There weren't any parades or joint pep rallies to celebrate the 1999 Jay Mustangs.

It was a long, winless season. One filled with even more pain and heartbreak off the field.

As the Mustangs struggled to an 0-10 record, three assistant coaches said it was the hardest they've ever worked.

O'Connor coach Dave Malesky, Brandeis' John Campbell and Brennan's Stephen Basore have their own teams in the state quarterfinals.

Thirteen years ago, they worked together at Jay under coach Larry Pullin. Their time at the school on Marbach Road would shape the rest of their careers.

“I think they learned a lot... and a lot of what not to do,” Pullin joked. “I probably could have been a little easier on the officials.”

As soon as Pullin said that, Malesky, Basore and Campbell were the kids in the back of the class again, smirking at their mentor stating the obvious.

Malesky was at Jay from 1992-99. Campbell and Basore arrived in 1997, with Campbell replacing Pullin when Pullin retired in 2003.

There are the coaching stories of road trips and late nights, busses that broke down or the time one coach forgot to bring footballs to a road game.

But the one season that brought Malesky, Basore and Campbell closest was their last together in 1999.

At the beginning of the season, defensive coordinator Bob Johns experienced severe back pain. He was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, an extremely rare and aggressive cartilage cancer. Johns was Pullin's best friend for 25 years and a mentor to the three assistants.

Campbell and Basore were suddenly in charge of the defense along with longtime Jay baseball coach Johnny Campos. Malesky was the Mustangs' offensive coordinator.

It was the first winless season in school history.

“When you're going through a season like that, you have to look at the other men in the room on a daily basis,” Campbell said. “We looked at each other and knew we were all doing everything we could.”

Coaches went back to Pullin's house after games. The season was split between time at school and at the hospital.

A few months after the season was over, Jay linebacker Jaime Castoreno was killed in a car accident. When Jay coaches found out, they had to tell his younger brother Javier, who was in the weight room at the time.

Four weeks later, Johns died at the age of 50.

“This season we're having right now has been great,” Basore said, “But seasons like that are the ones where you do the most coaching. I know coaching at Jay made me who I am.”

Coaching trees are nothing new in a tight-knit profession. Pullin fostered the brotherhood aspect of coaching to his assistants, and he is close friends with Mike Robbins, his longtime rival at Clark. The former Jay assistants are the new generation at Northside.

When it came time to plan festivities for the state quarterfinals, it was the coaches' decision to have a joint pep rally for the schools at Farris Stadium. For all the support Basore, Campbell and Malesky have provided each other throughout the years, they figured their schools should do the same.

Twitter: @mysahighschools