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鈥� 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.
鈥淕ary蘑菇视频 a current teacher, wrestling head coach and does well in the tech-ed at the elementary,鈥� West Greene athletic director Bill Simms said. 鈥淗is career in wrestling and football is well defined. His brother Shawn was a 2022-23 Hall of Fame inductee.鈥�
鈥淚 was surprised when I heard I was going to be inducted. It was exciting,鈥� 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.
鈥淏ill Devore蘑菇视频 a longtime teacher and mentor. I was a student of his,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淗e蘑菇视频 very well deserving for the job he did here coaching several different sports, especially the program he developed in softball, winning two section titles.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 humbled. I didn鈥檛 expect anything like this,鈥� 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
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do any of that for any kind of glory or recognition,鈥� Devore said. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
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.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to join some of my fellow teammates in there for football with Rodney Wilson and Dave Goodwin, which is an honor,鈥� Whyte said.鈥漌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.鈥�
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.
鈥淒uquesne was a very good team but it was awesome to play inside a venue like that,鈥� 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.
鈥淲e were confident going into the matches because we knew we had a solid lineup,鈥� Whyte said. 鈥淚 was fortunate enough to have great coaches along the way, too, like (head coach) Allen Hughes, Brian Jackson, John Coss, Scotty Blair.
鈥淚 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.鈥�
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蘑菇视频 most memorable match came in the 1994 state semifinals.
鈥淚 was up against a wrestler named Tim Ault,鈥� Whyte recalled. 鈥淲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.
鈥淚 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.鈥�
Devore chuckled about his beginnings as the Lady Pioneers softball coach.
鈥淲hen I first took over the program I thought girls softball was slow-pitch,鈥� Devore said with a laugh. 鈥淭hen I found out they played fast pitch and I found a girl named Lorrie Wise who was Helen Wise蘑菇视频 older sister.鈥�
Wise would go on to be best remembered for hitting for the ultra-rare home run cycle 鈥� a solo homer, two-run shot, three-run blast and a grand slam 鈥� in a game against Carmichaels.
鈥淭hat was miraculous,鈥� Devore said.
Devore guided the Lady Pioneers to the school蘑菇视频 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.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 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,鈥� Devore said. 鈥淲ithin the first four or five years we built a field over across the creek from the school adjacent to the football field.
鈥淲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.鈥�
Devore also coached varsity basketball, football and middle school football.
鈥淚 was the head coach of the varsity football team, the middle school football team, and the boys basketball team for five years also,鈥� Devore said, adding with a laugh, 鈥淚 was never home.鈥�
Members of the homecoming court are freshman Gabby Tedrow, sophomore Samantha Zimmerman, junior Eryka Hackney and seniors Madyson Debolt, Josie Stoneking and Marissa Tharp.