"It's a family thing."

That's what Bishop Chatard High School football coach Vince Lorenzano said of coaching linebacker John Dury. His words capture the person Dury was raised to be, and the support his parents and brothers have provided the school for nearly a decade.

They also are appropriate in Dury being named The Star's City Male Athlete of the Year. He is the eighth Trojan and sixth straight to earn the award -- a streak that began with his brother, Mike, in 2003. Like his brother, Dury starred in football and baseball.

Known for making big plays, he finished his football career with 336 tackles and recovered five fumbles as the Trojans went 38-7 during his three years as a starter. The Trojans won Class 3A state championships in 2006 and '07 and reached the '05 title game.

Dury was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior and made The Star's football Super Team and Indiana Football Coaches Association's all-state team as a senior.

In baseball, Dury was a four-year starter at first base and set school season records for hits (52) and doubles (17) as a junior. He also holds the career marks for hits (139) and average (.415) and is third all-time in RBIs (104). He helped lead Chatard to its first sectional championship in a decade last season and the state's No. 3 ranking in Class 3A this year.

"John started and played every game at one of the most physical positions in football for three years and helped lead his teams to two state titles," athletic director Mike Ford said. "In baseball, John has been a ferocious athlete."

Dury will join the family's middle brother, Tim, a junior and two-year starter on the offensive line, on the University of Indianapolis football team and also play baseball for the Greyhounds. Mike Dury finished his career as a relief pitcher and first baseman at Notre Dame in 2007.