Vernon Stewart
Vernon Leon Stewart was a phenomenal all-around athlete at Farrell High School who went on to an outstanding college sports career.
At Farrell from 1979-82, he was a standout in football, basketball and track.
In football, he was All-MAC his junior and senior years (54 TDs - 27 passing, 27 running) and as a senior was 1st Team All-WPIAL. He was listed in Who’s Who Amongst America’s High School Student-Athletes, and in Football Blue-Chip Magazine as one of the country’s 100 top quarterback recruits. He led the Pa. All-Stars to victory over Ohio in the Penn-Ohio All-Star Game in Salem, Ohio.
In basketball, Vernon was named to the underclassman All-State team as a sophomore, and as a junior and senior was 2nd team All-Section 3. As a senior he averaged 16.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He was a member of the Colt Classic All-Star Team and co-MVP as a member of the Mercer County All-Star winning team.
In track & field, he was undefeated in the 400 meter and high jump for two years and ran on the unbeaten 400- and 1600-meter relay teams. He posted several school records, including 49.0 in the 400. He was First Team All-MAC, All-District and All-State in the 400, and Honorable Mention All-American. His senior year Farrell posted it’s only unbeaten season, 13-0, and won the WPIAL title. He was team MVP.
Vernon went on to Akron University and led the Zips in 1985 to their first NCAA Division I-AA playoff game since 1976. He ran the fastest time in the nation for quarterbacks in 1987 in the 40-yard dash (4.34 seconds).
In track at Akron, he set records in the 45-meter dash (4.55) and the 300-meter dash (32.4). He also anchored Akron’s record-setting shuttle relay team in 1987.