MHS announces 2011 Hall of Fame class
Leading rusher Yura among those inducted
Submitted to The Dominion Post
To be honored at 1st game on renovated field BY ANDREW BARNES For The Dominion Post
A newly renovated field and a nostalgic look back into its past will mark the beginning of Morgantown High School’s home football season this Friday. MHS will induct its fifth athletics Hall of Fame class and host Anacostia High School (Md.) in its home opener. The day will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Waterfront Place Hotel, where MHS will host a dinner in honor of its newest class of Hall of Fame members. The new Hall of Fame class will be recognized during halftime of the game, and the school will then unveil the Hall of Fame plaques following the game.
Morgantown High’s fifth class to be inducted into its Hall of Fame is a diverse one — featuring everything from a professional baseball player to athletes who later went on to graduate from Princeton, Dartmouth and Notre Dame.
MHS announced its induction class of four athletes Monday: Chris Yura, Lantz Blaney Jr., Richard Haines, David Dubbe’ and David Pavelko. The class, which brings the Mohigans’ Hall of Fame total to 40, will be inducted following Morgantown High’s football game against Anacostia (Washington, D.C.) on Sept. 2.
There will be a dinner for the class prior to the game.
Yura is the school’s all-time leading rusher with more than 5,700 yards and he became the first West Virginia prep athlete to score 100 career touchdowns.
In 1998, he guided the Mohigans to the Class AAA state championship game against Nitro. He became the state’s first player to score 50 touchdowns in a season during that game. In 1997, Yura was awarded the Kennedy Award, becoming the school’s third recipient. He graduated from MHS in 1999 and went on to play football on scholarship at Notre Dame.
Blaney Jr. graduated in 1948 and was called a super athlete of his time, playing to near-perfection every sport available at MHS. Accorded all-state honors in football, basketball and track, he later played AAA baseball for the Detroit Tigers. He died in 1997.
Haines graduated in 1967, and was a three-year wrestler for the Mohigans. He compiled a career record of 50-5 and won two state championships.
He was also a three-time Big 10 Conference and regional champion. He was ranked among the top 50 high school wrestlers in the nation, and later graduated from WVU and Dartmouth College.
Dubbe’ is a 1970 graduate and was a four-sport athlete.
He achieved all-state honors in football, baseball, and track. His 150-foot discus throw is still a school record. He was a member of the 1972 WVU Peach Bowl team. He also played football at Army.
Pavelko is a 1987 graduate and was a three-year varsity starter for the MHS boys’ basketball team.
He played in 71 consecutive games, amassing 844 career points and 429 career assists. A two-time all-stater, he later played Division I basketball at Princeton University and today is the head of travel for Google, Inc.
Lantz Blaney Jr.
Richard Haines
Chris Yura
David Pavelko
David Dubbe’