NEW LEXINGTON — Four individuals and
the 2002 football team will be honored as part of New Lexington’s Hall of Fame
ceremony during halftime of Friday’s game with TriValley. Rick Chuvalas,
Charles “Meatball” Fondale, Joe Huffman Jr. and Joe Smith will be recognized.
Chuvalas, a 1982
graduate, lettered three years in basketball and baseball and twice in
football. In 1981, he shared the Offensive Back of the Year with fellow New Lex
tailback Chip Ryan. He also received all-league honors in three sports, achieved
All-Southeastern District honors for baseball in 1981, was selected to the
East-West Basketball All-Star team in 1982 and played in the first Muskingum
Valley/ Licking County All-Star football game in 1982. Chuvalas was inducted
into the Perry County Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. His community service
includes coaching and volunteering for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He has
been employed with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for 30
years and holds the position of warden in the Correctional Reception Center in
Orient, Ohio.
Fondale graduated in
1967, being named class president as a sophomore, junior and senior and
graduating fifth in his class. He was a member of the 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967
MVL Champions in track, lettering three times and being allleague twice,
including winning the shot put title as a junior.
Fondale lettered three years in football and was a member of
10-0 MVL Champions in 1964. His junior and senior years he played all 48
minutes of each game. As a senior, he led the MVL in rushing (1,072 yards) and
total offense (1,164) as well as being selected MVL first team at fullback and
second team at linebacker. He was All-Ohio honorable mention.
Fondale played four years of football, lettering three times,
for Capital. His senior year, Capital won the OAC (7-0) and won the Amos Alonzo
Stagg Bowl to become the 1970 Division III National Champions.
He became a teacher and coach in the Cambridge City School
System and retired in 2009. As head varsity girls track coach, his teams won
six league or conference championships and he coached nine All-Ohioans,
including two state champions. He also established the “Charlie Fondale Girls
Track Scholarship” for Cambridge girls track athletes upon his retirement.
Huffman, a 1983 alum, lettered three years in wrestling
and football and two years in baseball. In 1983, he earned All-Ohio honors in
wrestling and was named Honorable Mention All-Ohio, All-Southeast Ohio and
All-MVL as a linebacker.
In 1982, he became the school’s first state qualifier in
wrestling and first district champion and was the first district placer in
school history in 1981.
In 2015, Huffman was awarded with a 25-year Safe Driving
Circle of Honor Award by UPS and has been a driver for UPS for 29 years.
Smith graduated in 2002 as one
of the school’s best golfers. During his high school career, he was a four-year
varsity member. As a sophomore, he helped the Panthers win a sectional title
and won a four-person playoff in the district tournament to qualify for the
state, where he finished 21st in Division II.
During his junior and senior seasons, Smith earned All-MVL
and was named to the all-tournament team. As a senior, he was named
All-District, District Medalist, and Times Recorder ‘Athlete of the Year’ in
golf. To top off his senior year, he qualified for state a second time, and
finished sixth, earning All-Ohio honors.
Upon graduation, Smith attended Muskingum where he was a
four-year letter winner. In 2002, he was part of a Muskie team which qualified
for the Division III National Championships. He received a Bachelor’s degree in
Business in 2006.
Smith is a Manager of Business Intelligence for Acosta Sales
& Marketing in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
The 2002 football team
finished the regular season undefeated with 10-0 mark. The victory over a
Division I playoff team, Logan (33-6), and a perfect record vaulted the
Panthers to an AP State runner-up finish in Division IV and a No. 16 National
ranking. They also won the school’s18th MVL championship and made the fourth
playoff appearance.
The team was led by head coach Bill Nutt and assisted by Todd
Brown, Kevin Cannon, Bill Kimble, Dan Morgan and Paul Wollenberg. They
outscored their regular-season opponents 307-105 and were led by running back
Drew Cannon, a first team All-Ohioan and two-time MVL Player of the Year and
offensive tackle Jordan Barnard was the MVL Offensive Lineman of the Year.