By ERIC AHLQVIST
Editor

Before the Cooperstown football team's regular season finale at Mt. Markham last Saturday, Cooperstown football coach Steve Pugliese got words of encouragement from Ted Kantorowski, his former coach.

Kantorowski coached Cooperstown's last undefeated team in 1970, when Pugliese was an undersized, but hard-hitting senior linebacker for Cooperstown. After Cooperstown defeated Mt. Markham 26-0 Saturday to complete a 7-0 regular season, Pugliese noticed that Kantorowski was part of the large Cooperstown contingent that traveled to the game.

Pugliese said he borrowed some of the philosophies and strategies from his former coach when he took over the coaching reins at Cooperstown in 1996.

"I take a lot of my football coaching from what he taught me," Pugliese said. "His preparation before games was incredible and he had so much knowledge of the game. No matter the skill level of his teams, he always made them better by the end of the season."

Pugliese said he considers it an honor to have coached the first undefeated team since 1970.

"To be mentioned in the same breath with Ted as a coach is an honor," Pugliese said. "Ted was the classic high school football coach and he had an opportunity to move to Syracuse as an offensive coordinator but turned it down."

Pugliese said it's tough to compare the 1970 team to this year's undefeated squad, but there are some similarities.

"The defenses were both outstanding, we gave up 28 points in eight games in 1970, and this team has given up 26 points in seven games," Pugliese said. "Both teams had great fullbacks and halfbacks. The '70 team had Rich White and Bruce Buffett, and this year it's Brad Hill and Nate Smith. Buffett was 6'4", and 210 pounds and was bruising and Hill is a punishing runner too."

Brad Hill's father, Frank, was a junior on the 1970 team and in 1971 gained 1,400 yards rushing. Brad has gained 1,040 yards in seven games.

"The generations are connected between the teams," Pugliese said. "They are different teams and the times were different then, but the connections are still there."