Faculty extends winning streak

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It appears that there will be no end – at least not soon – to the reign of the teachers and staff on the basketball court.

The annual BHS Seniors-Faculty Game was held on Monday, Dec. 8 and, once again, the faculty prevailed, 31-16.

One of the factors behind the faculty’s win was the inside presence of Mr. Brandt and Mr. LaPointe. The students quickly found out that rebounds and putbacks would be scarce.

“Mr. LaPointe and I have gotten pretty close through coaching basketball over the last couple of years and that clearly translates when we play against the seniors,” Mr. Brandt said. “The height advantage is something that we don’t have to really even use in these games since we know we are going to win every year.”

Still, it mattered as the faculty took an early lead against the Class of 2026 after falling behind by a few points. The 6-foot-5 Brandt, a graduate of High Point High School and East Stroudsburg University, and the equally imposing LaPointe were difficult to contend with as was Mr. Delaporte.

Brandt went in confident as did the rest of the faculty participants.

“The faculty did not do much planning for this game,” he said. “We knew we would be able to outrebound them and, from there, we could execute whatever we wanted. There isn’t much planning needed when you know you’re going to win.”

The students enjoyed the experience and gave their best efforts.

“I thought it was really fun to play against the teachers,” said Sophie Strelkoff, one of the seniors. “We worked well as a team and had positive attitudes. I think the reason the teachers won is because they have a million more years of experience than us and they had a lot of height advantage.”

Mr. Emering noted that chemistry was a factor and it enabled the faculty to take control in the second quarter. Delaporte provided an exciting moment, sending the faculty into the halftime break by netting a shot from halfcourt.

“Our teammates were unselfish, and really tried to look for the best shot on each possession,” Emering said. “I thought the shooting from guys like Coach Brandt and Coach Delaporte made my job as a playmaker easy, and led to our team scoring pretty effortlessly.

“Our team really let shots fly with confidence so it was good to feel my jump shot was hitting from beyond the arc. It was definitely nice to let the staff’s game do the talking, even though I like to talk a lot on the court. Hopefully, next year’s seniors are able to make it more competitive, but I know our core guys will be ready to keep our dynasty going.”

Brandt, too, aims to keep the faculty streak going.

“Beating the students in the staff game has become a tradition here at Boonton High School and we expect to continue that tradition well into the future,” Brandt said.