Archive for November, 2011

For the first time in over ten years, the Youngstown State University men’s basketball program is undefeated after their first three games of 2011.  Kendrick Perry, Ashen Ward, and Damian Eargle helped the Penguins overcome a sluggish first half to defeat UC-Riverside, 53-49, in overtime on Friday night.  The overtime win was YSU’s first since 2001.  They had been 0-11 in overtime games before this victory.

“This was not our best shooting night, but it was a very strong defensive effort”, said Coach Jerry Slocum after the win.  “That is as good as a defensive team that we faced tonight as any team in our conference.  It is nice to be 3-0 and we go on the road for six of our next eight games.  This is a fun group, I am very proud of them.”

In the first half, the Penguins could not get much to fall.  As a team, YSU shot only 25% from the floor, 25% from 3-point land, and 43% from the free throw line.  Fortunately for the Penguins, UC-Riverside struggled just as badly in the first half.  When the buzzard sounded to end the half, YSU held a 21-19 lead.  Ward knocked down eight points and DuShawn Brooks (below) had seven boards for the home team at the break.  The Highlanders did not score the last 2:59 of the opening half, and  Phil Martin paced UC-Riverside with seven points at the break.

Brooks, a senior, was a hero despite a 1-15 shooting performance.  He blocked a shot forcing a change of possession, he had 14 rebounds, he hustled until the whistle was blown, and most importantly, never got rattled by his off-night on offense.

“I am as proud of DuShawn tonight as I have ever been.  He had a big block for us, and even though he was not hitting his shots, he kept his head in the game and stepped up to battle through it”, said Slocum of Brooks’ efforts.

“It was a win.  It could be ugly, pretty, it doesn’t matter, it’s a win”, claimed Brooks.  “I am motivated to win and I am a senior now, so I am not worried if my shots are not falling, eventually they will.”

In the second half, the Penguins went on an 8-0 run.  Trailing 27-24, YSU reeled off the eight uncontested points to take a 32-24 lead with 16:41 left in the game.  Credit the scoring chances to a vicious full-court press that Coach Jerry Slocum unveiled.  Ward started to get going and the Penguins were clicking, for awhile.

With 6:14 left in the game, Martin grabbed a rebound of a partially blocked shot and slammed it back through making it 37-37.  Following a Perry free throw, Eargle blocked a shot, but the Penguins could not convert.  The refs seemed to have more control over the game than either team as they made some pretty iffy calls – both ways.

With the score tied at 40 and 2:01 left in the game, Eargle hit a big pair of free throws to put YSU ahead by two.  Martin hit a prayer jumper with the shot clock on one second to tie the game at 42 apiece.  UC-Riverside brought the ball up and tried to get the ball down low, but Eargle blocked the attempted shot and the Penguins regained possession on a shot clock violation with six seconds left.  The Penguins got the ball back in a tie game with six seconds left.  Brooks inbounded to Perry who could not get through traffic or get a quality shot off forcing overtime.

In the extra session with the teams tied at 46, Martin got a shot off in a crowded lane and was fouled with 1:52 left in the game.  He converted the ‘and-one’ to give Riverside a three-point lead.  With 41.8 seconds left and the ‘Guins down three, Eargle was fouled on a rebound.  The foul was on Kevin Bradshaw, his fifth.  Eargle was sent to the line where he hit a pair of charity tosses to cut the deficit to one.  Perry penetrated and was fouled to go to the line, where he hit a pair to give YSU a one-point lead at 50-49 with 20 seconds left in the game.  Riverside drove, missed a shot, Brooks grabbed a rebound, and was fouled with 1.4 seconds left.  To add to the ending, the UC-Riverside bench got whistled for a technical foul.  After Brooks missed the first free throw, Jim Woolridge, the UC coach got tossed.  His exit looked like something out of a WWE script.  Pouty face, yelling at the refs, playing the crowd…

Nonetheless, YSU hit some free throws off of all of the free advertising sponsored by Woolridge to cement the victory.

Ward was the top scorer for the Penguins, finishing with 15 points.  Eargle blocked 8 shots and chipped in with 11 points.  Martin had 16 for the Highlanders taking their top-scoring honors.

YSU is just five games away from school victory #1,000.

The Buffalo Bills are at a point in their season where they have achieved some things, but are more disappointed in what they have failed to do.  Last week, the Bills were hammered by the Dallas Cowboys, 44-7, and Donald Jones says that his team will head into Miami ready to play.  Jones says he is back up to a normal workload following an injury absence of four games, saying that his leg is as good as it is going to be for the rest of the season.

“We are having a great week of practice,” said Jones.  “Our guys understand that we are only one game out of first place and that we need to have a better effort than we did last week.”

The Bills suffered a key blow recently when starting center, Eric Wood, went down for the season with a torn right ACL.  Jones talked about how big of a loss Wood is to his team.

“It is a huge loss for us.  He was like the leader of the offensive line, the leader of the offense in many ways.  He kept guys positive in the huddle and kept everyone focused.  It hurts to lose him.”

The Bills head to Miami to face the Dolphins this weekend.  Jones talked about the matchup and the expectations.

“We have to do a better job executing, finishing drives and getting points on the scoreboard”, said Jones.  “They [Miami] run a lot of zone schemes, we have to find the open spots in those zones and make plays.

Jones, a Youngstown State University grad, wanted to wish his alma mater good luck for the week as they continue to charge forward seeking a playoff berth.

“I hope they can win and make it to the playoffs.  It should be a pumped-up crowd this weekend.”

Missouri State has owned Youngstown State the last few seasons.  The Bears have given coaches and players fits even putting up some double-digit wins along the way. This year, Missouri State is much in the same position that Youngstown State was in last season – close but no cigar.  Last week, they lost 28-20 to Indiana State, the week before they fell to South Dakota State 43-36 in 2 OT, etc.  Sound familiar?  It should to Youngstown State fans.

Coach Eric Wolford knows that the Bears have enough talent not to be overlooked. He also thinks that if his Penguins can get by the Bears this Saturday that they should be in the playoffs.

“We are a playoff team,” claimed Wolford.  “We are ranked 15th in a BCS-like formula and history has shown that the top so many in that poll always seem to get in despite where they are in the other polls.  We are playing as well as anybody right now, we are a good football team.  We have quality wins and we deserve to be in the playoffs. With that said, our focus is squarely on Missouri State because if we don’t win, none of the scenarios matter, our season will end.”

Missouri State Senior, Travis Simmons, knows that he and his Bears are in a position to disrupt Youngstown State’s huge momentous surge.

“This is definitely our last game and we know that we have nothing to lose.  It has been very frustrating the way we have lost all of the close games this season, we just can’t seem to pull them out.  We have won the last few times against Youngstown State, but there is no mental edge for us.  Hopefully our coaches can find some tendencies as they continue to break down films.”

YSU quarterback Kurt Hess is excited about the chance to get to the next level, but knows the Penguins need to focus on the task at hand.

“Last year’s game against them was not one of my favorites, they controlled the game. They are a very talented team and seem to be stuck where we were last year, just unable to get over the top.  We feel as though we have played really well in the last five games, we are a hot team right now.  We are in a good position and I like the opportunity.”

On Senior Day, Wolford has exclaimed that the community needs to come out in full force and give the Penguins support.  He also said that the seniors on this years team will be honored before the kickoff, but that there would be no honorary senior starts. The seniors who will be playing in their last, at least, regular season game are Andre Barboza, Ely Ducatel, Josh Lee (above), David Rogers, Deionte Williams, Daniel Stewart, Marc Kanetsky, Scott Sentner, Andrew Johnson, John Sasson, Pat White, Nate Schkurko, and Obinna Ekweremuba.

So much is at stake for Youngstown State.  The casual fan gets the sense that Wolford’s promises have started to turn into reality in a very short period of time.  He knew the talent was there, never made excuses when the Penguins lost, and with a playoff slot within their reach, expect this team to come out fired up.

“Defensivily, they [Missouri State] they do not want you to be able to run the football. They use some plus one in the box and try to outnumber you, force you to make some plays.  Offensively, they run a spread offense where the quarterback will hand it off or keep it, something similar to what we do, a zone read.  The quarterback will have to be accounted for all of the time.”

Kickoff for the game is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Come out and cheer on your Penguins in the first meaningful season-ending game at Stambaugh Stadium in years.

Youngstown State’s Kenya Middlebrooks made two free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining to lift the Penguins to a 57-56, come-from-behind win at Bucknell on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion.

The Penguins trailed by 17 early in the second half and were down 56-48 with two minutes left. Brandi Brown‘s three-point play cut the margin to five, and, after a Bucknell turnover on a five-second violation, another three-point play by Middlebrooks made the score 56-54 with 1:53 left.

Brown went 1-for-2 from the line with 14.4 seconds left, and Tieara Jones grabbed the offensive rebound to keep possession. Middlebrooks was fouled on a jumper, and she sank both free throws to give YSU its first lead since the score was 13-12 10 minutes into the game. Bucknell’s Amy Zehner missed a 12-foot jumper from the right side as time expired.

Middlebrooks scored all 10 of her points in the second half, and Brown scored 12 on an off night shooting. Zehner, an impressive freshman, led all scorers with 25 points.  Youngstown State is now 2-1 on the season and has won back-to-back non-conference games on the road for the first time since November 2004.

Up 30-19 at halftime, Bucknell scored eight of the first 10 points of the second period to take a 38-21 lead with 16:28 left. YSU went on an 11-1 run to cut the margin to 39-32 with 12:01 remaining, and five points in 20 seconds by Kelsea Fickieson got the Penguins within five with 6:26 to go.

Bucknell scored the next five points to go back up by 10, and a Zehner jumper at the 3:29 mark put the Bison up 56-46. That accounted for their final points of the night.  Heidi Schlegel‘s lay-up after an offensive rebound started the run with 3:15 left, and the three-point plays by Brown and Middlebrooks came just over a minute later.

YSU was 7-for-32 for 21.9 percent and had two field goals in the final 12 minutes. That included going 5-for-18 from inside 10 feet. Bucknell countered by shooting 48.1 percent, making 13-of-27 from the field.

YSU shot just 31.3 percent but hit three more treys than Bucknell and outscored the Bison by eight from the free-throw line. Bucknell shot 51 percent in a losing effort, largely because of being outscored 28-8 off turnovers. Bucknell had 25 turnovers to YSU’s 14, and the Penguins turned the ball over just three times in the second half.

Youngstown State will host American in its Beeghly Center opener on Monday at 7:05 p.m.

** Story courtesy of YSUSports.com

History lesson. The great Industrial Revolution of America was built on the theory that interchangeable parts could be used to mass assemble.  Tuesday night at Beeghly Center, Jerry Slocum did exactly that, showed a wide array of talent, interchangeable parts.  The Penguins looked pretty good in defeating Notre Dame of Ohio 80-62 in the 2011 home opener.  A long-standing school record of 14 three pointers in a game was tied as the Penguins had the long shots falling to the clip of 66.7% in the first half.

“It was a tale of two halves”, remarked Slocum.  “In the first half, everything went in, and in the second half, nothing would go in.  The first half was a clinic of sharing the ball though.”

The Penguins did a tremendous job of scoring off of turnovers in the first half.  The Falcons committed ten first half turnover that led to 13 points for Youngstown State.  Conversely, YSU only had two first half turnovers and the Falcons did not get a point off of either turnover.  Balance was the norm for Slocum’s team in the first half.  Kendrick Perry had 16 points, was 3-3 on three-pointers, got five assists, was 5-7 from the line, and had a rebound.  Senior Ashen Ward had 14, and Blake Allen chipped in 12 points as YSU coasted to a 51-31 lead at the break.

The second half was much like the first in the sense that Slocum used his bench frequently.  It was a good opportunity to get some of the bench players quality minutes to ready them for tougher tests.  With 15:28 left in the game, Notre Dame actually cut the lead to 51-36, but the Penguins regained composure quickly and stretched their lead to 66-49 with 8:40 left in the game.

The win gets the Penguins off to a 2-0 start for the second straight season.  The win also elevates Slocum to sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Penguins Coaching wins list with 59.  He had been previously tied with John Robic, and now has 640 coaching victories in his 37th season.  Another landmark broken with the victory was Ashen Ward getting his 100th career three-pointer in the first half.

“I didn’t know that”, said Ward of his landmark trey.  “I always considered myself a shooter, now it is verified.”

Perry (below) had the best all-around game for YSU (2-0).  The sophomore poured in 18 points, had five assists, and seemed to be everywhere all night.  Ward finished the game with 17 points and Allen contributed with 14 more.  Eric Dummermuth paced the Falcons with 20 points and ten boards.

With 2:03 left in the game, Shawn Amiker, the last player to enter the game for the Penguins, hit a baseline runner while being fouled.  It was proof that interchangeable parts seem very much in order on Jerry Slocum’s assembly line.  The Penguins go back to work at home on Friday, welcoming U-C Riverside to town.

“We want to get the bench more involved earlier in games,” said Slocum.  “We have to develop those younger guys and it is better to get them in early and let the more experienced veteran players there in the second half.  We also have to play better at home.  At Samford, we played a full 40 minutes, it is much harder to play at home.  It’s a process and we have to keep growing.”

For the second straight year, Guy Fieri has come to Youngstown as a guest of honor of the Phantoms.  Fieri, personal friends with Phantoms owner Bruce J. Zoldan, attended the Kentucky Derby in Louisville in May with Zoldan when Animal Kingdom, owned by Team Valor of which Zoldan is a major investor, won in an amazing come-from-behind victory to win the Roses at famed Churchill Downs. Fieri joined Zoldan and his party in the winner’s circle.

The wildly popular Fieri, the host of NBC’s “Minute To Win It” and the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” was amicable and friendly with everyone who he crossed paths with.

Fieri’s advertised appearance on Veteran’s Day was well-publicized and the Phantoms enjoyed their biggest crowd of the season.  A lot of people left the Covelli Centre carrying barbecue sauce, Fieri’s newest creations.

At first glance, the above picture would not say much.  Some photographers would even say it is a wasted shot and delete it.  The fascinating things going on in the above picture are guys in red uniforms knocking around guys in white uniforms.  If you look to the left, you can see D J Main (#77) knocking his guy out of the picture with the ball ten yards away.  Look to the right and see Mark Pratt (#76) and Lamar Mady (#55) going for more after knocking a would-be tackler on the seat of his pants.  Look at the middle, David Rogers (#13) seems to have made his block.

If you asked Kurt Hess and/or Jamaine Cook why the Penguins offense is so successful, I would bet that neither of them would go beyond the first sentence without crediting this offensive line.  In fact, they both already have several times at press conferences, and with good reason.  With the Penguins averaging about 35 points per game, Penguins offensive line coach, Carmen Bricillo, deserves as much credit as offensive coordinator, Shane Montgomery.

The big guys are getting it done in games that many did not think that they could. Heading into last week’s North Dakota State game, all you heard about was the size of the Bison defensive line and that they had a top-rated defense.  When the two balls collided and the smoke cleared, a good defense was defeated by a better offense. Against the immovable object, YSU scored the most points (27) and had the most total yards (476) against the stingy defense of the Bison, more than any other opponent.

So here is some ink for the hogs – a pat on the back for a group of guys who Coach Eric Wolford says ‘eats way too much and lifts a lot of weights’.  Above photo, L to R, Andrew Radakovich (72),  Mady (55), Pratt (76), Chris Elkins (66), and Eric Franklin (75). Three tight ends have made significant contributions this season, especially with their blocking.  David Rogers, Will Shaw, and Carson Sharbaugh, are very much worth mentioning when giving credit to the non-glory seeking and under-recognized blocking Penguins.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that an offensive line will make or break what happens when they have the ball.  Oh, and did I mention that none of the linemen, or their backups are graduating?  They will all be back next season.  Elkins and Pratt have both been named Missouri Valley Football Conference Lineman of The Week this season too.

Coach Wolford has said in the past that during the week he likes to get the car shined up and take it for a ride on Saturday.  Good to know the the tires on the car, the Penguins offensive linemen, are all-weather radials with a lot of tread left.

Less than 24 hours after the Youngstown Phantoms handed defending champion Dubuque a 5-2 setback, the Fighting Saints returned the favor.  The Phantoms trailed 4-0 but fought back to make it 4-3 but never got closer.  Sam Anas had a pair of goals for the Phantoms in defeat.  Tyler Lundey also tallied twice for the visiting Dubuque team.

John Doherty got Dubuque on the board when he knocked the puck in for the third time this season.  Doherty was assisted by Mike Matheson on the opening goal that came 8:33 into the first period.  The Fighting Saints picked up another goal before the end of the period. Eliot Grauer got his first goal of the season with 1:30 left in the first to put Dubuque ahead, 2-0.

The second period saw the Fighting Saints put up a couple more goals to take a 4-0 lead.  Tyler Lundy connected twice for the visitors to notch his fifth and six goals of the season.  The first goal came at even-strength and the second was with a man advantage.

At that point, something kicked in for the Phantoms, namely Sam Anas.  Anas helped the Phantom get back into the game with his third and fourth goals of the year. Both of the goals scored by Anas were on powerplay chances, a department the Phantoms have really been struggling with.  Before the first Phantoms goal, the home team was 0-29 in their most recent powerplay drought. J T Stenglein and Richard Zehnal picked up assists on the first score.  Anas connected from a bad angle, something he has been pretty proficient with, unassisted to cut the score to 4-2 at the end of the second period.

Sean Romeo (above) got a start because Matt O’Connor was between the pipes in both, the Friday and Saturday games.  Romeo struggled at times but stopped some good shots by Dubuque to keep it close.  A three game stretch in three days is tough for a young team to perform at the USHL high-level brand of hockey.

In the third period, the Phantoms nudged closer when Stenglein picked off a pass and scored a shorthanded goal 7:34 into the final stanza.  Dubuque watched a 4-0 lead go to 4-3 with over ten minutes left in the game and the result still hanging in the balance. The Fighting Saints were whistled with 3:37 left in the game for slashing.  Unfortunately, the Phantoms only got one good shot, whereas the Fighting Saints took two.

The Phantoms were right there, one would get the feeling if there were three minutes extra to play, that they somehow would have found a way.  With the win, Dubuque raised its record to 9-3-1.  The Phantoms fell to 8-5-0 and showed a whole bunch of heart in the loss.  Many teams fold up the tent and switch everything.  Credit Anthony Noreen for sticking to his guns, as it almost paid off tonight.

“We did not play 60 minutes tonight, we only played about 40”, said Noreen.  “The first twenty minutes we did not play to our standards.  I told the team not to pay attention to the scoreboard and they were able to get back in the game.  In years past, this game may have ended up 9-0 instead of 4-3 because there would have been some pouting and they would not have stay focused.”

Without their best defenseman, Chris Bradley, and their leading scorer, Austin Cangelosi, away at a World Junior Tournament, give Noreen and the boys credit for being so competitive.  Both Bradley and Cangelosi scored goals for Team USA earlier in the day and Noreen surely could have used the points in Youngstown.

“The thing I liked about our powerplay tonight was that things just seemed more urgent”, commented the coach.  “I want our powerplay to go out there and outwork the penalty kill.  ‘Want’ to get to the net, ‘want’ to score goals.  There are a lot of teams in this league that we could hit that probably would not hit back.  That team [Dubuque] is the most skilled team in the league, but they are also one of the most physical.  I thought our physical play, for playing our third game in three days with a shortened lineup, was impressive.”

Youngstown State sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess (Dayton, Ohio) was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week while junior placekicker David Brown (Ojai, Calif.) was tabbed the Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced on Sunday.

Hess completed 20-of-24 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another in the Penguins upset win over No. 1 ranked North Dakota State. Hess threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Berassa in the second quarter before his one-yard score with 17 seconds left before the end of the first half pulled YSU within 21-17 at the break. In the second half, he threw a 10-yard scoring toss to Jamaine Cook to give YSU a 24-21 lead.

It was the second weekly honor for Hess this year who was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week following wins over Illinois State.

Brown had a career-high two field goals made, including the game winner as the Penguins upset top-ranked North Dakota State. Brown made a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter and drilled a 30-yard kick in the third quarter which put YSU on top 27-24. That second field goal proved to be the difference in the game. Brown also made all three of his extra-point tries in the Fargodome.

South Dakota State cornerback Winston Wright was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Southern Illinois running back Jewel Hampton was named the Newcomer of the Week.

The Penguins close out the regular season on Saturday when they play host to Missouri State. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 1 p.m.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team had its highest offensive output since the 2007-08 season and held off a late charge in a 91-81 at IPFW on Sunday afternoon at the Gates Sports Complex.

Brandi Brown scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half, and Kenya Middlebrooks had 17 of her 21 in the first half for YSU, which improved to 1-1 for the season. Heidi Schlegel added 17 points, which shot 51.8 percent from the field.  YSU last scored in the nineties when it had 92 points at Valparaiso on Jan. 31, 2008.

The Penguins led by as many as 24 points with 10-and-a-half minutes remaining, but IPFW made a late run to make the final score close. Although YSU led by double digits the entire second half, a jumper by IPFW’s Anne Boese cut the score to 73-61 with 5:46 to play. Boese then hit a trey with 2:55 left to make the score 82-72.  The Mastodons didn’t hit another field goal until the 1:09 mark, and YSU had upped its lead back to 13 by then.

Boese, who scored 20 points in the opener at Cincinnati on Friday, didn’t score her first points today until there was 18:45 left. She finished with 12 points, and Erin Murphy led the Mastodons with 21. IPFW was 23-for-26 from the free-throw line.

YSU led by 17 early in the second half, but two Hillary Moore free throws made the score 48-37 with 17:53remaining. The Penguins then went on a 19-6 run, capped by a Brown lay-up with 12:04 to play, to go up by 24.

Youngstown State built a 44-29 halftime lead behind 17-first half points from Middlebrooks. The junior guard was 6-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. She had nine points in less than a four-minute span as YSU went on a 10-0 run to gain separation.

IPFW’s last lead came when Rachel Mauk hit a layup to put the Mastodons up 7-4. Monica Touvelle hit a three to tie the score to spark a 7-0 run, and YSU never trailed again. A Middlebrooks try at the 9:11 mark capped a 10-0 run that gave YSU a 23-12 lead.

Moore’s free throw with 4:33 left made the score 32-23, but Liz Hornberger hit a triple on YSU’s next possession to push the score to 35-23. The margin was never single digits again.

Eleven of IPFW’s 29 points in the first half came from the free-throw line.

Five different Penguins shot better than 50 percent, and nine different Guins had at least one assist. Middlebrooks added five steals.

Youngstown State will wrap up its season-opening three-game road swing at Bucknell on Wednesday. Tipoff inLewisburg, Pa. is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried live on 570 WKBN.