Notebook: Turlock’s Debely headlines 2018 Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame Inductees

Legendary Turlock High coach Joe Debely will be one of the 12 inductees in the 2018 CIF Sac-Joaquin Hall of Fame ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on Oct. 21.

Debely, who passed away in 1993, coached football and wrestling for over 20 years between the 1930s and 1950s at Turlock High. The school’s football stadium is named after him.

Mark Speckman, who coached at Golden Valley, Livingston, and Merced and won two section titles with the Bears, also will be inducted.

Dennis Wallace, who was a football referee in the area for 25 years and soccer referee for three years and a former Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department deputy, will be honored as well. Wallace was tragically killed in the line of duty in November. 2016.

Rich Cathcart, who coached basketball, boys basketball, and created the boys and girls golf teams at Bret Harte High School, also is an inductee. Cathcart has been the Mother Lode League Commissioner since 2010.

The full list can be found on the Sac-Joaquin Section homepage.

Local basketball tourney announces field

The 2018 Mark Gallo Invitational, which will be held from Dec. 11-15 at Central Catholic, has announced the 16 teams who will be participating in the event. Local teams in the event include: Beyer, Gregori, Ripon, Manteca, Patterson, Sonora, and host Central Catholic.

Football Scholarship

For the third straight season, Central Valley Automotive of Modesto is offering $10,000 worth of college scholarships – $5,000 for the Gold winner, $3,000 for Silver and $2,000 for Bronze – to a Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Calaveras or Tuolumne County high school football player. The athlete must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. The award is based on excellence both on the field and in the classroom, community involvement and more. Final judging will be done by Central Valley Automotive and select members from the community! To apply, go to www.modbee.com/playerwithdrive

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 10:32 AM.