~ Press release issued by the Page County High School Athletic Department
SHENANDOAH — At the Page-East Rock football game this Friday night, Oct. 8, Page County High School will officially be unveiling the signage and dedicating the stadium in honor of Buddy Comer. The ceremony will take place at approximately 6:45 p.m.
After Friday night, the facility will officially be known as “Buddy Comer Stadium at Panther Field.”
The family and the school are asking all of Coach Comer’s former players to participate in the ceremony. Members of the track team during Comer’s tenure are asked to congregate on the track in front of the home bleachers, while the members of the football team during his tenure are asked to congregate on the field directly behind the track team at 6:30 p.m.
Please make plans to arrive a little early to allow for traffic.
The presentation to Coach Comer’s family will occur at the 50-yard line. This will be followed by a moment of silence, which will be followed by a “Ringing of the Keys” to signify Buddy’s years as a driver’s education teacher.
The ceremony will be attended by Dr. Billy Haun, Executive Director of the Virginia High School League, Dr. Antonia Fox, Superintendent of Page County Public Schools, and members of the Page County School Board, who will present a plaque to Coach Comer’s siblings, children and immediate extended family.
Gates will open at 5 p.m., and the community is invited to come tailgate and celebrate in the memory and honor of this event. No open flames are allowed on the facility grounds.
At the conclusion of the night’s football game, a fireworks display (weather permitting) will occur in honor of Coach Comer and the Page County Panthers community that he so deeply loved.
The PCHS Athletic Department would like to thank the Page County Public School Board for their approval of the naming; Stan Price and Debbie Norton of Riverside Camping for their generous donation in Buddy’s honor towards the signs along with Mr. Painter and Mrs. Sullivan-Smoot in kind.
Vincent Junior “Buddy” Comer coached football and track in a career that spanned nearly a half century. He is considered the “winningest football and track coach in Page County High School history,” with multiple district and regional championships, and one state championship to his credit. Comer died April 8, 2021 at his home in Shenandoah. He was 79.
In 2001, Buddy Comer was inducted in the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame as a representative of Page County High School and as a contributor for his work as a coach and an official. He was well known for officiating and umpiring all across the northern Shenandoah Valley for decades, overseeing more than 50 combined state semi-finals and championships in basketball, baseball and softball.
In 2003, Comer was inducted into the Bridgewater College Hall of Fame.
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