BRILLIANT — High school athletic halls of fame are in vogue.

Wheeling Central, for example, launched its shrine this past fall.

But it is a little unusual for a high school no longer in existence to undertake such a venture. That is, however, what is going on with the Brilliant High School Athletics Hall of Fame organizational committee.

Kevin Barr is chairman of the group. He attended Brilliant High through his junior year and graduated from Buckeye North, a consolidation of Brilliant and Smithfield high schools that came about in 1972.

Barr, who grew up in a house located right next to Brilliant High, is passionate about the project. The first induction ceremony is planned for August of 2018 as the committee is in the process of collecting names and statistics of former Blue Devil greats.

“We had many great athletes come through the halls of Brilliant High School. We also had many great teams grace our fields and gymnasium. We want to recognize their accomplishments,” Barr said. “Although our school is gone, there remains a great sense of loyalty to Brilliant High. The response to the organization of the Hall of Fame has been terrific.”

The hall will feature the following categories:

Athletes who excelled at Brilliant High School and/or at the college level, coaches, teams, administrators and boosters. It will be housed at the Wells Township Community Center in Brilliant.

Two teams have already been designated for induction – the undefeated 1968 football team and the 1964 basketball team, which won the Jefferson County and sectional tournaments. The teams will be honored with a parade in Brilliant during alumni weekend on Aug. 12, 2018.

Barr said two Blue Devil greats sure to be in the first class will be Jerry Doughtery and Jim Presley, both stars of the late 1950s.

Doughtery was so small that while in high school the football coaches were afraid he would get hurt, and he was relegated to playing in either junior high or freshman games. He was a back-up halfback heading into his senior year when the first-team halfback quit the football team to be in the school play.

He made the most of his opportunity rushing for 1,537 yards during his lone year as a starter for the Blue Devils. Doughtery accounted for 2,051 all-purpose yards and scored 138 points. He was named captain of the All-Valley team, first-team and captain of the United Press International All-Ohio team, captain of the Eastern Ohio All-Star team; first-team JayCees All-Ohio and honorable mention All-American.

He was killed in a car accident on May 10, 1962, at the age of 20.

Presley, meanwhile, was AP and UPI first team All-Ohio in both football and basketball. He also qualified for the state track meet. He earned a football scholarship to the University of Memphis, but a neck injury ended his career. Presley also was a member of the 1960 basketball team that captured Brilliant’s first county championship.

“Jim was one of the best all-around athletes in Brilliant history, but we don’t have a lot of his statistics. That’s another task of our committee,” Barr said. “No one kept those kind of personal records and we don’t want to see them lost to the ages. We are collecting statistics and records and we plan to have those available at the Hall of Fame.”

Doughtery and Presley are just two of the many athletic greats to grace the Brilliant athletic forums.

Other former Blue Devils who will draw heavy consideration for the inaugural class are:

∫ Bob Vogel, a former Ohio State and Baltimore Colts great who played for the Blue Devils as a sophomore before his family moved and he finished his high school career at Toronto (junior) and Massillon (senior).

∫ Steve Peaytt, a basketball standout who went on to star at Elon University;

∫ Phil Harvin, an All-Ohio tackle and three-sport star who went on to play at Bethany;

∫ Former coach Jake Olsavsky, who guided the Devils to an undefeated season in 1968;

∫ Dewey McKay, a baseball and basketball standout who also was a dual-sport athlete at Bethany;

∫ Pete Adrian, a football tackle who went on to play at West Virginia University and had a successful career as a head college football coach;

∫ Dave Winland, a basketball standout who scored 972 points in two seasons as a starter with the Devils.

The committee is trying to research records from some of Brilliant’s very early teams, roughly from the years 1925 until 1950.

Barr commends former Blue Devil gridder Bill Henry, a member of the undefeated 1968 team. Henry has spent years putting together statistical information about Brilliant athletics.

The committee is searching for a venue to showcase its athletic memorabilia, a place that would become the Brilliant High School Hall of Fame & Museum. Many of the Brilliant High trophies were recovered from the trash after the consolidation. They are currently on display at the Wells Township administration building.

“I would love to have a place where we can have the Hall of Fame and old Brilliant Blue Devils’ memorabilia can be displayed on the walls,” Barr said. “The support we have seen for this effort have been off-the-charts. They tore the heart and soul out of this community when they closed our high school. Fortunately, the memory endures and that is what the committee wants to preserve.”

Barr served as St. Clairsville recreation director for 34 years and also coached girls’ prep basketball coach at St. Clairsville, Buckeye Local and Steubenville Central for 23 season. Now retired, Barr is now putting all his efforts into the creation of the Hall of Fame and the memory of the Blue Devils.

Anyone wishing to nominate an individual or team for induction should contact Barr at 740-598-3419 or kjbarr78@comcast.net

DELUCA MAKES WORLD

JOE DELUCA is a sixth grader at Brookside Intermediate School in Sheffield, west of Cleveland. He has Ohio Valley roots.

Joe recently won the state championship and qualified for the World Championship in Louisville, Ky in April in the VEX Robotics Competition. Amazingly, it is his first year competing in VEX Robotics.

His teammate is Robert Lawrence. Only five teams in Ohio qualified for the world event. Each team is comprised four members, but only two “drivers” compete at a time. Joe’s team won at the Carrollton Regional to qualify. There were 24 teams competing in the state competition at North Union School on Saturday.

Joe’s team was fourth going into the finals after 10 preliminary rounds and eventually won by two points to qualify for the World Competition in Louisville Ky. on April 19-24.

Only five team’s qualify from the state. The World Competition will have teams from 40 different countries and there will be more than 1,000 competing.

Joe is the son of Brad and Amy DeLuca. Both graduated from Buckeye Local in 1994, University of Akron and the Marshall School of Law and Cleveland State. All with honors. He is the grandson of OVAC Basketball Tournament Director Rick DeLuca.

BUBBA’S BITS

CONGRATULATIONS TO the Wheeling Park and Wheeling Central girls’ basketball teams for advancing to the state championships. Ryan Young has done a remarkable job with his Patriots, instilling a defensive-minded mentality. Park presses as well as any girls’ team not named Hiland. Central, meanwhile, is stocked with superb young talent, including a freshman class boasting with several prime-timers. Park and Central will both be tough outs in Charleston.

KUDOS TO athletic directors Sam Jones (Buckeye Local) and Kim Appolloni (Martins Ferry). They have their respective schools opening the football season on Aug. 24 at the Dave Bruney Football Complex. They receive their kudos for opening the season on a Thursday night. I have been a longtime proponent of Thursday night football in the Ohio Valley, especially game one. The game will also mark Roger Herbert’s debut as Panthers’ grid boss.

THE UNIVERSITY of Albany’s women’s basketball team closed the regular season on a roll. Coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee’s charges won nine of their last 10 games, improving to 18-11 overall. The Great Danes took a 12-4 American East record into conference tournament play this weekend. Bernabei-McNamee is a Weirton Madonna grad and former All-American hoopster at West Liberty.

THE 16TH Annual Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Basketball Classic will be held Friday, April 7 at Parkersburg South High School. The BACF All-Star Game will pit senior rivals from Ohio against West Virginia in both girls’ and boys’ games. The girls game will start at 5:30 p.m. and the boys follow at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door the night of the game.

THE NORTH Alabama women’s basketball team enjoyed a fine season for first-year head coach Missy Tiber. The Lions went 19-11. Tiber is a Bellaire High and West Liberty grad, starring in hoops at both schools. North Alabama is making the move to the NCAA Division I level and will join the Atlantic Sun Conference in basketball.