By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
news4garrod@gmail.comil.com
PAW PAW – This year’s inductees to the Paw Paw Hall of Fame include Eric Laskovy, Perry Richardson, and Michael Roy. The trio will be inducted in ceremonies to be held Feb. 14, at ap-proximately 7:15 p.m. at the Paw Paw High School gymnasium.
Laskovy, a 1993 PPHS graduate, excelled in football, baseball and basketball. In football, he was named All-State First Team his senior year. He was also named KVA (Kalamazoo Valley Association) First Team his senior year. As a junior, he was KVA Honorable Mention.
He holds school football records for passes caught in a game (16), passes caught season (72), passes caught career (110) touchdown passes caught season (10), and yards receiving single game (169).
As a member of the high school baseball team, he was named KVA First Team in his junior and senior years. In his senior year, he led the team in batting avg. .353, home runs (6) and six wins pitching.
In basketball, Laskovy was named KVA First Team in his junior and senior years.
In his collegiate playing career, Laskovy was a member of the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Cougars, Following KVCC, he transferred to Div. 1 University of Arkansas – Little Rock, where he was a two-year starter on the team.
Laskovy graduated from the University of Arkansas – Little Rock, with a bachelor’s degree in health science. In 2001, he earned a master’s degree in physical education from Western Mich-igan University (WMU). From 2006 to 2012, he worked as an associate scout with the Cincinnati Reds
Laskovy is entering his 25th year of involvement with Kellogg Community College’s base-ball program. He is in his 18th year as head coach at KCC. Over the course of his tenue, the Bruins won several championships, including 13 MCCAA Conference tiles – (2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and seven regional championships resulting in trips to the NJCAA Division II World Series, in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2024. The Bruins finished National Runner-Up in 2007.
Laskovy has notched MCCAA Coach of the Year 12 times, in 2007, 2008 (Co.), 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 (Co. ), 2023 (Co.) and 2024, and holds a 634-291 overall rec-ord.
Laskovy and his wife, Shannon, and daughter, Kellin, reside in Battle Creek.
Richardson, a 1970 PPHS graduate, was a track standout, scoring 100 points in a season. During Richardson’s four years as a runner, he amassed over 700 points.
In his freshman, sophomore, and junior years, Richardson ran the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard dash and was on the 880 relay and the mile relay. In his senior year, Coach Wayne Falan saw potential for Richardson to run the 440-yard dash. Richardson was undefeated in the 440 winning every race, conference, non-conference and several invitational meets throughout the season.
In the 1970 conference track meet, Richardson won the 100-yard dash and the 220-yard dash. He also anchored the 880 relay and mile relay with Paw Paw winning both events. That day saw Richardson take four first place finishes, while Paw Paw went on to capture the conference title.
In the regional track meet that followed, Richardson won the 440 event.
Following the conference and regional meets, Richardson won the state championship in the 440.
At one point, Richardson held the school record outright in four events. He also tied the record for 100 and 220 dashes. These records were never broken but the records were replaced when the state of Michigan High Schools converted to meters rather than yards.
Roy was a PPHS football standout from 1984 to 1987, with one year on the freshman team and three years on the varsity. He also played basketball for four years and a single season of baseball during his freshman year in 1985.
In 1986 as a junior on the football team, he was team captain. He also led the team in tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss. During his senior year, he again served as team captain, Honorable Mention All-State, and led the team in tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss.
At one point, he was the school’s all-time leader in tackles (games, season, and career), all-time leader in sacks (games, season and career) and tackles for loss (games, season and ca-reer).
He also played basketball during his freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years, and a one-year stint in baseball.
Roy was a two-year member of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas football team in 1989 and 1990.
He is currently serving his 26th year as a high school athletic administrator in Michigan. He has been involved with the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAA), the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAA) and the National Federa-tion of High Schools (NFHS) throughout his career.
In 2009, he was named the MIAAA Athletic Director of the Year, and three years later, 2012, the MIAA State Athletic Director of the Year.
He was the first Michigan athletic director to achieve all three levels of certification offered by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (registered athletic administrator, certified athletic administrator, and certified master athletic administrator).
