Lamar Kauffman has been coaching high school kids for a half-century.

Conventional wisdom held that when Kauffman reached 700 wins at the Lancaster Catholic girls' basketball helm — he got there Wednesday — he'd step back, think big picture, and maybe acknowledge that the end was near.

Or not.

"That's what people were saying," Kauffman admitted Friday, after the Crusaders handled Lancaster Mennonite 53-33 for the Lancaster-Lebanon League title.

"It's not what I was saying. Anybody can win games. Not anybody can win championships."

Kauffman is 74 now. This is his 10th league title, to go with 12 District Three championships, two state titles and a staggering 701-176 career record.

"This group didn't know anything about basketball except how to hustle," he said. "If there's anything else I'm good at, it's getting kids to hustle."

But then: "They are good at knowing how to adjust on the press."

Yes. The press. It's Kauffman's creation, a complex Rube Goldberg machine that, seemingly, no one else could run or teach, except that Kauffman believes everyone could and should teach and play it.

Not that he doesn't cultivate a bit of mystery.

An opposing coach once asked Kauffman if the press was a zone or man-to-man.

"Yes," Kauffman said.

Actually it changes from zone to man depending on where the ball goes. Kauffman tweaks it as the game goes along until, usually, he finds a permutation the other side can't fathom.

The overall, game-long effect is not just to wear the other side out, but to make it go faster than it wants.

"Most of the game is confidence," Mennonite coach Sherri Gorman told the Intelligencer Journal/New Era after the game.

"As soon as you start second-guessing yourself or hesitating it's ... whoosh.

"Catholic is just praying and waiting for that."

Lancaster Mennonite led 12-8 after a quarter Friday. Catholic started the second quarter on a 10-0 run, during which the Blazers had five turnovers in six possessions.

Mennonite had 13 turnovers in the quarter, after which it trailed, 25-17.

Freewheeling now, the Crusaders put together a 25-point third quarter, and the suspense was over.

Catholic is 23-3. It reached the District Three Class AAA final a year ago, and won a state-tournament game.

In junior guard and McCaskey transfer Porscha Speller, Kauffman has the rare girls' player who can get to the rim by herself and, once there, close the deal.

She scored 21 Friday night.

"If I can get her a jump shot over the summer," Kauffman said happily, "we'll really have something there."

This just in: He does not sound like a guy who's nearly done coaching.

"Rejuvenated" is not at all the right word.

"This is how I am all the time," he said.

His daughter, Millersville University athletic director Peg Kauffman, marveled Friday that, "He's kept all of his passion, all these years. I'm really proud of him for that."

He still walks, almost every day, for exercise. He admits to the aches and pains typical of his age but, "when I'm coaching, I don't feel any of that."

And it's not about milestones.

"I told them, 'Wednesday night, you got one for me.' " he said, meaning No. 700.

" 'Tonight, get one for yourselves.' "

Mike Gross is assistant sports editor of the Sunday News. Email him at mgross@lnpnews.com.