The scoreboard said it all.

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The final record of the perfect season.

As fans, students and family members filled the Bigfork gymnasium to celebrate the school’s 2013-14 Montana State Class B Boys’ Basketball Championship on Tuesday night, a sense of fulfillment fell over each member of the Bigfork Vikings.

At the beginning of the 2013-14 basketball season, head coach Josh Downey pointed to the bare wall underneath section designated for boys basketball state championships and told his team they were going to put a banner on that wall.

Roughly five months later his bold statement became a reality.

The lights dimmed, the music blared and a booming voice on the PA system echoed over the crowd as each member of the team received a standing ovation from the Bigfork faithful.

“To bring home the state title, the first one, words can’t describe how excited we are. We all knew we could do it, but we knew it would take hard work and dedication everyday to get there,” senior Christian Evans said.

“The community means a lot. They support us 100 percent and they followed us all the way to Bozeman. It was nice having a home crowd at the state tournament. They support us so much.”

After the introductions and the Bigfork cheerleaders entertained the crowd, a stirring video was displayed on a projection screen.

It captured all the memories from the 71-62 win over the Columbus Cougars and the first state basketball championship in school history.

From 3-pointers to the rowdy Bigfork fan section, the historic weekend was on display.

When the music died down and a clip of the final buzzer sounded, the Bigfork gymnasium erupted as it relived the memories of the undefeated season.

Proceeding the highlights was an address to the fans from Downey.

“Having a video like that let’s us relieve some great memories. These kids, this is the time of their life and something that they’ll never forget it,” Downey told the crowd.

“The community support that weve got here, all of the fans that rode this thing out, the fans that drove 5 hours to Bozeman, I think that made it that much more special, I think that helped make the experience. So, on behalf of the team, thank you.”

The Vikings made their way to the corner of the gym. They put their hands on the ropes extending to the ceiling. As a group, as a family, they pulled down the cover blocking the once empty wall.

Underneath the sign that read “Boys’ Basketball” was “2014,” the year the Bigfork Vikings were perfect.

“You couldn’t ask for a better season. After the game there were no words to describe it. It’s amazing,” senior Wyatt Fisher said.

“Through the season, through all of our conditioning, our towel pushes and just working together, we were pretty flawless. Our teamwork and that unselfishness brought us to the state championship.”

Closing out the event was an autograph session for the fans. All 11 Vikings sat across several tables and a giant single file line formed for posters, t-shirts and pictures to become everlasting memorabilia.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s not something that happens very often. Since it’s the first time in school history, it’s pretty sweet to be a part of that,” senior Cameron Nissen said.

Coach Downey was modestly overwhelmed by the support that has come from the magical season rather than the unblemished record itself.

“Being undefeated wasn’t as important until now. It’s great to look back and know what we did but the state title was always our first goal,” Downey said.

“It’s been great to get all the calls and texts and emails. Alumni from 50 years ago are contacting me, and it’s just good to know there’s that sense of pride for this school.”

The Vikings will bring back eight players to next year’s squad as Evans, Fisher and Nissen are the only three seniors graduating.

Nissen will play football at Montana Tech next season and Fisher is enrolling in Washington State University’s pre-medical program. Evans is still undecided as his list of basketball offers continues to grow.

The autograph line began to shrink, and the gym emptied as fans began to file out into the hallways. Murmurs of the talent on next year’s roster and visions of a repeat began to spread.

As one season was put to rest—a historic run forever embedded into Bigfork’s tradition—Coach Downey said farewell to his seniors while humbly aware of the future.

“I’m always preparing for next year,” he said with a smile.