By Al Benson
East Aurora High Football Old Timers Association inducted 1995 and 1996 Tomcat teams Thursday, Oct. 21, at Gaslite Manor in Aurora.
Inducted were Nate Powell, Johann Shannon, Jeff Cheeks, Sabastian Brown, Reggie McGowan, Tom Popdan, Roberto Delgado and Thom Patterson. Former Tomcat coach and event committee member Wendell Jeffries introduced the inductees.
With 110 attendees, the combined 75th/76th annual dinner program was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic. Founded in 1945, the association supports Tomcat football programs and provides social opportunities for former players.
Coach Steve Kenyon, association president, emceed the after-dinner program. Tomcat head coach Nick Kukuc updated attendees on his team’s record and prospects. He thanked the association for its support.
June Haley Duffy, daughter of former Tomcat coach and teacher Ray Haley, was a guest speaker at the event. Duffy also displayed Tomcat memorabilia her father collected.
Ray Haley, 92, passed away June 18. After teaching and coaching football and baseball at East Aurora from 1955 to 1962, he became the first athletic director and head football coach at Elgin’s Larkin High School when it opened in 1962.
Eleventh annual association $500 scholarship winners were announced. Ezequiel Meraz and Jordan Young White, 2021 East High grads, are attending North Central College, Naperville, and Indiana Wesleyan University, respectively. Their names will be added to a plaque listing scholarship winners on display at East High.