RON JOHNSTON The Marietta Times Morgan head coach Derek Bragg relays a play to quarterback Dakota Leopold during a high school football game last season against Marietta in McConnelsville.

McCONNELSVILLE — Current Morgan Raider head football coach and former three-sport star Derek Bragg became the latest member to be inducted into the Morgan High School Sports Hall Of Fame in a ceremony last Friday night.

Bragg, a 2005 MHS graduate, played basketball, football and baseball at the school, setting records in each of the latter two that still stand today.

“It was a great honor to be inducted in the Hall Of Fame,” said Bragg, who is in his third year as head football coach at his alma mater. “You never think about that stuff when you are playing, you just try to be the best that you can be.”

Bragg enjoyed playing all three sports but it was football that he enjoyed the most as he was drawn to the physicality of the game.

“Football was always my favorite,” said Bragg, who holds Raider records in football for most career touchdowns (30), most career rushing yards (3,297), most rushing yards in a season (1,400) as well as in a single game (265). “It was the only sport that you could be really aggressive and physical and get away with it.”

If it weren’t for an injury in his sophomore season, Bragg may have well been known for playing a different position other than running back.

After spending his freshman year as a back-up quarterback, Bragg took over as starting quarterback for the Raiders in his second season before breaking his throwing hand.

When he returned healthy for his junior season he was moved to running back which proved to be a great move for both Bragg and his team.

Bragg also lettered three years in basketball for the Raiders and played guard his junior season on a team that won the Muskingum Valley League and played in the district championship game.

The Morgan baseball team was also quite competitive during Bragg’s years there as they also played for a district championship his freshman year and beat a Sheridan team his senior season that had not lost in two full seasons.

Bragg set and still holds the Morgan records for career base hits (122) and career batting average (.414).

After graduating from high school, Bragg briefly attended Akron University before finishing his collegiate career at Ohio University Zanesville where he played baseball all four seasons.

Bragg lists former football coach Homer Weekley as well as former teammate Brady Harrison as inspirations in his career.

“Homer Weekley was the football coach here who really turned our program around and Brady (Harrison) was a player that I really looked up to,” said Bragg of the pair who were both inductees in last year’s Hall of Fame class.

Three seasons ago Bragg took over as head football coach and after a couple of trying years in which the Raiders went just 1-19, they began to turn things around this past season when they broke even at 5-5.

“The first year was really a learning year and we played a lot of underclassmen and had to teach a lot of the little things,” said Bragg.

“The second year we spent trying to build confidence and that finally paid off this year when we won five games and could have easily won seven.”

Bragg feels that a whole lot of people played a role in him receiving such a great honor especially those who played on the field beside him.

“I just always tried to be the best I could be at whatever sport I played,” said Bragg. “I was very blessed to play well and to have such great teammates that made me look good,”