Selvig and his team home with an 82-67 victory in the consolation semi-finals. DePuydt said he remembered Selvig scoring over 40 points that game.

The Panthers then defeated the Busby Eagles 74-65 in the consolation championship.

Tollefson went on to play for the Montana State University Bobcats for four years. Strain and Beadle both played collegiate basketball in Canada.

Though they have gotten close to a title in 1971, 1989 and 1992, the Saco Panthers have never won a title. The same could not be said of the offspring of the 1970 Panthers.

DePuydt’s youngest daughter, Annie DePuydt, led the Saco-Whitewater Panthers to the school’s lone title in 2011 with a win over Harlowton/Ryegate.

“She won the state tournament for me in her senior year,” DePuydt said. “That was great. She said she did it for me because I didn’t get a state championship.”

Annie went on to play for the Montana State University-Billings Yellowjackets.

Tollefson’s son RJ was a part of Malta’s 1998 State B Championship team and wen on to play college basketball for Carroll College and Rocky Mountain College.