Welcome to 1987! This is the story of a small Vermont basketball program that had only won one state championship (1975) since its inception in 1967 and has not won one since! Under the passionate leadership of a young coach from the Bronx named Jesse Agel, who poured his emotions out and wore his heart on his sleeve, the program experienced a remarkable turnaround. In just two years, they went from a 8-12 record in their first year to an impressive 21-2 on the way to a state championship! Through tough love and intensity, Coach Agel turned the Harwood basketball program into a winner. They played summer ball together, scouted teams, and ran teams into the ground. Coach Agel's dedication and passion turned tears into trophies as the players embraced his coaching style, delivered for him, and are still close to him to this day, 36 years later.

This story features interviews with players, including Coach Agel, and is dedicated to Charlie O’Brien.

Thank you for listening. Dan Morse Harwood Teacher, Sports Announcer and Broadcast Journalist

Jesse Agel joined Columbia in May 2016 after spending three seasons on Jim Engles' staff at NJIT. Agel, a New York City native and a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, was also the head coach of Brown University from 2008-12.

Agel was on Craig Robinson’s staff at Brown for two years before being elevated to head coach. In his time as an assistant, he helped the Bears register a school-record 19 victories in 2007-2008, while gaining a berth in the College Basketball Invitational. The Bears finished second in the Ivy standings with an 11-3 mark, winning 10 of their last 11 regular season games.

Brown saw 11 players earn All-Ivy League status in Agel’s tenure as assistant and head coach, including the 2011 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Sean McGonagill. Prior to his time at Brown, Agel spent 17 years at his alma mater, the University of Vermont. A 1984 graduate, Agel was the associate head coach at Vermont for eight years under head coach Tom Brennan. Agel was instrumental in helping the Catamounts to the finest four-year run in the 105-year history of UVM basketball at the end of his UVM career. In that stretch, Vermont won three consecutive America East titles (2003, 2004, 2005), the school’s first conference championships and its first-ever regular season title in 2002 and again in 2005. In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the Catamounts had the upset of the tournament, upsetting BIG EAST Champion Syracuse, 60-57, in the first round.

Under Agel, Vermont had four players named America East Rookie of the Year, including back-to-back winners in T.J. Sorrentine ’04 and Taylor Coppenrath ’05. Both went on to earn America East Player of the Year honors.

Agel began his coaching career as a volunteer student assistant at Vermont in 1984-85. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the head coach at Harwood Union (Vermont) High School in Duxbury for two seasons. He guided the Highlanders to the 1988 Vermont Division II State Championship with a 21-2 record.

SOURCE: https://gocolumbialions.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/jesse-agel/2883

Jeff Greene led the nation in stolen bases while playing at the University of Vermont. This is Jeff's story of being drafted to the major leagues and the trials and tribulations of a minor league baseball player and youth coach.

This is Friday Night Lights, before Friday Night Lights! This is the story of the last Division 1 State Championship team for any sport at Montpelier High School in Montpelier, Vermont. It features interviews with players Craig Colbath, Fran Lynch, and Dave Moody. We are going back in time to the summer of 1978 and listening to a 9-1 team on their way to winning a championship, including one loss on the coldest day of their lives. The three men I'm talking to are young, fast, and strong. You are going to hear about mischievous pranks with a neighboring rivalry, fan and player fights at games, girlfriend disputes, and an overtime win against a quarterback who later goes on to play for the Green Bay Packers.

This is the behind-the-scenes story of football in a small New England town with touching memories and tributes to teammates, coaches, and journalists, some of whom are no longer with us. This story reminds us of what it was like to be 17 trying to win a state championship. Montpelier was a special town to grow up and play sports in. Many people have fond memories of these games and the people who played in them. This story is dedicated to Jeanine Pratt, Burt Morrison, and Henry Jurras. Thank you for listening. Dan Morse MHS 1984

P.S. If you have any memories of this season, photos of the game, or the celebration parade in downtown Montpelier after the game, please share them here or email them to me at [email protected]