Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

Youngstown State’s softball team felt both ends of a comeback against Canisius on Tuesday.  The Penguins ended up gaining a split in two wild games where no lead was big enough for either team.  Canisius (12-12) took the first game, 7-6, in 10 innings, and YSU rallied late in the nightcap to garner a win, 10-8.

In the first of two games, YSU was unable to hold a 5-1 lead after five innings.  Canisius rallied with three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to hold a 7-6 lead.  YSU tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Exposure to a new rule in a sport I know something about is rare.  In the tenth inning of a non-league softball game, the “International Rule” comes into play.  This rule means that the batter that made the last out for a team batting an inning later, starts at second base with nobody out.  With bunting a routine part of fast-pitch softball, the object of the first batter, unless it is your best hitter, is almost always a sacrifice bunt to move the runner on second to third with no outs.  Kind of reminds me of kickball, when there were not enough kids you had to employ the popular “ghost runners”.

Canisius scored in the top of the tenth.  YSU did not score in the bottom.  Ball game, 7-6.

In the first game, Danielle Chase pitched 9 1/3 innings for YSU.  Chase was sore and yielded to Hana Somogyi in the tenth.  Somogyi took over with one out and gave up three consecutive hits before being pulled.  Chase was pinned with the loss.  Kim Klonowski homered for Youngstown State, and Amanda Palmore, Autumn Grove, and Haley Thomas each had two hits.

In the second game, the roles were reversed.  Canisius held an 8-3 lead in the fifth.  The Penguin bats got hot in a hurry as Klonowski (pictured above) hit another homer.  Palmore and Sarah Gabel then socked back-to-back homers to left field, both solo shots, both career-first home runs.

Kayla Vallery (pictured) pitched 4 2/3 innings in relief of starter Cheryl Cale to pick up the win.  Vallery held Canisius to just three hits.  With the win, Youngstown State improved to 6-15 on the season, but showed great determination to fight back and gain the split.

Coach Brian Campbell reflected on what he saw.  “One of the biggest things is that this group has an ‘I don’t give up’ attitude.  The offense has been pretty good all year, but we have to bring the other parts with us.  We can’t expect our offense to explode for that many hits and runs all of the time.  I’m glad they did step up to the table, but we need to bring the other parts of the game.” 

Youngstown State University basketball senior player, Dallas Blocker, has been awarded the V Foundation Comeback Award.  ESPN will present the award for the tenth time on April 27th at YSU’s Scholar-Athlete Banquet.  The award will be formally announced tonight, March 30, during ESPN’s coverage of college basketball.

 “It is a great honor to be named the recipient of the 10th Annual V Foundation Comeback Award,” said Blocker. “There are no winners or losers in this. All of the finalists overcame a great deal of adversity and are deserving of this recognition as well. I’m fortunate to have had a tremendous amount of support over the past year. I need to thank my family, Coach (Jerry) Slocum and the entire Youngstown State coaching staff, and our athletic trainer Todd Burkey, who was with me every day during my chemotherapy treatments. I also want to thank The V Foundation, not only for this award, but for all of the work it does for cancer research and saving so many lives of those affected by cancer,” he concluded.

The award is open to all male and female student athletes at all levels and is presented in the honor of the late Coach Jim Valvano.  Valvano was courageous while battling with cancer, inspiring the creation of The V Foundation.

Blocker was profiled earlier in the year on Paneech.com. To read his profile interview, click here.  In the profile, Blocker gives a recounting of his battles with cancer in its early stages, what chemo was like, and how he was able to bounce back.

On behalf of the Greater Youngstown Area, extended congratulations to Dallas for having the courage to fight!

There was a little bit of everything going on at Stambaugh Stadium Saturday afternoon.  A situational scrimmage was held in the midst of Spring football.  There were plenty of bright spots for new coach Eric Wolford to bask upon.  Unfortunately for the players, Wolford is the guy who will go nuts for a couple of days trying to fix things that did not go as planned. 

The players in this environment are almost in a no-win situation.  The offense is going to gain some yards sooner or later.  The defense will nab an interception or record a few sacks.  Every play, someone had to do something wrong.  Unfortunately for the players, Coach Wolford stood comfortably 15 yards behind the offense with his whistle in his mouth and a tablet and inkpen in his hands.  Every play, Wolford would scribble some notes until the next play was ready to go.  Those notes combined with a weekend of film study will give Wolford all the ammo he needs to better prepare his team for the Spring game to be held on April 10. 

Wolford was satisfied with aspects of the practice game but says there are alot of things that have to happen.  “I told the refs before we started if anything was close to call it because I think that was a major problem from last year.  If you don’t get that corrected now, it is going to continue to be there.”  As whistles blew in the backround, Wolford went on to say, “They got backed up enough and put in second-and-long from penalties.  In fact, those boys (pointing to his offense) are over there doing up-downs right now for the penalties.  That’s good, they need that.”

Dominique Barnes (above), coming off of a solid year, had a nice afternoon for the Penguin offense.  Barnes scored three touchdowns and had 166 yards on eight receptions.  The big play from Barnes came when he  lined up split left and ran a post.  Kurt Hess threw a perfect ball hitting Barnes in stride on the 70-yard touchdown.

Marc Kanetsky and Hess split most of the time at quarterback.  The cerebral Kanetsky is proving that he can control a game by reading a defense and making good decisions without turning the ball over.  I think once the smoke clears that Kanetsky will be given the chance to run this offense.  Hess and Kanetsky both played well Saturday mixing snaps with the first and second units.  Both quarterbacks also had receivers drop a couple of passes that they threw.

Defensively, DB Brandian Ross (above) enjoyed the enthusiasm and competitiveness exhibited in the scrimmage situation.  “The receivers and the linemen have the biggest mouths.  When we get to shut them up it is the best feeling in the world.  That was like a conference game to me today.  It was physical, it was fast, and it was alot of plays, just like a normal game.”  

All-in-all, Wolford seemed pleased with the effort.  “There are obviously positives at some positions and negatives at others.  Usually, what happens is you compliment someone, and the next scrimmage it goes the other way.  When you compliment somebody, usually they come back the next day and  disappoint you.  We are going to see how the defense responds to a compliment.  Our linebackers played well running downhill and hitting their gaps.  I like what [Deonta] Tate is doing back there for us, he is showing potential.  [Jamaine]  Cook (pictured) may not have had alot of yards, but he makes guys miss.”

When asked about Dominique Barnes making some big plays, Wolford said, “Yeah, he needed to step up and make some plays here.  I think Dominique now understands that no one is grandfathered in around here.  In the past when you were ‘the guy’ around here you might have had a long leash, well,  these guys are all on a short leash nowadays.” 

It’s March.  In like a lion, out like a lamb.  If new YSU Coach Eric Wolford and his staff had their way, March would come in like a lion, and go out a bigger, faster, and stronger lion that was more physical at month’s end.  Saturday afternoon marked the first full-contact practice for the Penguins. The intensity was at a fever-pitch level as the team, at midpractice, broke into Oklahoma drills.

Oklahoma drills are simply one blocker, one defender, and one ball carrier.  Someone gets the best of someone else every play.  There are two bags set about four yards apart that the runner, who starts at a 5-yard drop,  must stay between.  The defender has the task of shedding his block and making a good tackle.  It is a great intensity builder and there was little disappointment on that front Saturday.

Coach Wolford saw good and bad on the first official day of contact.  “I was not really pleased at what I saw.  We need to be more physical, so we need to do more physical things at practices, that might be all we do.  Right now our coaches have more energy than some of the players.”

After the Oklahoma drill, the team broke into specialty groups.  The group with the most question marks remains the quarterback position.  All four quarterbacks in camp (pictured) took snaps with different units.  As Wolford had explained earlier, this position is of the most importance and he was not sure what exactly to expect coming into Spring ball.

When asked about the high-pitched practice where some players had to be seperated, Wolford (above) remarked, “I think it’s good.  Football is not for everyone.  If you don’t like contact and flying around and  getting excited, and getting red eyes and panting a little bit, then this may not be for you.  There are some guys out here who I’m not sure know what football is all about.  My expectations are for us to be a very physical football team, and we have got to address that immediately.”

Marc Kanetsky, one of the four quarterback candidates, commented on the atmosphere.  “Everything is more uptempo.  Coach [Wolford] is real intense.  If you are doing something wrong, he will get in your face and let you know about it.  We just have to keep learning the new system and working to get better every day.”

John Wooden would have had trouble winning a game with seven players dressed.  Pat Summitt would have quit midseason.  Phil Jackson would have went nuts.  Cindy Martin stuck it out.

With two years remaining on her contract, Coach Cindy Martin has resigned as head basketball coach at Youngstown State University.  In two seasons, Martin compiled a record of 3 wins and 57 losses, including an obstacle filled 0-30 campaign this year.  Beyond the numbers, so many factors worked against Martin in her two years.  This year, the numbers were a mess.  Having really only two post players made the Lady Penguins weak in the middle, especially when one would go out for a breather, or God forbid, foul trouble.

Martin only had two Seniors, Rachael Manuel and Kaitlyn March.  March dressed but was limited because of shin problems, and Manuel has been an improving work in progress since she got here.  Many of the players on the team were not even her recruits.  Credit her and the staff for finding Brandi Brown, a Horizon League Newcomer of  The Year finalist.

It’s a real shame that Martin has opted to go.  Those on the inside will tell you that there is nobody you will ever meet more competitive than Coach Martin.  Press conference after press conference, she always managed to take something positive and build on it.  She never used the numbers disadvantage as a crutch or an excuse.  Martin also never said a negative word about Youngstown, her staff, or her players because she believed in all of them.

Director of Athletics, Ron Strollo, said the choice to resign was Martin’s.  “We were surprised at Coach Martin’s decision to resign at this time.  She accepted a difficult challenge in rebuilding the winning tradition of YSU women’s basketball, and she and her staff worked tirelessly the past two years toward that end. We understand the end results of this past season put their efforts to the test, but a full examination of the extenuating circumstances that led to this year’s outcomes makes those familiar with the situation supportive of the progress she made.”

“I have decided to step down from my position because I feel in my heart it is what’s best for the program at this time,” Martin said. “I want to thank Youngstown State University and the athletic department for the wonderful opportunity. We signed back-to-back recruiting classes that are committed to their successes both on and off the court.”

Martin’s influence was obvious in her players who completed 30 community service projects over the past two years.  Academics were also important to the Lady Penguins as the team had a combined 3.29 GPA.

Best of luck to Cindy Martin!  She has paved the groundwork for the future of YSU Basketball over the next few years.

Donald Jones, the former Youngstown State Penguin, came home for a visit and he didn’t come alone.  Jones ran routes on the Stambaugh Stadium turf early Monday morning.  Scouts from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Indianapolis were there early to evaluate select Seniors in various categories.

To enter Stambaugh Stadium at 7 am brought back memories of the dreaded eight o’clock classes.  Looking around, the weight room was full of life as several people were doing workouts.  Unsure of where the scouts, players to be tested, or Donald Jones were, Jon Moffett, of the Vindicator, and I walked into the gym to strategize where to be.  Walking toward us was Donald Jones.  Jones had a big smile on his wide awake face and stopped to chat.  “It feels great to be home”, exclaimed Jones.

When asked what to expect today, Jones knew exactly what he would be doing.  “They [NFL scouts] are pretty happy with my numbers from the combine.  All they want me to do today is run routes.”  Jones did just that putting on a good show as classmate Aaron Pitts threw balls to Jones.

Jones enhanced his draft status with a good showing at the NFL Combine a couple of weeks ago.  He tied for first benching 225 pounds a set amount of times and he also ran a 4.47  40-yard dash.  He is projected to go in the fifth round, where he would be a steal.  Jones has the size, speed, and hands to carry a team and as an added bonus the NFL needs a few guys like DJ with their heads screwed on straight.

Phil Kreidler, a scout from the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, remembered me from the Pitt and South Dakota State games, where we spoke about Jones.  His task on this day was to put other Penguins through some tests in hopes of scooping up a good free agent or two.  “We have the guys run two forties, vertical jump, broad jump, and we look for explosiveness.  We also see how many times each person can bench 225.  We then move to some agility drills to evaluate their overall athletic ability and a few change of direction drill as well.”

If someone performs well, Kreidler reports back to the Steelers.  “We grade every Senior and look to see if maybe someone can be helpful to us as a free agent.  Every guy gets a specific grade based on their performance here today.  We then get together and go over every single player we give a draft grade to.”

Many of  last years Seniors were present for the testing.  Mychal Savage (pictured), Lenny Wicks, Dana Brown, Jabari Scott, and Brandon Summers, were all there to get timed, tested, and put there numbers on the board in hopes of making it to the National Football League.  Good luck to all who participated!

Eric Wolford was named the sixth Youngstown State Football Coach in school history.  Wolford replaces Jon Heacock who spent nine years at YSU before resigning in November.  Wolford is already turning heads with an all-star coaching staff, a highly successful recruiting class, and an attitude that just oozes loyalty and pride.  To sit and talk with Coach Wolford was refreshing.  He has goals and aspirations for the football program, but also for the community, stressing more than once how important he feels it is to get the community involved.

Before accepting the Youngstown State position, Wolford was the offensive line coach and running-game coordinator at the University of South Carolina.  Before working for the Gamecocks, he worked under Ron Zook at Illinois for two seasons.  His powerful resume also includes stops at Arizona, Houston, South Florida, Emporia State, Kansas State, and North Texas.  Wolford grew up in Youngstown and attended Ursuline High School before setting off to chase his dream of coaching on the big stage.

Paneech: What are your feelings about these “money beatings”? Where YSU ventures to a huge college football powerhouse stadium to play, in essence, for a check.  Are they good games to be involved in?

Wolford: I don’t have any issues with it.  I understand the way things financially work, but also, I want to put a positive spin on it.  You get to play an elite Big-10 team in Penn State in front of 110,000 people, so it’s not all just about the money, but also an experience in a very special environment.  Kids from Pennsylvania on our team get a chance to play closer to home.

Paneech: Last year, you are coaching football in South Carolina, before that, you were several other places.  Everytime someone got married or died you are booking a plane ride to get back home.  How does it feel to be home and eliminate those kinds of problems?

Wolford: Being here is obviously a great feeling.  I have a great support system in my family.  However, I don’t think I will see any more of them now then I did when I was in South Carolina, except for occasional dinners or those types of things.  I have been gone for 20 years, and this is a special place, very family-oriented, and that is what’s important to me.

Paneech: What makes Youngstown State Football so important to this area?

Wolford: There was a period in time when this community thrived on what took place here on a Saturday.  It was a reason to get together with family and friends and practice fellowship for a good cause.  My staff and I know the expectations are very high here.  We need to make sure our football team knows that.  We need to field a physical football team.  This is a tough town, and the players and staff will be held accountable to do things right, and those are the traits we are trying to instill in the kids.

Paneech: I am sure you have seen a film or two from last season.  You have some proven talent coming back.  Is this a year you put the “rebuilding” label on, or do you go out and immediately try to win?

Wolford: I think that question would be better answered after Spring ball.  I have concerns about depth issues and we really don’t have a proven quarterback.  Without a proven quarterback, throughout history, your chances of winning are not as good.  It is a situation I wonder about daily.  We have four guys going into camp that do not have much experience.  You have got to have a good quarterback to win.  In the early stages they need to show us that they can manage a football game, make good decisions, and do not turn the football over.  I am sure that Coach Montgomery and I will be able to find a person who can do what we want at that position.

Paneech: Two early moves you should be commended for are the hiring of Coach Ron Stoops and Coach Rollen Smith.  They are both very well-respected local coaching legends who came from consistent-winning programs.  Was this a move to assist the harnessing of local talent?

Wolford: I think it may have somewhat of an influence.  I hired Rollen Smith and Ronnie Stoops because of their high-level coaching abilities and their character that they bring to the table.  Initially, I didn’t know how many high school coaches I wanted to hire, but those were two of the top guys on my list from day one.  I hired them because they are great people and great coaches, the recruiting impact was more of an afterthought.

Paneech:  Last year, special teams played a hand in at least three losses.  How much emphasis will you place on the importance of not getting punts and field goals blocked, making good snaps, and containing opponents returners?

Wolford:  Well, Louie Matsakis was the second person on my list of people to hire.  He is a proven successful special teams guy.  We will play starters on special teams, I feel we have to.  I cannot put enough emphasis on special teams.  We have a schedule for the Spring to see who can do what the best.  This large wave of newcomers will have to give us some depth on special teams and maybe even play a little bit.

Paneech:  For a couple of weeks, SID Trevor Parks was sending me e-mails talking about guys you were adding to the staff.  Somehow, you have assembled the Beatles of college football coaching here at Youngstown State.  It’s an incredible staff, top to bottom, how do you sell a smaller-school to someone you are trying to get to join you here?

Wolford: That was probably one of the hardest things that I had to do was to hire a staff and recruit at the same time.  I often found myself in between phone calls recruiting coaches and wives, to recruiting players.  Some of my experiences with rookie coaches was that they sometimes didn’t take the time to hire the right staff people.  You are only as good as your staff.  I have been fortunate that Ron Strollo and the administration have given me the resources to hire a good staff.  I also believe it is a statement to the people of Youngstown that this is a great place to be, and this is also a great place to work.  They [assistant coaching hires] have enough insight as to what can be done here.  We feel we are getting things lined up in the right places to make a run.

Paneech: Looking over your recruits, a recent acquisition of Adaris Bellamy, a running back who was considering becoming a Cincinnati Bearcat, has not been talked about as much as your high school signees.  What can you tell me about him?

Wolford: After we had a chance to look things over as a staff, we came upon the realization that we only have two scholarship running backs on the roster, and one of those was redshirted.  Then we looked at the fact that we signed two kids.  After evaluating last season, we feel like we need four guys who could play.  If you lose one of those four, it could be devastating.  We just felt like we didn’t have enough depth at running back.  Bellamy is very talented, that is very easy to see on film.  He’s got some maturity to him, he has been out of high school for a year, he’s got size as he weighs between 215-220 pounds, and he uses his natural vision to run really well between the tackles.  He is a guy that will come in here and get a chance at the job, and we will see what happens.

One thing I can predict about Wolford, he is a no-nonsense guy when it comes to football.  To sense his passion and love of the game are truly refreshing and has the community buzzing over the potential factor.  He may only be the sixth head coach in Youngstown State Football history, but we might not see number seven for a very long time.

There was not too much to brag about if you followed the Youngstown State Lady Penguins.  Only dressing seven girls for most of the season, minutes were piled on starters and fatigue naturally took its toll on human bodies.  The result was a nightmare of a season, a winless campaign.  One ray of hope was Brandi Brown, the true Freshman from California who posted double-doubles almost every other game.

Brandi Brown was bypassed in the Horizon League awards for Newcomer of The Year honors.  This recognition went to Yar Shayok of Detroit, who just played at Youngstown State last week and had a good game.  This editorial is, by no means, intended to downplay Shayok’s recognition as a great future player for Detroit, but rather to question why she received the award instead of YSU’s Brown.

Brown was the leader in the entire conference in rebounding with a 10.8 RPG average.  THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE, not just the Freshmen.  Shouldn’t that merit her an award to first or second team all-Horizon League?  Dennis Rodman never averaged more than ten points a game in any season, yet was named to the NBA’s All-Star team several times because of his rebounding and defensive presence.  Brandi Brown is not Dennis Rodman, don’t take that analogy out of context, she is actually good on both ends of the floor.

Brown also led all Freshman in scoring with 11.6 points per game.  So she was the leader of the Freshman scoring race, and the Horizon League leader in rebounds and does not garner this award?  Did Yar Shayok play the immunity idol here? 

I am not sure what more the Horizon League wanted Brown to do to prove she was the best Freshman in the league.  Was this a political choice?  Because Detroit played well enough to win some games, the award is defaulted to a Freshman on the team with the best record?

If the choice was made because Youngstown State did not win a game, then the league should consider changing the name of the award to “Best Freshman on A Winning Team with The Best Supporting Cast”.

What made Brandi Brown’s year even more special is that when she got three fouls, she was forced to ease up and play cautiously.  How did she manage to put all of those numbers up playing hurt, tired, and sometimes in foul trouble?

Boo Horizon League.  I don’t care if Youngstown State won a game or not.  This is not a team award, it is an individual accolade, and you robbed the true Newcomer of The Year based on the statistics.  Leading rebounder in the league, top Freshman scorer, obstacle central with no depth, and you managed to keep Youngstown State down, yet again.

Former Youngstown State University Penguin Donald Jones is making a good impression at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Jones went South to condition for the combine appearances, and thus far, all of the hard work seems to be paying off.  Under the watchful eye of trainer Mike Gough at the Athletic Edge Sports Facility in Bradenton, Florida, Jones has worked tirelessly to get bigger and faster.

Jones ran a 4.47 40-yard dash.  More impressively, he was able to bench 225 pounds 20 times, tying him for first in that category with all other participants.

Jones was officially measured at 6′ and weighed in at 214 pounds.

Earlier this year, Jones participated in the Under Armour Senior Bowl.  He was the first Youngstown State player selected to play in that game since Ron Jaworski was picked in 1972.  Jones’ selection made him only the fifth FBS player named to participate.

In his Senior season, Jones set a record for catches in a season with 77.  Against Missouri State and Southern Illinois, Jones twice tied the YSU all-time record with 11 catches in each game.

You can follow Jones on Twitter, his user name is @DaJones81.

Here is a link to the player profile I ran on Donald Jones during Youngstown State’s most recent football season.

Kaitlyn March came into her Senior Day game with only 45 points on the season.  Hampered by shin injuries, her playing time was often limited to five minutes per half for a majority of the year.  March came out firing a career-high 21 points, and tied the Youngstown State record for threes in a game with seven,  but it would not be enough as the Lady Penguins dropped to 0-27 on the season with an 80-62 setback in the final home game of the season.  The other Senior, Rachel Manuel, has played hard and improved throughout the season providing valuable minutes on a short-stacked team.  The two veterans played in their final home game Saturday and are pictured above with family.

On Saturday, March had 12 points on 4-4 three-point shooting, a career best, in the first twelve minutes of the game. Despite the early heroics, YSU trailed with 7:51 left in the game, 20-18, against a very good Detroit team.

Detroit (15-13, 13-4) surged forward to take a 30-22 lead when Tayler Langham drove and was fouled to complete a three-point play with 4:51 left in the first half.  Detroit used a 17-4 run to climb to a 39-22 lead.  March nailed another three giving her 15 points in the first half, a career-high.  At the half, Detroit held a 41-25 lead.

The difference in the first half was the 20 points that Detroit cashed in off of 13 YSU turnovers.

Detroit pushed the lead to 51-34 with 15:11 left in the game.  Yar Shayok beat everyone back to the Titans basket and received a long outlet pass to get the layup. Shayok had eight points, all in the second half.

YSU cut the Detroit lead to 10 at 59-49, with 10:56 left in the game.  Kaitlyn March hit a couple more threes, giving her seven for the game and 21 points, March was off the hook.  Brandi Brown (pictured) posted her 13th double-double of the season when she yanked down her tenth rebound with 8:57 left in the game. Brown finished the game with 14 rebounds and 19 points.

Regardless of the outcome, Youngstown State showed tremendous heart in this game and played like anything but an 0-27 team.

With 2:09 left in the game, the Penguins were down 73-61.  March saved all of her magic for Senior Day. The other Senior, Rachel Manuel deserved props for her tireless efforts as well.  Voted “most-improved” player, Manuel has been an obstruction in the paint for opposing teams. Congratulations to both ladies and wishes of success for their futures.