Brent Petrus (1975-2022): Elyria Sports Hall of Famer excelled at four sports at Elyria Catholic and two at the University of Cincinnati

There wasn't much Brent Petrus couldn't do athletically. A four-sport athlete at Elyria Catholic, Petrus was inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. He not only earned a scholarship to play Division I football at Cincinnati, he was the sixth man on Bob Huggins' nationally ranked basketball team. Petrus, who suffered from epilepsy, died Sunday, just 10 days short of his 47th birthday. Versatility was Petrus' forte. He earned letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. "Brent's smile and personality were infectious," said former EC football coach Dave McFarland. "He brought confidence and passion to the team and elevated everyone's performance." Petrus played defense in the secondary as a junior, but McFarland moved him to quarterback for his senior year and he responded by throwing for over 1,000 yards while leading the Panthers to a 9-3 season in 1992. Elyria Catholic qualified for the playoffs, winning its first-round game over Montpelier before losing to Huron in the regional final. The two regular-season losses came by a total of seven points. The Panthers lost 7-3 to Strongsville and 9-6 to Canton Central Catholic in overtime. Petrus was the team's MVP on a star-studded squad. "He was the greatest quarterback I've ever coached," McFarland said. "We had this crazy-fast senior, Johnny Willis, who could beat anybody if you played up tight. "It was early on and I said, 'Would you throw the fade?' He's not calling it. He'd hand it off to (Jeff) Verhoff. We had a really good team but I pulled him out of the game. I was tough on him. "'When that corner rolls down, you should throw this.' He was like a kid in the candy store. I don't even know if he got the instructions right. He just decided he would throw it deep to Johnny. That was Bret. He could just take a team over. He elevated everybody." The Panthers defeated some traditional state powers that season — 25-21 over Rayland Buckeye and 21-17 over Akron Hoban. Petrus was a key player in both comeback wins. "Akron Hoban was really good," McFarland said. "They had this 100-meter champ and they went 99 yards for a touchdown to take the lead late in the game. You look at Bret and he was like, 'This is no big deal.' He was like Patrick Mahomes. "I thought we were in trouble. He led them down with some little passes, runs, calling plays. That was just the way that kid was." On the basketball floor, Petrus was a force for the Panthers. He could score, he could rebound and he could handle the ball. He averaged nearly 22 points and 10 rebounds a game. In baseball, Petrus was the team's MVP as a sophomore and junior but opted to go out for track his senior season in 1993, qualifying for the regional in the 400-meter dash. He earned a scholarship to Cincinnati as a quarterback and played tight end as well under coach Rick Minter. He was listed at 6-foot-4, 217 pounds. "I remember bringing in schools to look at him," McFarland said. "We'd watch him play basketball and, obviously, his athleticism, his height, his grades and his athletic ability were things people were interested in but everybody recruited him. They'd all say, 'That's the kind of kid I want around my program.' He's dear to me." Petrus went through a couple of coaching changes and never really got the chance but as a back-up quarterback he rallied the Bearcats to victories in a couple of games. He wound up throwing four career touchdown passes. As a senior tight end, he caught 10 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. At the suggestion of Bearcats radio voice Chuck Machock, another Elyria Sports Hall of Fame inductee and EC grad, Huggins invited Petrus to join the basketball team for the 1997-98 season. Near the end of the 1997 football season, he practiced with both teams, participating in three-hour workouts for both. As Cincinnati's football team prepared for the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, Petrus did the unbelievable. On Dec. 27, he was with the football team in Boise for a practice session but flew back to Cleveland to play for the basketball team against Massachusetts that night. He returned to Boise the next day to play in the bowl game scheduled for the 29th. Cincinnati won over Utah State but Petrus was on the next flight back home to play for the basketball team on the 30th. "He came out and shot the ball better than I thought he'd shoot the ball," Huggins told the Cincinnati Inquirer at the time. "He's tough and he's a good athlete. The way we play, if you're tough and a good athlete, we'll find a place for you." Huggins certainly did. Petrus appeared in 32 games for the Bearcats, averaging 2.5 points and 2.2 rebounds a game. Cincinnati (27-6) finished as the ninth-ranked team in the nation. Bobby Brannen, Melvin Levett, D'Juan Baker, Ruben Patterson and Kenyon Martin were the starters. The Bearcats lost 75-74 to West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Petrus played but didn't score. After graduation, Petrus played professionally for the Carolina Rhinos and the New York Dragons in the Arena Football League. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 194 yards with three touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns. His parents, Craig and Judy Petrus, have been staples at Elyria Catholic athletic events for years. Besides Brent, their daughter Tracy Kenneally also died young. Petrus is survived by his older brother Chad (wife Allison), his brother-in-law Terrence Kenneally, nephews Jack and Colin Kenneally — both members of EC's football and basketball teams — nephew Connor and niece Claire Petrus along with his grandparents Richard and Barbara Gibbons and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.