Brent Davies is being recognized for years of playing his favorite sport.
The 48-year-old Clarkston resident is being inducted into the Michigan Touch Football Hall of Fame.
“It was a surprise,” he said. “It really caught me off guard. I guess I made an impact. I didn’t play a long time. I thought you had to play for years.”
He was nominated by Bob Durso, a teammate also in the Michigan Touch Football Hall of Fame.
“I was nominated because I was a very good player, because I amplify the game of football with passion, how hard I played and led with interceptions,” Davies said.
He played touch football for five years as a defensive back, corner and safety in the Pontiac Touch Football League for three teams, two of which, Coach’s Corner and Dillenger’s Bar were in the Waterford league.
“I was fortunate to play for a good team in Pontiac,” he said. “We won a lot of city championships and went to the state playoffs a lot in Grand Rapids. It was the only astroturf so we got to play on it every year.”
He also had a lot of interceptions and had three during one of the games in the finals.
Davies said growing up and playing football and baseball in Clarkston really molded him. He was playing little league baseball when he was ten when he ran to the home plate to score.
“I plowed the catcher over to score,” he explained. ‘Some of the guys on the team that played with the Clarkston Chiefs said ‘you should play football.'”
Davies said okay and signed up.
“Football is a sport I just love,” he continued. “I love hitting people. I love the contact. I love the comrade, the competition and all the competitiveness of it.”
He was on the first Clarkston Chiefs team which went undefeated in 1974. As part of the varsity team he helped them achieve a 7-0 record.
Two years later Davies helped the Sashabaw Junior High School to achieve their best record up to that point. During his freshman year the boys finished with a 6-2-1 record.
“We played Clarkston Junior High School and we were the first team to beat them and to tie them when we played them in the first and last game,” he remembered. “They were up eight points and in the last drive we had to score and make a two-point conversion – which we did. We were the first team not to lose to them. It was cool.”
His sophomore year the JV team finished 6-3. He explained it was because the teams they played would send down their juniors to play against us because they were beating everyone.
During his sophomore year, Kurt Richardson, current head coach for the Clarkston Wolves’ Varsity football team, was the defensive back coach and the defensive coordinator during Davies’ senior year.
“I learned a lot from Coach Richardson,” said Davies. “He is a passionate guy and loves the game. To this day Kurt is a great guy. He taught me a lot. He has really made the program there.”
Davies played for the Michigan Charity Football League for the Madison Heights Rams team in 1983.
“It had a lot of college players, Canadian players and ex-NFL players,” he said. “It was really competitive football.”
He blew his knee out the second year and ended full contact football. Davies continued playing, five years in touch football and three years in flag football.
“It got to the point I had to retire,” he said after all the injuries and when he was 42-years-old he had a total knee replacement.
He is still an avid football fan and is a avid Detroit Lions fan as well.
“The NFL is the greatest league. I watch it like a fanatic,” said Davies.
He also played years of competive softball and played 300 games in one year.
“We would rush from softball game to touch football games in the fall,” he said.
Now he plays a lot of golf, scoring a hole-in-one last year – his fourth. He also works part-time for After School Golf Academy.
“I teach little kids how to play golf,” he explained. “It is very rewarding when you get a kid in week one who can’t swing a club and by week four they can hit the ball. I really enjoy it.”
He has also built a green in his backyard.
“When I get into something I really get into it,” he said.
He also coaches the JV team at Everest Academy for the boys spring season.
Davies has two kids, Heather and Trevor, and is married to his wife, Kim, and owns Davies Construction and Maintenance.
“I am really proud to have played for Clarkston High School Football and Baseball,” said Davies.
“I am proud of all the teams I played for. It really molds you. Playing for Coach Richardson and Coach Roy Warner, I learned a lot. Clarkston is a great community. They really care about kids. It is a great community for kids to grow up.”
The presentation is in September.