Looking back at Quabbin's run as a small school to the 1999 boys basketball state finals
“No barriers... no boundaries.”
That was Quabbin basketball’s mission statement, 25 years ago. A confident and veteran group of players made up the 1998-99 Quabbin boys basketball team. In years prior, they were always a force within the league, making it to the district playoffs multiple times, but failed to make a prolonged run in the MIAA tournament.
But in 1999, the Panthers embarked on an unforgettable tourney journey. Quabbin won the Clark Tournament and sectional title before losing in the state finals. Fast forward to today and Quabbin is excited to celebrate the historic 1999 run.
On Friday, this team and its members will be celebrated at Quabbin's boys basketball game against Tyngsborough. With a gathering for the alumni and their families prior to the game to catch up and reconnect followed by a recognition at halftime of the game, that memorable season from years before will be at the forefront of the community’s mind once again.
“We don't live near there so for (my family), especially my kids, it’ll be the first time they’re stepping foot on that campus,” said Robbie Skowyra, a senior point guard of the 1999 team. “So to show them where their Dad went to school and had some great memories and a little bit of success in athletics, it’ll be a great memory as a father.”
How the season played out
Quabbin was seeded second in the district tournament, behind No. 1 Southbridge. Due to a few upsets on the other side of the bracket, the Panthers matched up with No. 8 Algonquin in the Central Mass. final.
“The hard work and dedication we all had as a team was something we all agreed upon like, 'Let’s work as hard as we can to achieve our goal of possibly winning states,' which obviously we came up a little short but that was our goal and we worked as hard as we could,” said Josh Perez, another member of the 1999 team.
The Panthers reached the district final after taking down the defending champ, St. Bernard’s, which was seeded last that season. They cruised past Algonquin to take the district championship, 74-56. After claiming the Central Mass. title, they moved on to play the Western Mass. winner in the state semifinal.
Their next opponent was Northampton at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst. Down by 8 at the half, the Panthers opened the second half with a 10-2 run. Leading the efforts were Jehan Jourson and Jason Granlund. Jourson battled foul trouble early as Northampton built up that first-half lead.
From the time they were young, many members of the team played together consistently, giving them the chance to mesh as teammates and develop a team that could go far in the postseason.
More: Former Gardner High hoops star Elliot Erickson is excelling at prep level for Cushing
“We hung out even after school, we played in tournaments all year round,” Granlund said. “Even our AAU team consisted of four or five of our high school roster. We were cohesive, we knew where someone was going to be.”
Another reason for the team’s success – Coach Dex. Dennis Dextradeur, better known as Coach Dex, has been at the helm of the Quabbin boys basketball team for 32 years.
“His preparation, game planning – our program kind of ran like a college. He had game plans for us before every game,” Perez said. “When we got to school in the morning, we’d pick them up and find out who our matchups were and we had game film and stuff like that. It really starts there with his coaching strategy and putting in that extra work to get us prepared to play certain teams.”
Heading to the finals
Quabbin emerged victorious 79-74 in the semifinal but the biggest challenge awaited in the semifinal. Back in Central Mass. for the final at the Worcester Centrum (now DCU Center), the Panthers were set to take on East Boston.
“This was a defensive battle from start to finish… the final outcome in doubt until the final minute,” read an article in the Barre Gazette after the game.
East Boston had the upperhand that day, defeating the Panthers 62-57, but not without a valiant fight from Quabbin.
More: Meet Murdock High's superhero: Multi-sport senior a role model on and off the field
A headline in The Gardner News stated: “Loss in state title can’t taint Panthers’ glorious winter campaign,” reminding the community of the great efforts by the team throughout the season, despite the finals loss.
Recognizing the impact years later
The stats, points, tough games and hard losses are not the most important memory a quarter of a century later. The lasting impact of that team was the dedication, drive and skill that carried them through an exciting and memorable season in which the community rallied around.
At a small school like Quabbin, the team had a strong support system behind them.
“It really was one of those special moments where it felt like everyone was in the boat together pushing for the success because we all knew we had the opportunity to do something that would be special for the community,” Skowyra said.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Remembering Quabbin Regional boys basketball team's 1999 run
