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Less than a year after their boys' basketball team won its 18th Henlopen Conference Southern Division title in 29 years, Indian River High School students in the back rows of the bleachers have resorted to wearing paper bags over their heads.

That's because the school that has boasted one of the most successful basketball programs in Southern Delaware during the past three decades is having a rare off year.

To say Indian River is rebuilding would be an understatement. Rock bottom might be a more appropriate term.

The Indians were 0-18 after a 48-42 loss to Woodbridge on Feb. 9 and running out of time to break into the win column with only two weeks left in the 1998-99 season. That type of losing is unheard of at a school with a .734 winning percentage and an average of 17 victories per season to its credit during the 1990s.

The top seven players from last season's 18-6 squad were lost to graduation, leaving a starting lineup of two freshmen, two juniors and a sophomore who are as raw as a windy winter day in Chicago. Those players are receiving what coach Pat Kelly calls a "baptism by fire."

"The chemistry is good but it's tough when you're losing. Some people can deal with it and some people can't," said Kelly, who co-coaches the team with Jerry Peden. "It takes a lot of character to deal with it and keep going and maintain your intensity. Some people have been able to do it, other have fallen by the wayside. It's a challenge, it really is."

IR's roster has been in a state of flux since late December. At least six players, some of them seniors, have left the team for various reasons, forcing underclassmen into starting roles.

But Kelly and Peden have had a fairly consistent lineup in recent weeks and the team is showing signs of improvement.

"It's just a matter of getting through it and trying to make them go through some stuff now that they won't have to go through next year," Kelly said. "It's hard on coach (Peden), hard on me, hard on the kids but practices are the best part. Some of the games have been a lot of fun."

Kelly also heaped praise on the team's three seniors -- George Cole, Gary Matthews and John Arbeene -- who all fill reserve roles.

"You've got to respect them. They're seniors and they're going through it so they must love the game to be here," he said.

After weeding out those players who were not serious about the program, Kelly and Peden put together a nucleus that will hopefully return intact next season. Those players are being given the opportunity to get some much-needed varsity experience and gel as a unit during the final month of the season.

The bright spots include junior forward Anthony Jones, who is averaging about 20 points a game, and promising freshman guard Billy Hall.

Recent weeks have seen the team raise its level of play.

On Jan. 19, Jones scored 32 points as IR threw a major scare into Cape Henlopen before losing 56-52. Last Tuesday, the Indians played district-rival Sussex Central tough for three and a half quarters before falling 57-44.

But losing takes its toll and sometimes frustration boils over. In the closing minutes of the Sussex Central game, Jones committed a flagrant foul and was immediately ejected by the officials. This made him ineligible for the following Friday's game at Caesar Rodney.

"We have to handle things the right way and we lacked in that area in one instance," Kelly said after the game.

To his credit, Kelly still coaches as hard as he did during IR's glory years. His bitter disappointment after the Cape loss was an indication that he hasn't given up his players or the prospect of ending the losing streak.

Despite the season's hardships, there is hope. Kelly and Peden are two of the finest coaches in Delaware and, with a year of experience, the core of youngsters currently receiving playing time could again make IR competitive in the Henlopen South next season.

Those players will have gotten an important lesson in character building and students would no longer be embarrassed to show their faces at basketball games.