Princeville team, LeHew honored

By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post

A successful local golfer, a winning baseball coach with area ties and a memorable local football team will be honored today with induction to the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.

Brimfield golfer Rick LeHew, former Princeville High School baseball coach Jerry Rashid and the 1975 Princeville football team will all be honored tonight during a 6 p.m. dinner at the Peoria Civic Center. Here’s a look at each of the inductees.

Princeville 1975 football
Depth was a key for this 12-1 Princes team that reached the Class 1A state title game. So was talented quarterback Robbie Butler, who later played baseball at Bradley University and in the minor leagues.

But for Brian Elsasser, any recollection of that team starts with one man: Coach Tom Bruna.

“We were very fortunate to have who I would call the best high school football coach you could find anywhere in America,” Elsasser said of Bruna. “He was very demanding and very disciplined, but he got the most out of everyone and everyone loved playing for him.”

A state championship game played in an ice storm was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect season for the Princes. Princeville lost that game to Concord Triopia, 36-6, after trailing just 14-6 at halftime.

“They probably averaged 30-40 pounds heavier than us across both lines,” said Elsasser, a middle linebacker. “Our guys were quicker, but it was so icy. I wish we could have played them on a nice day.”

That’s one of the few regrets from this hall of fame season, as Princeville won its third straight Black Hawk Conference and had one other close game, a 26-24 win over previously unbeaten Stronghurst in the second round of the playoffs.

Elsasser recalled Bruna saying of the game, “I talked to football coaches and people from all over. They came from Iowa and all over Illinois and they said it’s the best high school game they had ever seen.”

In those playoffs, Princeville also beat Forest Strawn-Wing (40-8) and Deer Creek-Mackinaw (26-3).

“We were just very well-balanced and really worked together as a team very well,” Elsasser said. “And we had amazing support from our fans, even when we went away.”

The unbeaten 1973 Princeville football team is also in the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. Elsasser said he doesn’t think the 1975 squad would have beaten 1973.

“We probably couldn’t have beaten them, just because of Al Martin,” Elsasser said of the 1973 team’s bruising running back who ran for 2,014 yards in nine games.

Members of the 1975 team in that year’s Yearbook were listed as: Don Peterson, Tim Pinkston, Bruce Welker, Larry DeBord, Steve Leuthold, Jim Ostrom, Robbie Butler, Dave Belford, Pete Haynes, Carol Martin (manager), Jane Maddox (manager), Joe Schierer, Steve Dell, Brian Elsasser, Darrell Harlan, Steve Snyder, Dan Clark, Bill Allen, Jeff King, Kevin Emerick, Brett Hoerr, Tom Sheets, Cheryl Smith (manager), Pat Roger, Mark vanHoorebeke, Dave Colgan, Curtis Baker, Pat Westart, Dan Maher, Tom Koch, Joe Hyde, Clark Baurer, Brad Orrill and coaches Tom Bruna, Andy Bertram and Lee Westerman.

Rick LeHew
In his early teens, LeHew never saw himself as a golfer. Maybe a baseball player. Or a basketball player. But golf? Not so much.

That all changed after his parents built a house on Kellogg Golf Course when he was 13.

“I played golf every day for six years living on that golf course,” Le Hew said. “That’s what developed me into a golfer .”

The shift has provided memories, trophies and even a job for LeHew, who now lives in Brimfield.

A seven-time Peoria Men’s City Champion, LeHew was also third at the Illinois State Amateur in 1993, won the Illinois State Mid-Amateur in 2004 and qualified to play in the 2014 Senior Open Championship held in Wales – one of his fondest golf memories.

“I’m most proud of my consistency at a state, national and local level,” said LeHew, who spent two years on the pro tour in Florida before returning to Illinois. “I was always able to adapt. I didn’t do that professionally, but as an amateur I’ve enjoyed it. Playing for fun vs. playing for money is two different mindsets.”

LeHew, 57, has worked as director of field services for the Chicago District Golf Association for the past 27 years. He has a degree in public relations from Bradley.

Jerry Rashid
Current Eureka College baseball coach Rashid’s long career on the diamond includes a stint at Princeville from 1978-85. Rashid went 92-74 as a Prince, en route to 807 wins in 39 seasons at Princeville, Peoria Bergan, Peoria Notre Dame and Chillicothe IVC. Rashid’s teams won 19 conference titles, 17 IHSA regional titles, 4 sectionals and 5 Sweet 16 appearances, including a 2006 state title at IVC.