Past and present, Howard's 1964 state basketball title connections live on

Mar. 22—HOWARD, S.D. — Howard High School boys basketball snapped a six-decade championship drought last Saturday by defeating De Smet in a Class B overtime thriller.

Two individuals who played in the program's last state title in 1964, Doyle Sage and Dave Callies, were there to experience the moment.

And based on their memories from the Tigers' championship 60 years ago, the parallels between the two teams make the 60-year separation feel not so significant.

"Super excited for the kids, because it's something that they'll never forget," Sage said. "Here it is 60 years later, seems like yesterday for Dave Callies and I."

Sage, who left Howard in 2000 to take a position as a judge in Sioux Falls, remains a Howard boy at heart, and would instantly move back if not for his and his wife's numerous children and grandchildren who have staked their lives in the big city.

He's one of seven members of the 1964 team that are still alive, many of which have also remained in South Dakota. Callies and Ron Selkon reside in Howard, Glen Rasmussen in Sioux Falls and Doug Jerlow in Madison. Just two are out of state, Sage's brother, Bud, who is in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Norm Dixon, who lives in Iowa.

Five teammates have died, including Denny Carlson, Roger Truman, Jerry Potter, Greg Gangliner and Bob Clark — four of whom spent their adult lives in South Dakota.

Sage's ability to keep up with each teammate throughout the years is an indication of a bond that they created during their adolescence.

An athletic crop of kids, nearly the whole Howard team grew up playing all the traditional sports together. Prevailing memories included when they were middle schoolers, they won state in the teeners tournament and were just one out away from advancing to the teeners baseball national championships in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

In high school, nearly all the boys played Legion baseball in the summer, football in the fall, basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring. They had the same coaches for each sport: Head coach Jim Cordts, and assistant Vernon Eggert. They knew Cordts' systems inside and out, and were good at everything.

"We were on the same team for everything, and everyone got along really well," Callies said.

Everybody had their role on the basketball team. Carlson and Truman, who were all-state players, were the team's top scorers. Rasmussen, another all-state player, was an elite defender. Callies got "six-to-eight points and a lot of rebounds," as Sage put it, and Sage came off the bench. Their combined continuity and ability set up a special season in 1964, and the Tigers entered the Class B state tournament with a 20-0 record.

As the preeminent team, they were the clear villains at the highly-anticipated event. When Howard stepped on the court at the Sioux Falls Arena for their quarterfinals matchup, they were welcomed by a showering of boos from the majority of the full-capacity crowd.

"That's what happens when you have that target on your back," Callies said. " ... You don't seem to hear that much anymore. They're clapping now, but back then we were kind of on our own."

Carrying what Doyle described as an "us against the world" mentality, the athletic Tigers were extra motivated to use their run-and-gun offense to race each opponent out of the gym.

Clark, which the Tigers had beaten earlier in the year, never stood a chance in a nine-point loss. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte tried to out-race Howard in the semifinals, a strategy that just allowed the top seed to rack up over 80 points in a double-digit win. In the final, Howard dominated Scotland from beginning to end to seize the championship.

"That was a good basketball team," Sage said. "And I remember nobody came within nine points of us."

By winning it all, the Tigers silenced the boos and were received with applause when they returned home to Howard the next day.

"We hit what we called Virgil's corner and there must have been 200 cars," Sage said. "Just everybody in the town got to the armory, and the place was just packed — standing room only."

Sage and Callies are both well-connected to the school and the current team. Sage coached Nick Koepsell, now Howard's head coach basketball coach, in Little League baseball growing up and knows the Koepsell family well.

Callies, who lives in Howard, was also a Little League coach for many years. His stepson, Ryan Krempgef, was on the Howard team that was the state runner-up in 1995. His grandchildren attended Howard, including a granddaughter who played basketball and graduated last year.

The duo likens the 2024 team to their own.

Though the Tigers aren't a high-flying offense, but rather a methodical team that thrives defensively,

Sage can't help but see the similarities between the team's current top two scorers, Luke and Kolt Koepsell, and the 1964 top scorers, Carlson and Truman.

"In the concept of the team, our team and their team, they're still very good team players," Sage said. "I didn't see any ball hogging by Kolt and Luke. They score, yes, and we look for them to score. But if somebody's open and has a better shot, they're dishing. And that's the way we played back yet."

Sage and Callies also recognized how the team carried themselves throughout the tournament. When adversity struck, such as when De Smet's George Jensen hit a buzzer-beater to send the championship game to overtime, the team didn't flinch.

"I'm very impressed with those young men," Callies said. "What they were able to do and what their focus was."

The duo is grateful they could see the team in person create yet another unforgettable moment for Howard.

"It really brings the whole community together," Sage said. "And it's exciting times for those kids."