CLASS OF 2015

The Elyria Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted its 44th Class on Saturday evening May 2, 2015 at the Spitzer Center on the campus at Lorain County Community College. After careful study and deliberation of more than 100 worthy nominations, the Validation Committee of the ESHOF presented 15 finalists to the Board of Trustees. In what was a very close selection process, six individuals and the 2002 State Champion softball team from Elyria High were selected and inducted at the 44th annual banquet. The individuals included former Elyria High football and baseball star Jon Burger, long-time Elyria West football and track coach Billy Joe Hewitt, the legendary EHS twin brothers — Don and Doug Jones, Elyria track great Rodney Moore, and two-sport-star University of Cincinnati and Elyria Catholic graduate Brent Petrus. The ESHOF also honored Ken Kaiser with its Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding service in managing the State Tennis tournament for 61 events, officiating and instructing in both football and basketball, being the official timer for both Ohio State football and basketball for many years and volunteering his time and efforts for the annual Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games.

 

JON BURGER

Not only did Jon Burger excel on both the baseball and football fields but in the classroom as well. Burger, the Lorain County Golden Helmet winner in 1979, carried a 3.8 GPA and was ranked 25th in a class of 625 students. He was president of his class and a member of the National Honor Society. His versatility was apparent in both sports that he participated. On the football field, Burger was an outstanding linebacker on Elyria’s undefeated 10-0 team that allowed only 15 points all season. He also handled a lot of the kicking chores for the Pioneers and calmly booted the winning point against Lorain to cap the undefeated year with a 9-8 victory over Elyria’s biggest rival. In fact, Burger’s 37-yard field goal earlier in the year was instrumental in Elyria’s win over Sandusky and his 25-yard field goal against Fremont in his junior season also won the game. Against Sandusky, Burger accounted for 11 of Elyria’s 17 points with a touchdown, a field goal and two extra points. He was also used on occasion at fullback. After winning the Golden Helmet Award, Berger took the time to thank those responsible by writing a letter to the Chronicle Telegram — thanking coaches, teammates, fans and family. He was selected All-Buckeye Conference, All-Lorain County and All-District and third team All-Ohio. In baseball, Burger was a pitcher, catcher and infielder in leading the Pioneers to a Sweet 16 berth.

BILLY JOE HEWITT

A long-time junior high coach at Franklin, Billy Joe Hewitt moved on to take over the fledging football fortunes at Elyria West High School for the 1976 school year. West was in just its fourth year. Playing an independent schedule, Hewitt directed the Wolverines to its first winning season in 1977 with a 7-3 mark that included a dramatic 14-12 win over Midview to close out the year. In 1978, Hewitt’s team finished 8-1-1 including a memorable 0-0 tie with Elyria Catholic. The team scored 225 points and allowed only 61 and finished just three points shy in the computer rankings of qualifying for a playoff spot. In track, Hewitt coached state qualifying athletes from 1983 through 1990. Hewitt was the Chairman of the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

DON AND DOUG JONES

When Elyria High’s football team was blessed with the presence of twins Don and Doug Jones, long-time Chronicle Telegram sports editor and Hall of Famer Russ Davies put the Jones twins right up with the best to ever wear the Pioneers colors. Don (right), who wore No. 23, was supposed to be a half-step faster than Doug, who wore No. 24, but both could run the 100-yard dash in close to 10 seconds in full football gear. They both earned three letters for football at EHS. As juniors, the two were key members of Elyria’s 1951 Lake Erie League champions. Don scored 144 career points and Doug 132 — both still listed among the best in EHS history. Against arch-rival Lorain in 1951, Don rushed for 129 yards and Doug 109. Both scored twice as the Pioneers clinched the league title with a 32-12 pounding of the Steelmen. They both went on to play at Philander Smith College in Arkansas before joining the Air Force where they continued to play football from 1955 through 1959 with just NFL stars as quarterback Zeke Bratkowski and receiver Max McGee. They returned to Elyria to own and operate a cement business. Doug’s son Greg Jones was enshrined in 1985 after a great career at Elyria West and Miami of Ohio. Doug passed away in September, 2016 and Don passed away in 2019

RODNEY MOORE

Rodney Moore literally exploded on the local track scene for Elyria High starting in 1985. He was a six-time All-Ohio Division I sprinter in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, where he specialized. In 1986 and 1988, Moore was second in the 400 and finished third in 1987. He helped the Pioneers to a fourth place finish in both the 400 and 1600 meter relay and was a two-time state qualifier in both the 100 and 200 meter dash events. He was a part of eight Buckeye Conference and four Erie Shore conference titles and he was the 400 meter record holder in Lorain County with a time of 47.19. At Lincoln University was a 17-time Division III All-American and won six national titles. He was inducted into the Lorain County Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2014. He graduated from Elyria High in 1988, Lincoln University in 1996 and got his master’s degree from Bowie State University in 2001.

BRENT PETRUS

It’s not often a high school athlete has the credentials to play at a Division I program but Elyria Catholic’s Brent Petrus was talented enough to play at the University of Cincinnati in both football and basketball. At Elyria Catholic, Petrus was one of most versatile athletes. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was the offensive MVP in football his senior year and was the baseball team’s MVP his sophomore and junior years but as a senior he ran track instead and qualified for the regional in the 400-meter. He earned a scholarship in football to Cincinnati and wound up being the sixth man on Bob Huggins’ nationally ranked basketball team. Near the end of the 1997 football season, Petrus practiced with both squads — participating in three hour workouts for both teams. On December 27, 1997, he practiced with the football team as it prepared for the Boise, Idaho Humanitarian Bowl and then flew back to Cleveland for a basketball game against Massachusetts. He was recruited as a quarterback for the Bearcats and wound up playing wide receiver as well. As a back-up, he rallied Cincinnati in a couple games — throwing four career touchdowns and catching one. He signed a professional contract with the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League and played three seasons for the Dragons.

 

2002 ELYRIA HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

Midway through the spring of 2002, not many, including coach Ken Fenik, gave Elyria High’s softball team much of a chance of going very far in the annual state tournament let alone winning the whole thing. A disappointing 8-0 loss to North Olmsted at its own Pioneer Invitational turned out to be the turning point for the Pioneers and their dominate right-handed All-Ohio pitcher Aubrey Oliver. However, Elyria started winning from that point of the season — winning 16 of its next 17 games including six straight to close the seaosn. The Pioneers marched through the tournament including a 1-0 win over the very same North Olmsted team that it lost to earlier. The Pioneers wound up 27-4 and clinched the state title with a pair of come-from-behind wins at the Ashland finals — beating both Cincinnati Sycamore and Hamilton by identical 2-1 scores to bring home Elyria High’s first team state title in its history. The tournament run included seven one-run victories including as 5-4 win over Midview where the Pioneers scored three runs in the seventh inning to win. Oliver logged 163 innings, striking out 218 hitters in winning 23 games and losing only twice. Batters hit just .191 against her and her ERA was a sparkling 0.69. Elyria’s hitting was led by Calli Ryan’s .394 average and 28 RBI. Freshman Alex Boros hit .385 with 21 RBI and Amy Mazur drove home 19. Ryan, Boros and Amy Koutsopoulos each had better than 30 hits on the season. Boros, Koutsopoulos, Ryan and Mazur all scored more than 20 runs and Koutsopoulas and Boros combined to steal 27 bases in 28 attempts. Other members of the team included Natalie Baker, Megan Anderson, Danielle Cross, Julie Sito, twins Elizabeth and Lisa Nunn, Jessica Lorbach, Samantha White and Molly Curtis. Assisting Fenik were Gordie Cohagan, John Srnis, Jen Plas, Joclyn Noe and Michelle Kirsch. The bat boy was Chad Kothe.

 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE:

KEN KAISER

Few people have had the opportunity to serve in so many ways as Ken Kaiser, a 1967 Elyria High graduate. Kaiser was considered a good athlete in his days — including being No. 1 singles and doubles at Lorain County Community College. He earned his basketball officiating certificate in 1972 and has been an active football official for 27 seasons with 21 post season assignments including 14 state semi-final or state final games. Ken has also officiated softball for 15 years. At Ohio State, Kaiser has been the official scoreboard operator/official timer for 25 years and the official scorer/timer for the men’s basketball team for 35 years. He’s also been the public address announcer for both OSU’s women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Kaiser has been the state tennis tournament manager for both girls and boys — managing both for better than 30 years. He’s also been the University’s liaison to the Special Olympics summer games. He has been honored by a number of organizations for his service. Kaiser has never forgotten his roots and often wears proudly the colors and logo of his high school.