All-Americans to record-setters: Meet the newest inductees into the Durfee Hall of Fame

Six former Hilltoppers are set for induction into the the B.M.C. Durfee High School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 22, at White’s of Westport. The honorees include Caitlin Belanger, Edward Silva, Adelino Jacob, Beth Plasski, J. Bryan Palumbo, and Thomas Kilby.

Tickets for the Oct. 22 induction cost $50 (plus fees) and may be purchased online. Cocktails are at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m., with the inductions to follow. This is the first Durfee HOF induction ceremony since 2019.

Edward Silva, Class of 1989

Silva can go down as the Secretary of Defense in Durfee soccer history. A sweeper/center defender, he anchored the Hilltopper defense, most notably in 1988 when the Hilltoppers, during the regular season on, went 17-0-1 with eight goals allowed. That defensive unit went by the name of The Wall. The team captain, Silva stood 6-foot-1 and took care of business on balls in the air, especially off corner kicks. Adept at marking the opposition’s top attacker and, in the words of coach John Santos,”sticking to him like glue,” Silva could also turn to offense, especially on set pieces, and was an accomplished goal scorer.

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Thomas Kilby, Class of 2006

Kilby could handle the pressure. A three-sporter (football, indoor track and field, outdoor track & field) during his athletics career at Durfee, Kilby reached his greatest heights in track and field, specifically in the javelin. At the State Division 1 outdoor championships in 2006, the determined lefty threw 178 feet, 11 inches to take first place. He followed with a seventh place at All State. In his subsequent Stonehill College throwing career, Kilby twice set the school record. In football at Durfee, Kilby played where needed, when needed, and did it very well. Fullback. Defensive end. Linebacker. Special teams. He rarely came off the field.

“What doesn’t show on the stat sheet,” said Steve Winarski, Kilby’s football coach at Durfee, “is his unwavering determination and desire to be the best at his chosen sports. He was versatile and willing to do whatever the coaches asked of him and willing to play wherever needed.”

Caitlin Belanger, Class of 2007

Belanger quickly settled into her athletic life at Durfee and, a four-year starter in three sports (soccer, basketball, softball), she graduated as a member of the exclusive 12-Letter Club. A talented pitcher who also swung a mean bat, she helped lead Durfee softball to the 2004 state championship. In her softball career, she earned all-star honors from The Herald News and Boston Herald and the Big 3 Conference. She finished with a .453 career batting average. A soccer all star as well, Belanger scored 40 career goals (19 in one season). As a senior in basketball, she averaged 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.

In softball at the College of the Holy Cross, Belanger penned her name in the record book: .336 career average (4th all time), 81 runs (5th), 25 doubles (5th), 55 steals (1st), and 53 walks (2nd), 24 complete games (5th), 17 wins (5th), 40 single-season (s-s) runs (1st), 59 s-s hits (1st), and 27 s-s steals (1st) – all this despite missing most of sophomore year injured.

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Bethany Plasski, Class of 2005

Whether it was on the basketball court or the soccer field, Plasski made a major impact, game after game after game. An all-star all four years in both sports, she was selected by this newspaper as one of its all-time top 25 high school athletes. A tough-as-nails guard with a legitimate and deadly jump shot, Plasski during her junior season reached the 1,000-point mark and stood as the school’s career scoring leader. She averaged 25.2 points, 3.1 assists and 5 rebounds per game junior season and 22.3, 4.5, and 6.1 senior season. She ended her career patriotically, with 1,776 points, and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee. On the soccer pitch, she was a very effective defender who dazzled many with her transcontinental throw-ins to the front of the opposing goal.

Plasski played basketball at Assumption College where, junior year, she led the Greyhounds to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Her 1,456 points rank sixth all time at Assumption.

Bryan Palumbo, Class of 1985

A nine-letter winner on Elsbree Street, Palumbo, Durfee’s 1983-84 Male Athlete of the Year, spread his excellence among football, ice hockey and track and field. A member of the football team that posted the memorable, decade-long, drought-ending 1983 Thanksgiving win over New Bedford, Palumbo played running back/wide receiver, defensive back and was a special teams standout. After his 1984 football season, he was named a Herald News All Scholastic and a Southeastern Massachusetts Conference all star. On the ice for coach Jack Carey, he played right wing on Durfee’s top line for three seasons. In track and field, Palumbo, a sprinter/jumper, set the school triple jump record at 43 feet, 1 inch. Post Durfee, Palumbo attended Choate Rosemary Hall (football, hockey, lacrosse) in Wallingford, Conn., and then played football at Union College.

Adelino 'Eddie' Jacob, Class of 1991

Though he may be best remembered as a high-scoring striker, Jacob was a terrific athlete round the calendar, sprinting to success in indoor track and field and then serving as a top-flight catalyst for the Hilltopper baseball team in the spring. In soccer, Jacob rattled off goals at an almost make-believe pace. In his junior season, he had 16 goals before suffering a season-ending broken nose. In his senior year, Jacob stayed healthy and set a school single-season goal record of 38. “He was a very coachable kid,” said John Santos Jacob’s coach at Durfee. “Speed was probably his major strength. He blew by people.”

In winter track, Jacob ran the 50 and posted a best time of 5.8. He also ran in sprint relays. In the spring, he played two years varsity baseball. As a junior, he batted. .444 (12 for 27) with 13 runs and 5 steals; as a senior he batted .297 (22 for 74) with 15 runs and 10 RBIs and had a 4-for-5 game against Dartmouth.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Six Hilltoppers to be inducted into Durfee Athletics Hall of Fame