FAMILY TREE: Son of former Dewey High coach headed for OCA Hall of Fame

For Jarrett Hurt — the son of former Dewey High School head football coach Jay Hurt — being selected for induction in the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame is a real family affair.

Jarrett Hurt — Claremore High School’s head football coach the past several years — is set to join his father Jay Hurt (HOF Class of 1999) of Dewey and father-in-law Ron Etheridge (HOF Class of 2001) with membership in the prestigious group.

“The epitome in Oklahoma for high school athletics is to reach that plateau,” Jay Hurt said Monday night in talking about Jarrett. “I’m so proud of him achieving this. … I and I are two of the few father-son inductees in the hall of fame, possibly three.”

And, when one consider’s Jarrett’s father-in-law Etheridge also is in enshrined, the combination is likely singular.

Jarrett functioned as a straight-A student and earned Valedictorian honors, as well, as excelled in athletics, during his high school years at Wyandotte, Jay said. In addition to starting for Jay on the football team, Jarrett also won the state track championship in the high hurdles.

Jarrett then attended Missouri Southern State (Joplin, Mo.), where he played football for a couple of years.

“His shoulder injury made him unable to play the last two years,” Jay said.

But, Jarrett remained with the program as a student coach and another two years as a coach.

He would obtain a pastor’s degree and another degree at Pittsburg (Kan.) St.

Claremore High has been Jarrett’s address for the past few school years, where he also serves as an assistant athletic director.

“It’s a dream come true,” Jay said about Jarrett’s HOF selection. “From the time he was born we knew he was destined for great things. … He’s a great football coach. He’s a great person as well. He’s a a Sunday School teacher in the Baptist church and has always been very active in the coaches’ associations. He once served as the OCA president.”

Jay himself turned in a distinguished coaching career with multiple stops, including Wyandotte, Nowata and Dewey.

He is really a Pawhuska High product, where he was considered one of the nation’s top players in the early 1960s. He was selected for induction in 2016 into a Pawhuska sports hall of fame.

Jay made his final coach stop in Dewey before retiring to a farm in the area.

In 1993, Jay guided Dewey to a 9-1 regular season record and a competitive playoff loss.

The next year, Dewey finished 8-2 in the regular season and fell in the playoffs by a 14-6 score against Eufaula.

A late second half of the season slide in 1995 prevented Dewey and Jay from a third-straight playoff season.

Jay retired a couple of seasons later and soon after received HOF induction.

Less than 25 years later, Jarrett is joining him on that summit.

“I’m really humbled to be considered for the same Hall of Fame that my dad Jay Hurt is in and father-in-law Ron Etheridge is in,” Jarrett said. “This is really an exciting thing for our entire family.”

Jarrett also feels motivated by his group of players on next fall’s Claremore team. Claremore and Bartlesville have played each other the past few seasons.

“We’re kind of like Bartlesville,” said Hurt. “We both have a bunch of starters returning. Our kids are working hard in the offseason and are looking forward to next season.”

This year’s HOF inductees include: Jerry Bates (Tuttle), Billy Jack Bowen (Silo), Will Ethridge (Edmond Santa Fe), Kevin Harrington (Lawton MacArthur), Gary Hendrix (Fort Gibson), Samuel Horsechief (Tahlequah Sequoyah), Mark Hudson (Preston), Jarrett Hurt (Claremore), Craig Patterson (Kingfisher) and Linda Wiginton (Altus).

The Induction program is set for July 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Southern Hills Marriott Hotel. For more information, call 405-635-9300 or visit the Oklahoma Coaches Association website.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Claremore High coach with Dewey connections eyes OCA HOF