WHEELING — With the West Virginia Roughriders one victory away from bringing Wheeling its third professional indoor football championship when it hosts the Carolina Energy in the American Arena League title tilt Saturday night inside WesBanco Arena, many may be wondering how the sport was born in the Ohio Valley.

The late George Kellas had an idea just before the new millennium began.

With memories of the Wheeling Ironmen, who played outside at old Wheeling Island Stadium, conjured up by old-timers on a regular basis during conversations and the Ohio Valley already a hotbed for high school football, Kellas thought, “why not bring a professional indoor team to the Friendly City?”

Thus the Steel Valley Smash was formed and became a charter member of the Indoor Football League.

Although Kellas’ venture turned into an adventure in that first season — the team lost games in unique ways en route to a 2-10 finish in 1999 — it rebounded to go 9-5 the next season.

When the IFL folded after that season, the franchise became a charter member of the National Indoor Football League and began competition in 2001 as the Ohio Valley Greyhounds. It didn’t take long for “Greyhounds’ Fever” to catch on as fans from all over the Ohio Valley converged on WesBanco Arena for home games.

The team went a sparkling 11-3 in its first season, which included a first-place finish in the Atlantic Eastern Division, with former St. Clairsville head coach Mark Bonar calling the shots.

The third setback came in the semifinals to Mississippi.

Former Bellaire and Kent State record-setting quarterback Jose Davis returned for the 2002 season after playing half of the 2001 campaign with the Greyhounds before earning a callup to the Colorado Crush of the AFL where he won a championship as a backup QB. With Davis and Bonar re-united, the team went 12-1 and captured Indoor Bowl II, which was held in Wheeling, against the Billings (Montana) Outlaws.

“It was exciting,” Davis said. “Any time you can play at home in front of people who know who you are is great. Who doesn’t like playing in front of the home fans?”

For Bonar, Davis and a handful of assistants who also coached at Bellaire High school including John Magistro, Gregg Bonar and Mike Sherwood, the championship was somewhat of a redemption.

“We lost in the state championship game my senior year,” Davis said of a triple-overtime setback to Versailles. “Winning the championship with those two guys was special. We kind of came full circle.”

As exciting as the summer of 2002 was, 2003 was even better as the Greyhounds won all 14 of their contests, including Indoor Bowl II against the Utah Beef, which was also played in Wheeling.

“It was an honor to coach those teams,” Bonar, who was 49-6 in 3.5 seasons, said. “It was really special to be able to win that first title with Jose. Really special.”

Indian Creek and Wooster University graduate and current Steubenville High School wrestling coach Mike Blackburn was the center on both championship squads.

“Honestly, some of the guys on those teams are still some of my best friends,” Blackburn said. “We were a family. We had some very good players. I don’t regret a minute of it.”

Being an interior lineman doesn’t garner a lot of attention or accolades, but for the Greyhounds, the “Big Uglies” up front paved the way for the offensive juggernaut.

“We did the ugly part of the game. That’s how the nickname came about,” Blackburn said, adding the names of Jason Hupp and Jason Whitfield to the mix. “We relished our roles.”

The trio were so instrumental in bringing the second NIFL championship to Wheeling that they were named the team MVPs.

“That was something special … something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

NOTES

∫ The Greyhounds remained in Wheeling for four more seasons before ceasing operations after the 2007 season. However, after going 11-3 in 2004, the franchise entered the United Indoor Football league from 2005-07 where it struggled, going 14-17.

∫ Ervin Bryson coached the team for some of those games. Ironically, he is the head coach of the Carolina Energy.

∫ Two seasons after the Greyhounds had played their final down, the Wheeling Wildcats went a dismal 2-10 in the 2009 campaign while playing in the Continental Indoor Football League.