(Posted Jan. 21, 2019)
The Madison-Plains Athletic Boosters will present the 3rd Annual Athletic Hall of Fame induction and dinner at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 in the high school gym, 800 Linson Rd., London.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any Athletic Boosters officer, from Bridgett Shoemaker at Wilson Printing & Graphics in London, or from Kelly Stoughton at the high school. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.
This year’s honorees are as follows:
* The 1960 Madison South High School football team–The 1960 Lions football squad went a perfect 8-0, winning their first Darby Valley League championship. The team was coached by Maurice “Moe” Pfeifer. The offense averaged 39.5 points per game while the defense only allowed nine points per game with three shutouts. The season included convincing wins over Madison County rivals West Jefferson, Jonathan Alder and Mount Sterling The Plains.
Twelve players were named to the All Darby Valley Team. First- and second-team all-league members included LeRoy Simpson, Jim Iler, Eddie Ropp, Dick Myers, Rick Renick, Richard McCauslin and Gene Pack. LeRoy Simpson was named first-team All-Ohio Class A at end. Rick Renick was named second-team All-Ohio Class A at linebacker.
* LeRoy Simpson, Madison South High School, Class of 1961–LeRoy Simpson was captain of the undefeated 1960 Madison South High School football team. As a junior he was named first-team All Darby Valley League (DVL) as a defensive end. In his senior season, he led the Lions with 21 catches for 558 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named first-team All DVL and first-team All-Ohio Class A at offensive end. Simpson is one of only three Madison-Plains (and the schools that consolidated to become Madison-Plains) players to be named first-team All-Ohio in football.
* Clark Mace, Madison-Plains High School, Class of 1997–Clark Mace is one of the greatest all around athletes in the history of Madison-Plains. In basketball, Mace ended his career as the leading boys’ scorer in Madison-Plains history with 1,007 career points. He helped lead the 1995 team to the Kenton Trace Conference (KTC) title, and his 1997 team finished with a school record of 20-4. In 1996 he was named Div. III second-team All-Central District and honorable mention All-Ohio. In 1997 he was named Div. III first-team All-Central District and third-team All-Ohio, averaging 20 points per game.
Mace was also a standout baseball player. In 1997 he led Madison-Plains to the KTC title. He finished the season with a .617 batting average, which still ranks as the 18th best single season batting average in state history. He was named Div. III second-team All-Ohio as an outfielder. Mace went on to play college baseball at Miami University. He ended his career in the top 10 of every Redhawk career hitting category, including the most hits, RBIs, and runs scored. He was named first-team All-Mid American Conference and All-Mideast Region. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Mace in the 28th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. He went on to play two seasons in their minor league system.
* Donna Gray Long, Madison Plains High School, Class of 1977–Donna Gray Long was a standout basketball player for Madison-Plains, graduating in 1977.
Playing in an era prior to middle school girls’ sports, Gray Long started playing organized school sports as a sophomore. That season she was the team’s leading scorer and named Best Offensive Player. She helped to lead her team to the Darby Valley League championship. The league title is still the only girls’ basketball title in school history.
As a junior she was again the leading scorer and named first-team All-South Central Ohio League (SCOL). As a senior, she averaged 23 points per game and was named first-team All-SCOL and third-team All-Ohio Class AA. She is still the only Madison-Plains girls’ basketball player named third-team All-Ohio or higher.
Gray Long was also an excellent volleyball player for Madison-Plains, twice being named first-team All-SCOL. She was named a team captain twice in volleyball and three times in basketball.
Gray Long went on to play college basketball at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati. As a senior, she averaged 17 points per game and was named to the All-State Div. II college team. She later became a successful coach at Madison-Plains–varsity volleyball (seven seasons), basketball (10 seasons) and softball (five seasons).
* The 1988 4×800-meter relay team (Andy Crawford, Scott Elam, Todd Engle and Chris Smith)–The members of the 1988 4x800m relay team were the first Madison-Plains athletes to qualify for the state track and field meet and are still the only relay team to do so. The team consisted of Andy Crawford, Scott Elam, Todd Engle and Chris Smith (2017 individual Hall of Fame inductee). They were coached by Terry Kemp.
They were the Kenton Trace Conference champions, going undefeated on the season against league competition. At the league meet, they combined to score 53 of the team’s 104 points. The quartet set the meet record (since broken) at the Impson Invitational held at Cedarville University. They finished as runners-up at the district meet while setting the school record of 8:12.9. A fourth-place finish at the regional meet qualified them for the state meet. The team finished 13th in the Class AA state finals. Overall, the team finished the year with a season record of 76-20.
