WHEELING — Tommy Duffy yearned to come home…and that he did. It proved a fruitful decision.

The 1985 Wheeling Central graduate walked away from a nice situation at The Citadel to become head rugby coach at Wheeling Jesuit University this fall.

It is a move he doesn’t regret. Far from it, as his maiden voyage as the Cardinals’ head rugby coach was a successful journey.

Jesuit posted an 8-3 mark this fall with some landmark wins. Duffy’s charges routed WVU, 72-12, and bested nationally ranked Kutztown State, 33-20. Two of the Cardinals’ losses came at the hands of heavyweights Penn State and Army.

Duffy returned to the Friendly City after serving as the assistant rugby coach and strength coach at The Citadel for two years.

“I had a great situation at The Citadel, but this is my hometown. This is one of the top college programs in the country. I have a lot at stake as my roots run very deep in Wheeling,” Duffy said when he accepted the post. “I want to coach kids playing rugby, get the community around us and have them come watch some matches. I want everyone to see how the sport of rugby is growing across this country.”

Duffy’s troops scripted a resume that should earn them a berth in the national playoffs. But NCAA Division I rugby is a strange bird. The schools in the East play in the fall while schools out West compete in the spring. The national tournament is held in late spring.

“Playoffs in D-I rugby are a little screwed up with two different seasons. Rugby at this level is West-oriented,” Duffy said. “We will probably get a bid but we will not accept it. We would be starting all over with a new team as we lose six players to graduation this spring.”

No playoff berth fails to blemish a landmark rugby season for the Cardinals.

“I got a late start in taking over the program. It was a little bit of a chaotic start and I was concerned which way this team would go,” Duffy said. “But after the first week with this group I knew we would really be good. We had something really special here.

“Beating Kutztown was a historical win. They are one of the big dogs in D-I rugby with several national championships under their belt. It proved a costly win, however, as we lost three key players to injury that game. It impacted the rest of our season.”

With a successful rookie season freshly tucked away, Duffy is chomping at the bit for building the best possible program while adding some exciting new teams to the Cardinals’ schedule.

“The future looks good. We have a good core of freshman recruits in establishing culture. I see it getting better and better each year,” Duffy said. “We have some tough international players coming in also. We have recruits from Ireland, England and Zimbabwe to go with our strong class from the U.S.

“We have added the University of Notre Dame to our schedule. We have started a Catholic Cup traveling trophy with them. We go to South Bend next year and they come to Wheeling the following season,” he added. “We are also trying to add Navy, Pitt, Cincinnati and Ohio State to future schedules. It’s going to be an exciting time on what we are building.”

BUBBA’S BITS

THE PENN State and Marshall football teams have a little Bellaire flavor on their respective rosters this season. Derek Dowrey is a 6-3, 334-pound starter on the offensive line for the Nittany Lions. His younger brother, Jordan, is a 6-1, 299-pound offensive lineman for the Thundering Herd. They are Winchester, Va. natives. Their grandmother, Mary (Maggie) Connors Weaver, is a former Bellaire resident and St. John Central graduate. Derek was selected “Northern Virginia Daily Male Athlete of the Year” after his senior year at Handley High. Jordan, meanwhile, was an amazing 100-0 his final two years of wrestling at Handley, winning two Group AAA state mat championships.

ERIC McKEEVER is the new wrestling coach at Magnolia High. He was the OVAC Assistant Coach Of The Year last winter.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE’S Dan Monteroso is amazing. How anyone can transition so quickly from D-II football to the No. 1-rated D-II hoop team in the country is remarkable. The southpaw dandy exchanged football gear for a basketball uniform on the same day and has proceeded to play at mid-season form. Included in all his talent is a boatload of character.

FORMER ST. John Central Lady Irish three-sport standout Emily Lemasters has traded in her athletic garb for a Yellow Jacket outfit. Lemasters, who helped the SJC hoopsters compile a 20-4 mark and another OVAC title last winter, is serving as the mascot for the Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets.

ONE OF the greatest football players in St. Clairsville High history died Wednesday. Geno Sessi, a Red Devil grid star who went on to play at Iowa, died in a Pittsburgh hospital at age 78. He is in the St. Clairsville Hall of Fame. Our prayers and condolences go out to his family.

COACH JOANNA Bernabei-McNamee’s University of Albany basketball team is off to a 2-3 start. The former Madonna great is in her first year with the Great Danes. Their losses have come at the hands of Kentucky, Miami of Florida and Fordham. Albany welcomes Sienna today.

THE ADRIAN College (Mich.) hockey team is off to a 6-0 start thanks to the sparkling play of John Marshall grad Kristin Lewicki. The Moundsville native has scored eight goals and assisted on 12 more. She is the school’s all-time leading hockey scorer.