Turlock legend among section Hall inductees; Titles for Beyer, Central Catholic

Joe Debely stopped coaching in 1953.

Yet, his legacy lives on.

Debely, the former Turlock High coaching legend who passed away in 1993, will be inducted into the Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame along with 11 other inductees at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento on Sunday.

“He has been gone for so long but to still make it to the hall of fame, it’s very unique in our society,” Turlock High Athletic Director Mike Brown said.

Brown, who has been at Turlock for over 30 years in various capacities, said Debely “was one of the hardest working people he ever met.”

The school’s football field is named after Debely, who won over 100 games in his 20 years at Turlock. Debely coached football from 1933-1941 and 1946-53. He took a five-year break to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1948 and 1949, the Bulldogs went 10-0.

“He was that one person that didn’t necessarily start football but was a legend with the amount of time he spent coaching,” Turlock Assistant Principal Joe Cusenza said.

Paul Larson, who played under Debely in the late 40’s, was inducted into the SJS Hall of Fame in 2012.

“His (Debely’s) family would be very proud,” Brown said. “He got the most out of his kids.”

Other inductees with ties to the Stanislaus District include:

• Mark Speckman: Coached football at Golden Valley, Livingston, and Merced and won two section titles at Merced.
• Dennis Wallace: Football referee for 25 years and soccer referee for three years. Wallace was a former Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department deputy, who was tragically killed in the line of duty in November 2016.
• Rich Cathcart: Created the boys and girls golf teams at Bret Harte High School. Has been the Mother Lode League Commissioner since 2010.

The event is sold out.

Beyer, Central Catholic clinch volleyball league titles

Beyer (27-11, 13-1) and Central Catholic (29-8, 11-0) clinched league volleyball titles with wins on Tuesday Night. Beyer swept Johansen to win the Western Athletic Conference title behind 15 kills from sophomore Olivia Keller. It was the Patriots’ first league title since 2010.

The Raiders swept Sierra to clinch the school’s first Valley Oak League title.

Playoff brackets will be released on Friday afternoon.

Johansen set to host another water polo tournament

The 26th annual DeLong Tournament is Friday and Saturday and will be hosted by Johansen. The boys’ tournament brings some of the top teams in the area including Buhach Colony, El Capitan, Johansen, and Turlock. The schools are separated into five divisions: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Blue and Red. Games will be played at Johansen, Downey, Pitman, Ripon, Enochs, and Oakdale.

Longtime Modesto Christian assistant coach passes away

Longtime Modesto Christian assistant coach Howard “Papa” Porter passed away at the age of 89 on Sept. 26, 2018.

Porter coached at Modesto Christian for 18 years under his son, Gary.

Modesto Junior College hosts West Hills on Saturday

Currently on a three-game winning streak, the Pirates return home to face West Hills on Homecoming Night on Saturday at 6 p.m. If you can’t attend the game, it will be live-streamed at https://www.norcalsportstv.com.

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 6:23 PM.