Lessons from legends: Moffat County basketball pays tribute to alumni
With decades of experience among their guests of honor Saturday afternoon, Moffat County High School boys basketball may have found a great new tradition.
The inaugural Legends game for Bulldog boys hoops saluted some of its best athletes to grace the court during MCHS’s history as they made a return to the home floor.
During halftime of the boys’ game with Aspen, 23 former Bulldogs marched onto the court, with some less than 10 years gone from their time at the school and others having graduated more than a half-century ago.
Larry Seip represented MCHS’s Class of 1955.
“I guess I’m the oldest one here,” Seip chuckled. “They seem a lot younger and a lot faster these days.”
The specialty t-shirts for included an additional honor for a former Bulldog, Lester Cooney, who graduated in 1954 and passed away in early November, which hit Seip somewhat hard.
“I’ve known him for a lot of my life. He was a good buddy. We came to a lot of these games together,” he said. “That’s why I really appreciate this.”
Player — Graduation year
Larry Seip — 1955
Pete Pleasant — 1957
Gary Miller — 1966
Jim Loughran — 1968
Gene Miller — 1969
Darrell Camilletti — 1969
Allen Jenkins — 1973
Scott Cook — 1975
Brad Neptune — 1979
Rich King — 1981
Glenn Duzik — 1985
Kevin Peck — 1987
Junior Najera — 1989
Izzy Gomez — 1990
Chris Jones — 1992
Mike LeWarne — 1992
Keith Zulian — 1998
Luke Tucker — 1998
Trinidad Loya — 1999
Mike Charchalis — 2002
Joe Padon — 2003
George Raftopoulos — 2004
Thomas Noble — 2009
Mike Peters — 2009
Wyatt Oberwitte — 2013
Among the honorees were current basketball staff — such as girls coaches Jim Loughran and Joe Padon — plus past coaches and parents of current and recent players.
Most of the Legends have remained in Craig since graduating and have gone on to become business fixtures in the community, such as Scott Cook, owner of Cook Chevrolet and Cook Ford.
“It’s a really cool deal they had. We need a good tradition like this,” Cook said. “Really good programs have good traditions, and that starts with winning. That means something that they can play for and progress.”
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