Spotswood won by 18, Tyler VanLeeuwen scored 17, and the Chargers won their 14th game of the season Thursday.

But the number that really mattered last night was 500.

Spotswood head coach Steve Mate – in his 31st season there behind the bench, and 35th season of coaching overall – won his 500th game when they beat Dunellen, 66-48 at the Faber School.

And the night could be perfectly summed up by this: Mate had no idea.

To be fair, we had talked about it with him earlier in the season, prior to a road game at Highland Park on Central Jersey Sports Radio. That conversation detailed a back-and-forth we had with Athletic Director Mike DelAversano about what Mate’s actual win total was. While it was known beyond a shadow of a doubt what his record is at Spotswood, the four-years he spent at Verona were a question mark, with different numbers reported by different media outlets. A call to the Verona Athletic Department finally cleared it up.

But one would not expect Mate to follow and keep track. That’s just not his way.

But the man they call “Del” knew, so when the final horn sounded, out came the flowers and the balloons, and Mate was taken by surprise.

His overall record now stands at 500-388 – four years with the Hillbillies, nearly 31 complete with the Chargers – and yet, another milestone is right around the corner. He’s 466-339 at Spotswood, and the 500 mark at the school should come up in a couple of years.

Because, as we all know, Steve Mate isn’t going anywhere.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Steve Mate talk about his 500th win and 35-year coaching career with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: