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fourth year of having a football program. They finished 9-1 that season, losing only to Providence 18-14 in a game marred by wind and rain.
As sophomores, the varsity finished 4-6 and when that group were juniors, the Pirates were 6-4. As seniors they almost went undefeated.
“ We had a group of kids that were very athletic,” said Mastin who took over as head coach in 1979, retiring in 2003.“ We had two running backs that were just terrors.
“ When we finished 6-4 and knew they were all coming back in 1975, we knew we had something special, and we hit the weights hard. We had a great weight program.”
One of those backs who was a terror was Kim Martin, who was Charlestown’ s first North-South All-Star selection and is considered one of the best players in school history. He signed with Indiana University after his high school career was completed. The fullback, the other terror, who lined up next to Martin was Keith Fischer, and Billy Smith was the quarterback.
“ I had some great athletes. Billy Smith was just awesome,” Mastin said.“ He was an outstanding option quarterback. We ran the veer, and the quarterback has to do a lot, read the defense and know whether to pull it or give it to the halfback.”
Smith went on to play at Hanover before returning to Charlestown to coach middle school and quarterbacks.
There were also others on the 1975 team who played college football.
That team had a solid offensive line, led by assistant coach Harry Long who Mastin referred to as the best offensive line coach in the state.
“ We had some good size, big kids,” Long said.“ They were smart and unique. It was a good group of kids. I always loved coaching the line. I enjoyed the technique, teaching the proper footwork and the challenge of lining up against another team and figuring out a way to beat them.”
Long said Roger Caudill, the head coach of the 1975 team, had the squad“ doing things that were just different,”
“ The coaching staff had matching coats and ties and after a couple of games the players all dressed in coats and ties to the games,” he said.“ They painted their shoes red before every game. That kind of brought us together as a group.”
Members of the 1975 team were honored at a recent Charlestown game. Mastin said it was great to see several of those players who are part of the program’ s rich history.
“ It was a great reunion. There were a lot of high fives and hugs,” he said.“ It was a wonderful time.”
Mastin retired as the winningest coach in Charlestown history with 141 victories. He still attends games
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JAN / FEB 2026 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE PAGE NO. 29