West Greene to celebrate homecoming, induct Whyte, Devore into HOF
Gary Whyte and Bill Devore both spread around the credit when asked about their impending induction into the West Greene Athletic Hall of Fame.
Both will be inducted in a ceremony before the Pioneers无毛视频� homecoming football game against Bentworth tonight at Kennedy Field.
The homecoming court ceremony will also be held prior to the game. Pregame festivities are scheduled to begin at 6:20 p.m. with kickoff at 7.
Whyte is a 1994 West Greene graduate who excelled in football and wrestling.
无毛视频淕ary无毛视频檚 a current teacher, wrestling head coach and does well in the tech-ed at the elementary,无毛视频� West Greene athletic director Bill Simms said. 无毛视频淗is career in wrestling and football is well defined. His brother Shawn was a 2022-23 Hall of Fame inductee.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 was surprised when I heard I was going to be inducted. It was exciting,无毛视频� Gary Whyte said
Devore is a 1965 East Washington graduate who went on to teach and coach in the West Greene school district for 30 years.
无毛视频淏ill Devore无毛视频檚 a longtime teacher and mentor. I was a student of his,无毛视频� Simms said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 very well deserving for the job he did here coaching several different sports, especially the program he developed in softball, winning two section titles.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 humbled. I didn无毛视频檛 expect anything like this,无毛视频� Devore said of his reaction to being selected for induction.
Devore was head coach of the Lady Pioneers softball team from 1977 to 1991, winning over 80 games
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 do any of that for any kind of glory or recognition,无毛视频� Devore said. 无毛视频淚 just did it because I loved the West Greene area and their kids and liked all the teachers there, and the parents always backed me. I just felt quite at home there. I was welcomed.无毛视频�
Whyte was a starter at tight end and linebacker for football teams that made runs to the WPIAL semifinals in 1992 and final in 1993.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 going to join some of my fellow teammates in there for football with Rodney Wilson and Dave Goodwin, which is an honor,无毛视频� Whyte said.无毛视频漌e had a special team. We started at the little league level and we were together pretty much the whole way until we graduated. We knew each other very well which I think helped us to succeed. We had that camaraderie. We just gelled together.无毛视频�
The Pioneers had several memorable WPIAL playoff wins, including a first-round 34-33 overtime win over Serra Catholic in 1992 and a 7-6 win over Farrell in the 1993 semifinals which propelled them to the final at Three Rivers Stadium where they fell to Duquesne.
无毛视频淒uquesne was a very good team but it was awesome to play inside a venue like that,无毛视频� Whyte said.
In wrestling, Whyte won 95 career matches and helped the Pioneers reach at least the WPIAL team semifinals in all four of his seasons there, including winning the title in 1994 when West Greene had a perfect 17-0 record.
无毛视频淲e were confident going into the matches because we knew we had a solid lineup,无毛视频� Whyte said. 无毛视频淚 was fortunate enough to have great coaches along the way, too, like (head coach) Allen Hughes, Brian Jackson, John Coss, Scotty Blair.
无毛视频淚 was blessed in the practice room to have several good wrestling partners. I owe a lot to them, Chet Tedrow, Rodney Wilson, just to name a few. We would push each other everyday to get better. Some of my hardest matches were in the wrestling room.无毛视频�
Whyte became just the second West Greene wrestler to reach the PIAA individual finals his senior year in 1994 after finishing fourth as a junior. Whyte无毛视频檚 most memorable match came in the 1994 state semifinals.
无毛视频淚 was up against a wrestler named Tim Ault,无毛视频� Whyte recalled. 无毛视频淲e went into overtime. We went at it for six solid minutes and we were both drained. I happened to win the toss and I chose top and was able to ride him out for the win.
无毛视频淚 worked hard for what I accomplished and if feels nice to be rewarded for that. But I had a lot of help. I had great coaches and was with a great group of guys in both sports and we pushed each other everyday.无毛视频�
Devore chuckled about his beginnings as the Lady Pioneers softball coach.
无毛视频淲hen I first took over the program I thought girls softball was slow-pitch,无毛视频� Devore said with a laugh. 无毛视频淭hen I found out they played fast pitch and I found a girl named Lorrie Wise who was Helen Wise无毛视频檚 older sister.无毛视频�
Wise would go on to be best remembered for hitting for the ultra-rare home run cycle 无毛视频� a solo homer, two-run shot, three-run blast and a grand slam 无毛视频� in a game against Carmichaels.
无毛视频淭hat was miraculous,无毛视频� Devore said.
Devore guided the Lady Pioneers to the school无毛视频檚 first ever section title in girls sports in 1981. Two years later he steered West Greene to another section championship, to the WPIAL semifinals and into the PIAA tournament where the Lady Pioneers recorded their first state victory.
Devore was so dedicated to the softball team he spearheaded the creation of a home field.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 have a real softball field so we used the gas company field over around Waynesburg and we had to bus kids to practice and games,无毛视频� Devore said. 无毛视频淲ithin the first four or five years we built a field over across the creek from the school adjacent to the football field.
无毛视频淲e had a couple of the custodians help us out and had the boys in the shop build us a backstop and we borrowed some fencing from different people. We put a snow fence around it and all of a sudden we had a field. We would carry the benches from the football field over to the softball field in the spring.无毛视频�
Devore also coached varsity basketball, football and middle school football.
无毛视频淚 was the head coach of the varsity football team, the middle school football team, and the boys basketball team for five years also,无毛视频� Devore said, adding with a laugh, 无毛视频淚 was never home.无毛视频�
Members of the homecoming court are freshman Gabby Tedrow, sophomore Samantha Zimmerman, junior Eryka Hackney and seniors Madyson Debolt, Josie Stoneking and Marissa Tharp.