Grand Valley Athletic Hall of Fame

12/14/2025

Your 2025 GV athletic hall of famers... Great athletes , but better people. Proud of you all!

12/14/2025

A class of four entered the Grand Valley Athletic Hall of fame this weekend.

Ed Pawlowski (Class of 1993), Steve Smith (Class of 1998), Bonnie (Gargas) Rojas (Class of 1999) and contributor Bill Nevison added their names to the prestigious list of hall-of-famers at Grand Valley in a pair of ceremonies on Friday and Saturday at the school.

The class was introduced at halftime of Grand Valley's boys basketball game on Friday to a throng of applause from the large crowd that gathered for the Mustangs' win over the Lakers. They were officially inducted during a Saturday luncheon in front of family, friends and supporters from the Grand Valley community.

Nevison coached youth basketball for more than 25 years, youth soccer for more than 15 years, was a athletic boosters member for more than 15 years and also filmed basketball games and ran the clock at games in his career.

"This is truly an honor for me," Nevison said of his induction. "It's been so rewarding for me to be part of this community. The support I've received over the years... believe me, I've received far more than I've ever given. I'm truly humbled."

Pawlowski was a multi-sport athlete who lettered three times in football, three times in basketball and three times in baseball. He was part of the 1992 football team that went 10-0, and was all-county and all-East Suburban conference in all three sports.

"It was kind of unexpected at this point in time," Pawlowski said of his induction. "It's a great honor. I couldn't be here without all the teammates I had over the years. I've had a lot of great friends and a lot of great teammates. I'm honored."

Rojas set program records in the shot put (37-2 1/2) and discus (128-5) that still stand today. She was a state-qualifier in the shot put and former league MVP and academic all-Ohioan in track. Her induction brought tears to her eyes.

"I have tons of great memories at Grand Valley," said Rojas, who now lives and teaches in Arizona. "It means the world to me to be back at Grand Valley and see the familiar faces of the teachers, coaches and athletes I went to school with. It brings back so many wonderful memories that I wouldn't trade for anything."

Smith was a three-year starter for the Grand Valley football team and anchor of the offensive line that helped the Mustangs to state-playoff appearances in 1996 and 1997. The Mustangs were 28-4 with Smith at right tackle, including the program's first-ever playoff victory. Smith also participated in basketball and track.

"This means everything," Smith, who teaches and coaches in Pennsylvania. "I was raised to love this place and I still love this place. I'm in the Ashtabula County hall of fame and this means far more than that. I've always wanted this and am so happy to have it now."

Each inductee received a commemorative pen set at the induction ceremony and will have their plaques forever hanging in the Grand Valley athletic wall of fame outside the high school gymnasium.

The next hall of fame induction will take place in 2027.

09/13/2025

GV wins 68-8!... Keep it rollin' Mustangs!

Nothing cures the sting of a loss like getting back on the winning track. The Grand Valley football team reaffirmed that notion Friday night in a 68-8 throttling of host Windham in the Northeast Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The win not only washes some of the sour taste from the Mustangs' Week 3 loss to McDonald, but also avenges a 61-26 loss to the Bombers last season.

The 3-1 Mustangs return home to Reel Family Stadium next Friday to face Wilmington, Pa.

"This feels really good," Coach Matt Rosati said. "We needed that. We definitely needed that. We practiced well all week, so it was good to see it translate into the game."

Seven different Mustangs scored touchdowns in the game - JayAnthony Williams with three, Luke Giddings with two and one each from Nate Stewart, Hunter Doing, Liam Hart, Tony Williams and Austin Miller.

Said Rosati, "We tried to spread the ball around and get a lot of people touches."

The plan worked as GV built a 54-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Williams scored all three of his touchdowns in the first quarter, with TD receptions of 20 and 45 yards from Stewart, as well as a 53-yard interception return for a score. It's Williams' third pick-six of the season.

"Jay is phenomenal," Rosati said. "I think he touched the ball four times and scored on three of them."

Giddings had a 43-yard sprint for a score in the first quarter and added a 10-yard burst in the second. In between, Stewart took a keeper up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run, with Hunter Doing adding a 10-yard run of his own.

The first half scoring wrapped up with Carter Turk hitting Liam Hart on a 10-yard slant for a touchdown.

Rosati said the week of great practice led to the fiery first quarter, saying, "we had a very, very focused and intense week of practice and were determined to get back on the right side of things. A big thing as we approached the game is Windham scored 61 on GV last year. That was our goal - to answer back on THEIR field and show some firepower. We were able to do that in the first half."

The onslaught continued in the second half, which was played with a running clock. Tony Williams scored on a touchdown run, and then the GV sideline came alive when Miller - the 6-foot-1, 285-pound anchor of the Mustangs' offensive line - scored his first varsity touchdown with a direct-snap run.

With the win secured, the Mustangs made the trip back to Orwell and rang the victory bell under the partially-full moon cast above Reel Family Stadium. Rosati said work on Week 4 foe Wilmington begins now.

"They're pretty good. We've been following them for a little while now," Rosati said. "They're a good team and well-coached. ... We rang the victory bell tonight for the third time - and all those wins have been on the road. We were like, 'Let's do this at home.' We haven't done that on the new turf yet, so we need to win at home now."

08/30/2025

Your Mustangs are 2-0!

The Grand Valley football team faced a test of adversity on Friday in Ravenna and aced that test.

Trailing, 14-13, at the half when a fourth-down play from the 1 came up short, the Mustangs regrouped at halftime and dominated the second half en route to a 25-14 win over Ravenna Southeast. The win gives Grand Valley its first 2-0 start since 2017.

"Our kids knew at halftime the other team was getting tired," Coach Matt Rosati said. "We were just going to keep doing our thing. We came out in the second half, played really well and we got it done."

After falling behind early, the Mustangs got a five-yard touchdown run from JayAnthony Williams to knot the game at 7-7. Williams then gave GV the lead with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown, his second pick-six in as many weeks.

"JayAnthony was unbelievable tonight," Rosati said. "He had some big plays for us. He's so explosive."

Southeast took the 14-13 lead, but the Mustangs took the ball down the field at the end of the first half only to be denied inches from the goal line on the final play of the half.

From then on, it was all Grand Valley - especially on the defensive side of the ball. The young Mustang defensive unit dominated the second half of play and the Pirates never visited the end zone again.

"We start four sophomores and a freshman up front," Rosati said of his young-but-athletic defense. "Lukah Mramor, a freshman, started and played really well. Jeremiah Corll was a beast tonight. Jessie DeLisle and Ashton Lampton are sophomore defensive tackles and Forrest Portman, a junior linebacker, also played well.

"We're young, but that defensive unit played so well tonight."

GV's offense kept churning, too. Luke Giddings scored on a flare pass from Nate Stewart to make it a 19-14 game, and then the Mustangs put the game out of reach on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Carter Turk.

"Nate is coming along," Rosati said of the Mustangs' first-year quarterback. "He's doing some really good things."

Rosati said he was pleased with the way his team went on the road for the second week in a row and got the job done.

"It was really good for our kids to have to work for it and grind it out," he said. "What was really a big difference in the game is we only have one kid going both ways and they had eight. We just wore them down and took over the game."

"The boys are really excited - very, very happy."

Upon their return to Orwell, the players and coaches again rang the victory bell with pride as they enjoyed a win before turning their attention to the home opener next Friday against visiting McDonald.

Rosati pointed out it will be his first game at Grand Valley since he was a senior linebacker at Ledgemont back in 1984.

"We've got a huge one next week against McDonald," he said. "It's going to be exciting. Home game, big crowd... it's going to be exciting."

07/25/2025

ATTENTION GRAND VALLEY FOOTBALL ALUM!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The past, present and future of Grand Valley Mustang football will be on hand and on display at the program's Alumni Night on Friday, Aug. 8 at The Reel Family Stadium.

The evening's festivities will include a barbeque, games and music while giving current Grand Valley football players an opportunity to meet Mustang football greats from previous years - an evening highlighted by current players meeting past players and asking permission to wear the former players' numbers this coming season.

Alumni Night will run from 6-8 p.m., with Media Night festivities at 9 p.m. for photo opportunities. The Grand Valley Gridiron Club is sponsoring the evening's proceedings.

First-year head coach Matt Rosati said he is excited to bring a new tradition to the Grand Valley program, one which he knows very well as a former player at Ledgemont and head coach at both Perry and West Geauga.

"I believe I have an obligation to make sure I and our student-athletes understand the rich tradition and history of Grand Valley football," Rosati said. "I think it is really important for our players to shake hands with those players from the past and hear stories about the past that has made Grand Valley a special place. We have a goal to make the alumni from every year proud of our attitude and effort representing our school, community and tradition!"

The barbeque is free of charge, thanks to the efforts of the GV Gridiron Club. Music, co****le games and a meet-and-greet atmosphere will also be included.

Alumni returning for the event are encouraged to contact Gridiron Club President Douglas Zetlaw via the club's page or at gvgridironclub.com

"I think our rich Mustang history is incredibly important," Zetlaw said, "and I think relating that and showing the young men how rich our history and success was prior to them is very important moving forward. Additionally, I'm looking forward to meeting some of those Mustang legends I don't know."

For more information, contact Zetlaw on the Gridiron Club's page or Gridiron Club page.

Pictures from Grand Valley Alumni Banquet August 3,2019 25 Years of Celebration ���