Some 50 years later, Charlie Booker still feels the pain of loss in state final
Almost 50 years later Charlie Booker remembers every last detail of Exeter’s first run to a state championship game in basketball: The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Both feelings remain vivid.
The Eagles won 30 games, few of them close.
They scored over 100 points in back-to-back games and hit 90 three other times. They played with a take-no-prisoners attitude.
“We wanted to beat people as bad as we could, let them know who we were and what we stood for,” said Booker, the centerpiece of the 1973-74 squad, the most successful in program history. “If we could put fear in a team’s eyes, (we knew) the next time around that was gonna be in their minds. That little bit of fear factor . . . we thrived on it. We’re up 40? No, we want to be up 50. Foot on the pedal, press it.”
Until Monday, when the Eagles beat Cathedral Prep to advance to Friday’s PIAA Class 5A championship game, Booker’s 1974 squad was the only in program history to reach the final game of the season.
They won their second county title in three seasons, reached a District 3 final for the first time, then bounced back after a loss to Cocalico to win four straight state playoff games.
They faced a storied Midland squad for the Class B title (the middle of the PIAA’s three classifications at the time). They had a lead in the fourth quarter. They saw it slip away.
Forty-nine years later the greatest player in program history feels tinges of regret.
“I felt I let Exeter down, personally,” said Booker, who went on to play at the University of Delaware, and then professionally in Europe for more than a decade. “People looked at me as the leader of the team and I felt I didn’t do enough.
“I was so sorry that we didn’t get the job done. I looked back later at the accomplishments and thought, ‘Wow, I had a great career there.’ The only thing I wish for was a district title or the state title that eluded us.”
If Anthony Caccese, Zyion Paschall and this Eagles team can defy the odds and knock off eight-time state champ Imhotep Charter they will be considered the greatest team in Exeter basketball history and ease some old wounds.
“When I walk back in that gym, I see the banners and it brings back the good memories,” said Booker, “but it also brings back the memory of losing and not completing the task. That’s why I’m hoping and rooting for Exeter to win the state title, I really am. I’m an Eagle through and through, always have been, always will be.”
The versatile 6-4 Booker graduated as the highest-scoring player in Exeter history (his record total of 1,476 was topped a dozen years later by Mike Lubas) and left a legacy in his wake. Eagles fans have talked about him and the teams he played on for decades.
Just a year after moving into the district from Staten Island Booker, a sophomore, earned a starting spot on Rod Hand’s 1971-72 team. The basketball environment at Exeter was much different than the one he grew up in, much more disciplined and structured, but he fit in quickly.
“My skills were a bit above a lot of players,” Booker said, “but my organizational skills weren’t on the same level. In the city, it’s more of a fast-paced, ‘streetball’ type game. Moving to Exeter enhanced my (game), and it worked beautifully.
| Exeter’s top seasons | Record | Coach |
| 1973-74 | 30-3 | Rod Hand |
| 2022-23 | 27-6 | Matt Ashcroft |
| 1971-72 | 25-2 | Rod Hand |
| 1972-73 | 23-4 | Rod Hand |
| 1983-84 | 23-7 | Terry McElhattan |
| 1982-83 | 21-9 | Terry McElhattan |
“(Coach Hand) was like a second father to me. He was very tough but very fair. I learned an awful lot from him, and from (assistant coaches) Don Hadley and ‘Mac’ (Terry McElhattan). They were phenomenal for me.”
Booker helped Exeter win its first Berks championship in 1972. The Eagles won their state tournament opener that season but got bounced in the first round the following year.
They returned for the ’73-74 season with their starting lineup mostly intact and confident they could make an extended playoff run.
Seniors Mike Ciabattoni and Mike Edwards and juniors John Kubovsak and Craig Conrad joined Booker in the starting lineup. John Leinbach, Tommy Farina and Steve Meyer were the top reserves.
They had length, strength, and a balanced scoring attack. Most importantly, they understood their roles and played together.
“People always said: ‘Charlie, you were the star.’ No, we were the stars,” Booker said. “I give full credit to my teammates.”
“They were similar to this year’s team,” said Hadley. “That team did a good job of sharing the ball. Even though Charlie was the ‘star,’ that whole team played, and so did Charlie, without any egos. That’s a big part of what makes this year’s team go.”
The Eagles started fast, winning their first 11 games before a stunning 19-point loss against Muhlenberg. That didn’t sit well in the locker room, Booker recalls.
“That loss . . . it hurt our pride more than anything,” he said.
| Eagles scoring leaders | Senior year | Points |
| Mike Lubas | 1986 | 1,523 |
| Charlie Booker | 1974 | 1,476 |
| Pete Yousaitis | 1972 | 1,287 |
| Mike Kreiser | 1990 | 1,157 |
| Greg Metz | 1988 | 1,062 |
| Alex Javier | 2020 | 1,016 |
Five weeks later the Eagles got a chance to make amends and did, beating the Muhls 72-55 in the Berks championship game.
They scored 90 points in their district opener but got a scare in the second round when they fell behind Middletown by 13 at the half. They squeaked out a win in overtime, one of their few close games.
They beat James Buchanan to reach the district title game but lost to Cocalico, 59-52.
“We didn’t lose hope, because we knew it wasn’t a one-and-done (tournament at that point),” Booker said. “We understood the final goal.”
The Eagles worked their way smoothly through the Eastern half of the bracket and were happy when Cocalico also reached the state semifinal.
“Everyone was trying to get there,” Booker said of the rematch. “We (knew we) had to have our ‘A’ game every game we played, or we were going home. We didn’t take any games for granted.”
| 1974 PIAA Tournament | ||||
| Exeter | 70 | Bloomsburg | 48 | First round |
| Exeter | 50 | Panther Valley | 46 | East quarterfinal |
| Exeter | 64 | Bristol | 48 | East semifinal |
| Exeter | 45 | Cocalico | 32 | East final |
| Midland | 58 | Exeter | 52 | State final |
The Eagles struggled with Cocalico’s fullcourt trap in the first meeting. Hand switched things up in the rematch. He had Booker and Edwards, his 6-7 center, bring the ball up court. That disrupted Cocalico’s plan.
“It made their big guy come out and play fullcourt,” Hadley said. “They weren’t able to run that defense. Charlie could play pretty much anywhere. He could bring the ball up. He could play inside; he could play outside.”
Exeter won 45-32 for the chance to return to the Farm Show Arena. Waiting was Midland, the defending state champ and one of Pennsylvania’s most successful programs of the 1970’s, a decade that saw it take home three PIAA championships, one at Exeter’s expense.
| 2023 PIAA Tournament | ||||
| Exeter | 62 | Fox Chapel | 57 | First round |
| Exeter | 66 | Mechanicsburg | 49 | Second round |
| Exeter | 75 | Peters Township | 72* | Quarterfinal |
| Exeter | 51 | Cathedral Prep | 47 | Semifinal |
| Exeter | vs. | Imhotep Charter | Championship | |
| *overtime |
Booker, who averaged 18 points a game and once dropped 41 on Wilson, was held to a season-low six points in the state final.
Booker lives in Florida now. Word of this team’s success got back to him several weeks ago; he’s rooting for Matt Aschcroft’s team to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
“If they win it would mean so much to the school and community,” Booker said. “And (then) I can sit back and say: ‘They completed the task that I helped start,’ and that would be rewarding to me.”
Win or lose Caccese, Paschall, Reece Garvin, Kevin Saenz and the others have made a lasting mark. Like Booker’s team five decades ago they have galvanized their community and packed the gym on a regular basis.
“Matt and his kids are on a journey that few people get to take,” said Hadley, who went on to serve as Exeter had coach for eight seasons, following McElhattan, who was head coach for 11. “They’ll always be remembered as that team.
“Fifty years have gone by and people still remember the ’74 team. A lot of people who were in high school at that time are now following this team. It’s something that’s special. You wouldn’t think it’d take 50 years (to get there) again, but when you get (there) you just have to (enjoy) the ride.”
