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Youngstown State freshman wide receiver Christian Bryan is among a group of four players added to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List on Wednesday. The inaugural award honors the outstanding freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision. It is presented by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.com.

Bryan, wide receiver Neal Sterling of Monmouth, quarterback Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion and kick returner Jordan Wells of Southeastern Louisiana were added to the list on Wednesday. Currently there are 20 candidates for the honor.

The 5-10, 180-pound Bryan (Irwin, Pa.) has set YSU freshman records for receptions in a season, yards in a season, receptions and yards in a game. He has 33 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns for the Penguins this season.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries will select the first Jerry Rice Award winner after the regular season. The legendary wide receiver, who played in the FCS (then Division I-AA) at Mississippi Valley State, will be on hand at the national awards banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas, to present the new award.

Youngstown State sophomore punter Nick Liste was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Penguins 21-17 loss at UNI.

Liste found the first trip of the UNI-Dome to his liking averaging 45.7 yards per punt. He had six punts for 274 yards, including a season-long 54-yard boot. Liste had punts of 38, 39, 46 (twice) and 54. His 38-yard punt was fair caught at the 12 while one of his 46-yard was fair caught at the 15. He also had four kickoffs in the game.

On the year, Liste is averaging 39.5 yards per punt on 43 kicks. He has placed 14 inside the opposition’s 20-yard line and has five punts of more than 50 yards.

South Dakota State quarterback Austin Sumner was named the Offensive Player of the Week, North Dakota State strong safety Colton Heagle was named the Defensive Player of the Week and UNI quarterback Jared Lanpher was tabbed the Newcomer of the Week.

Liste and the rest of the Penguins will remain indoors next Saturday when they visit top-ranked North Dakota State. Kickoff at the Fargodome is set for 4 p.m. Eastern time.

The same people who vote on where Youngstown State would finish in the Horizon League this season, also vote for who the best player in the conference is.  Brandi Brown was named the preseason Horizon League Player of The Year, but her team was picked, by the same people, to finish tenth out of ten teams.  Second year coach, Bob Boldon, enters this season optimistic that his team is better for the opening tip this season than they were a year ago.  Down the stretch, the Lady Penguins were hot, and nobody wanted to play them because they came around a corner few thought they could.  The strong finish included three home wins and a buzzer loss in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament.

This just in – Brandi Brown is really good.  The thing that the Penguins need is consistency from her supporting cast to be successful.  Brown became the first scoring leader in conference history to not be voted onto the league’s first team, thus the Penguins will enter this season with sizeable chips on their shoulders.  Is it a case of as Brown goes, so do the Penguins?

“Yes, that is true”, remarked Boldon. “Last year, Brandi shot the ball 150 to 200 times more than anybody else.  I don’t know if it will be that drastic this year, but she is going to shoot the ball more than anyone else is, Brandi is a really good player.  We need to more consistently provide her help.  It seems that last year when a couple of other players stepped up and had good games, we won.  Brandi is still going to take the last shot, everything will run through her. We still need to improve on scoring when she doesn’t have the ball. She will be a big part of everything until she graduates.”

“We all felt responsible for Brandi not being on the first team last year simply because we underachieved as a team,” Boldon said. “(Being picked to finish 10th) hurt some people’s feelings because they felt like they turned the corner a little bit,” Boldon said. “They thought we should have gotten some more respect from the voters. Whatever fuels us is good for me. There were some people who felt like we weren’t ‘that team’ anymore.”

The Penguins lost Boki Dimitrov to graduation.  Makala Gasparek and Maryum Jenkins will not be playing this year either.  Enter a new group of players, to be custom-molded by Boldon and tidy up a slick spread-motion system. Newcomers Kelsea Fickiesen and Ashley Lawson add some depth at the guard positions.  Junior transfer Devan Matkin further deepens the guard pool.  Second-year guard Melissa Thompson should see more time this season.

Familiar faces to continue the march forward include Kenya Middlebrooks and Liz Hornberger.  Middlebrooks, a senior, and Hornberger, a sophomore, both ranked in the league’s top-10 in three point shooting percentage.   Another sophomore, Monica Touvelle, returns with a wealth of experience, making appearances in all 30 games last season.  Heidi Schlegel could really be a big player for Boldon.  The redshirt freshman played in the first seven games before injuring her foot and missing the remainder of the 2010-11 campaign.

Tiera Jones and Macey Nortey, both seniors, round out Boldon’s active roster.  Jones really came on last year and was very productive when she could stay out of foul trouble.  Nortey is a ball of energy and a vocal presence with a do-what-it-takes attitude.  They should both play a role in the fortunes of this year’s campaign.

“We want to continue to improve on what we did last year”, said Boldon. “The new people we brought in are good shooters and we spent time this offseason working with the players who are returning, and as a result, they have become better shooters as well.  It is a collective movement.”

“There are still a multitude of things that we can teach the players”, said Boldon.  “However, it has been easier this season because the system base was already installed, so we are at a higher starting point.  Our returning players do not know it all, but the turnaround time with them will be quicker this season.  It is more about refreshing them than starting from scratch.”

Boldon’s team opens the season on Friday night at West Virginia.  They then travel to IPFW and Bucknell before returning home for the 2011 home opener against American University on November 21.  This team will not compete for an outright championship this season, however, I would be surprised if they did not win at least 13 games. This year will be more about being competitive and winning games they should win.  With the lack of respect shown by that grand voting panel of Horizon League Wizardry, that means they will finish about 2-28…  I say 14-16.  Hopefully better.

Boldon outlined his short and long-term goals.

“Long term, you start to think about the Horizon League Tournament.  You want to try to get yourself into a favorable position, out of that seven, eight, nine, or ten slot.  We would love to be in a position to host a home game in the tournament.  Short term, we failed to build off of our successes when we had them last year.  We had a little success and got so happy with ourselves that we did not get better.”

Performance in a hostile environment against an angry team usually does not bode well for a team when they are mediocre, at best.  The biggest thing that Youngstown State (5-4, 3-3) proved in their 21-17 loss is that they are anything but mediocre.  Northern Iowa continued their dominance of the Penguins winning their eleventh straight meeting between the two teams on Saturday.  This one could have gone either way though, and the difference in this game was probably experience.

Imagine you have a garden.  In that garden are many different vegetables that bloom to full maturity over a period of time.  The bulbs are finally starting to open and the harvest is just getting ready to begin for Eric Wolford.  No starting player on offense was a senior, that means that EVERYBODY comes back next year.  Defensively, recruiting should fill a few holes, but there are many bright spots that have started to show signs of excellence, dramatic differences.

Northern Iowa (7-2, 6-1) was put in an early hole as Youngstown State marched into the red zone on their opening drive.  For the first time this season, they attempted, and made, a field goal, and David Brown finally got his name in the scoring column.  Northern Iowa answered on their first drive when Jared Lanpher, filling in for injured Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of The Year,  Tirrell Rennie, found Jarred Herring on a 32-yard strike.

The Penguins (5-4, 3-3) reclaimed the lead with 7:08 left in the first half when Jamaine Cook plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard dive.  Cook ran hard and sometimes made something out of nothing in the loss.  The 10-7 Penguins lead was short-lived,  however.  The Panthers used only two plays to go 61 yards and Lanpher found Terrell Sinkfield from 31 yards away.  The score came with just six seconds left in the first half and surely was a bad touchdown to give in that short of a time span for the Penguins.  UNI held a 14-10 halftime lead.

In the second half, the defense stepped up to the plate and really did a good job limiting the Panthers to a whole third quarter of three-and-outs.  YSU did not fare much better in the scoreless third, but was getting an edge in field position.

In the fourth quarter, Hess found Will Shaw, a converted linebacker turned tight end, on a corner route for his first career score.  Shaw caught the ball at about the UNI nine-yard line, and tiptoed the line to stay inbounds and get in for the points.  The touchdown and PAT gave the Penguins a 17-14 lead.  The stage would then be set for Northern Iowa’s game-winning David Johnson 1-yard run to give the Panthers the 21-17 lead, which they would hold on to for their seventh win.  Johnson’s heroics were the result of a fourth-and-goal gamble by NIU Coach Mark Farley, and the big running back looked stuffed at first, but his second effort got him over the plane.

Youngstown State got 100% effort against a great team.  Kurt Hess was 17-34 for 175 yards with a touchdown and a pick.  Cook finished the game with 90 yards on 30 carries against one of the best defenses in the country.

Lanpher, proving effective for the injured Rennie, finished 16-28 for 238 yards and a pair of throwing scores to mark a successful first career start.  Johnson finished the game with 47 yards rushing, a higher than usual total for the pass-happy Panthers.

The Penguins will be back in another hostile environment next week, the Fargo Dome, to face the #1 ranked FCS team in the country, North Dakota State.

** All Photos courtesy of YSU Athletics / Ron Stevens.

Chris Hazimihalis is now under the watchful eye of Emanuel Steward.  The lightweight prospect from Campbell, Ohio holds a 7-0 record with six knockouts and will be fighting on November 23rd in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Hazimihalis has been working with Steward in Detroit since September to prepare for his upcoming fight.  Steward is in the Boxing Hall of Fame for his work as a trainer and his recent attraction to Hazimihalis was coincidental.

“Chris KO’d a local Detroit fighter on a show in July and he caught my eye and I knew I wanted to work with him,” said Steward. “He has good power and speed that makes for a great future ahead of him.”

Promoter Mike Acri also recognizes the potential that Hazimihalis has shown.  “Chris has been getting great sparring and is in tremendous shape as he prepares for his November 23rd fight.”

Steward will be a valuable asset to the career development of the undefeated Hazimihalis.  His wisdom and eye for potential are recognized worldwide and the Hazimihalis has to be overjoyed with the news.

More on Hazimihalis in the very near future.

Donald Jones has missed a couple of Buffalo Bills games with a leg injury.  He has been working hard trying to get back, but doubts he will be ready to go when his team takes on the New York Jets in a huge game for both teams.  Jones can be activated for the game, but is unsure just how much he will get to play as he pushes himself to a full recovery.

“The recovery process is going well”, said Jones. “I feel like I am pretty well ahead of schedule and was supposed to miss six-to-eight weeks.  It hasn’t even been four weeks yet and I feel like I am getting pretty close to returning to the field.”

The Bills can’t blink as their productive offense takes on the NFL’s #1-ranked defense in the Jets.

“They have a really good secondary with two all-pro cornerbacks.  Darrelle Rivas is the best corner in the league, and the defense produces turnovers.  We have to get off the ball because they like to jam the receivers at the line, and we expect to see a lot of blitzing.  They have some crazy schemes on defense and all of the pressure they create causes quarterbacks to throw interceptions.”

The game has a lot of meaning to Jones because he worked out with some of the current Jets roster in the offseason.  Brad Smith, of Youngstown Chaney High School fame, was a Jet and also wants to win in the worst way this weekend.  Personal reasons aside, it is a game that will drastically alter the standings, either way.

“They are a divisional opponent”, noted Jones.  “If we get the win we will be two games ahead of them and if we lose they will have tied us for first place.”

As Jones inches closer to his return, it should be noted that the Bills defense has stepped it up as the offense has slowed in the last couple of games.  Once Jones returns, it will open things up for Chan Gailey‘s offense because #19 is developing a good reputation in football circles as a field stretcher.  This team is good, and they are for real.

Youngstown State will face their toughest test of the Eric Wolford Era this Saturday when they travel to face a very talented Northern Iowa team.  The Panthers had a showdown with North Dakota State last week in a matchup of conference unbeatens, but came out on the short end of the stick, 27-19, and may have lost their best weapon on offense in the process.  Wolford knows that his team has to put their best effort on the field for four quarters to win a game against a team like Mark Farley‘s Panthers.

Tirrell Rennie (#10, above), as of this writing on Thursday night, is still listed as questionable.  I doubt Rennie is playing because when he got hurt at the start of the fourth quarter in last week’s game, he was unable to put any weight on his injured leg.  In a game that important, Rennie would limp around and play through pain unless he was too injured to do so.  My gut instinct is that Farley is just trying to keep everybody off-balance and guessing on the status of his quarterback, last year’s Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of The Year.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, this is a very good team, showing tremendous balance on both sides of the ball.  Senior LJ Fort is second in the nation in tackles and made 15 of them last week.  Fort is a good linebacker because of the stunts that Northern Iowa runs.  Fort would also be the first to credit players like Ben Boothby, a three-technique down lineman, for keeping blockers off of him and allowing the playmaker to get to the ball.  The Panthers defense ranks fourth nationally and gives up an average of less than ten points per game against conference opponents.

Youngstown State is currently ranked second in the nation in offense, averaging about 40 points per game.  While the skeptics would argue that blowout wins against Valpairaiso and Saint Francis are the only reason that average is so high, keep in mind that YSU only put up six against Michigan State, and that works against a 40-point average.

Kurt Hess is loaded with weapons and has done a fantastic job of moving the ball around. Jamaine Cook is currently third in rushing yards nationally and he has skipped about five quarters due to decided outcomes.  The offensive line knows that the Panthers defense is a handful, but can rise to the challenge.

“It starts with our line”, said Hess, who has been praising the big men all year.  “They have to communicate and pick up all of the twists and stunts that make their defense so dangerous.  I think they are smart enough to handle the assignments.”

Hess also commented on what this game means to his team.  “This is the biggest game for me since I have been here.  In order to make the run to the playoffs, I said three weeks ago that we would need six, and we got three of them so far.  We must play 60 minutes against Northern Iowa, and I enjoy playing in that kind of loud environment.  If we do what we are capable of and play that full 60 minutes, we are believing that we can do something really special.”

The YSU offense facing off against the Northern Iowa defense is a matchup made in heaven.  Something has to give, and it will come down to who wants it more.  The X-Factor in this contest will be the youthful Penguins defense.  Leaders have emerged in the last three weeks and everybody seems to be playing better than the first four weeks of the season.  Aronde Stanton has been a beast lately and Teven Williams seems to be emerging as a big-time linebacker.

The past is something that cannot get into the young minds of the YSU players.  UNI has defeated the Penguins ten times in a row, the longest active streak in the league.  The Panthers lead the all-time series 19-6, including last season’s 34-30 win over the upset-minded Penguins.  The last time YSU won at Cedar Falls was in 1999.

I don’t think the Penguins players and coaches care too much about past statistics and records.  Their focus is squarely on the 2011 Northern Iowa team that they face Saturday, period.  If Rennie is unable to play, it does not guarantee anything for YSU, but it definitely takes a dual-threat all-star out of the mix and enhances the upstart Penguins odds of winning this war.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (EST) and the game will be televised on the CBWB Network.

The United States Hockey League announced its weekly awards on Monday and a pair of Youngstown Phantoms took two of the three accolades. Center Dylan Margonari (above) was named CCM Offensive Player of the Week and defenseman Jordan Young was named CCM Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts in a pair of decisive wins over the Tri-CityStorm and the Omaha Lancers.

This is the first time either Margonari or Young has captured the league’s weekly honors and the second time this season a Phantoms player has earned one. Earlier this season, Matthew O’Connor was named the Reebok Goaltender of the Week after shutting out the Chicago Steel.

Margonari, a Minnesota State – Mankato commit, racked up four goals over the weekend as the Phantoms recorded the first wins over Tri-City and Omaha in franchise history. The Greensburg, Pa., native scored the game-winning goal in the 5-1 win over Tri-City Friday and netted a hat trick to propel the Phantoms to a 5-2 victory over the Lancers on Saturday.

Young (above) recorded the first goal of his USHL career Friday night against the Storm. The following night in Omaha he saw increased ice time with Kevin Liss out of the lineup and set up Margonari’s third goal of the game. The Cave Creek, Ariz., native was + 2 on the evening and is currently tied for fourth among all USHL defensemen with a + 7 rating this season.

“He’s very good offensively, but where Jordan has really picked his game up is in the defensive end,” Noreen said. “He has blocked a bunch of shots and been a very good penalty killer for us to go along with running a power play and being an offensive threat every time he’s on the ice.”

The Phantoms travel to Muskegon, Mich., to take on the Lumberjacks on Friday before returning to the Covelli Center, where they are undefeated this season, to host the Indiana Ice on Saturday.

Youngstown State freshman Jade Flory (above) was named to the 2011 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team, the league announced on Monday.

Flory, who is the second straight Youngstown State player to earn all-newcomer team laurels, led the Penguins with seven goals and 17 points scored and tied for the team lead with three assists.  She also ranked second in the league in goals per game (0.41); tied for second with seven goals; fourth in points (17), points per game (1.00), shots (48) and shots per game (2.82).

Flory also led all newcomers with seven goals, scored more goals than 20 of the 22 players on the all-league teams and scored more total points than 19 of the 22 members of the all-league teams.  She is the Brandi Brown of YSU Soccer.

As I sat at a Perkins Restaurant with Jake Giuriceo and his manager, Joe Corvino, the different phases and a progression of expectations were pretty well outlined to me by both men.  As your career as a boxer grows, the rounds you fight increases.  As you train and master skills, you work hard to develop new tactics to remain unpredictable.  Giuriceo has a unique mindset, very much against the typical athletic stereotype.  He is pretty quiet, but talks when you get him going a little.  He has very strong beliefs and holds sacred his religious values – a rare mix.

Paneech: I said earlier that the mix of boxing and religion could seem barbaric to some, which you quoted a passage in the Bible to counter with.  Do your Christian acquaintances come to the fights?

Giuriceo: Oh yeah.  They are very supportive and a lot of them do come to the fights.  My pastor comes to the fights.  We group up in the locker room and pray before the fight.  I can’t say that everybody from my church comes because I am not that close with everyone that goes, but there are quite a few people from that avenue who support me when I fight.  As far as praying with people that I work out with goes, there are a few guys at the gym – Dunner, Big Shawn – we talk a lot.

Paneech: Do you feel like you could be an ambassador to spread the message you believe so strongly in?

Giuriceo:  I believe that God called me to boxing. I also believe that I shine the light of Jesus on everything that I do and by winning these fights, I believe that I am doing exactly that, being somewhat of an ambassador.  I would rather see somebody go to heaven than me winning a fight, it’s definitely more important.  That doesn’t mean that I am not going to work as hard, or go lose a fight so somebody might get to heaven, it just means that you never want to see anyone die and go to hell.  You don’t want to see that.  At the end of Matthew, you have the great commission, we are told to spread the word of Christ.  So many things have been changed.  I’m not a guy that could stand in front of a crowd and give a sermon, that’s not me.  This is the way I do it.

Paneech: Have you ever thought about adding a religious side note to your name.  Something like “Sugar” Ray Robinson… like Jake “The Apostle” Giuriceo?

Giuriceo: (laughs)  No, I haven’t thought of doing anything like that.  One thing I am doing though is on my next t-shirt, on the back I want them to say ‘Blood, Sweat, and Prayers’, because I believe that is everything that I put into this.

Paneech: You have a unique situation in your training.  You will go to California and work with Frank Duarte (above) for about five weeks, and then when you come home, you work with Keith Burnside.  How do you sort through what two different trainers tell you and decide what is best for Jake?

Giuriceo: That is actually a pretty easy question.  Whoever is my lead trainer at the time is who I listen to.  For the first nine fights, I worked very good with Keith and listened to everything that he told me to do.  When I went to California and started working with Frankie, for the last four fights, I listen to Frank.  I am out there for five weeks with him.  If Keith and Frank have a disagreement on something, we get them together and try to work it out.  Ultimately though, I am working more with Frank now, so I have to listen to what he is telling me to do.  I listen to the head trainer who is training me for my next fight, and the last four, it has been Frankie.

Paneech: How has Keith reacted to having to take a backseat to Frank with the current arrangement?

Giuriceo: The great thing about our team, is that we are actually a team.  We want to do everything together.  I don’t really hear any complaining from Keith or Frank.  They keep it between themselves and Joe [Corvino] and keep it away from me.  We work together, and if it is a situation that they need my input, they will pull me in and ask me what I think.  Realistically, Keith is one of the guys that pushed me to go to California.  He was honest and up front with me and told me there was only so far he was going to be able to take me.  Keith is a great guy, like a father-son type relationship, and they all really want the best for me.  Anything he can do to be there for me he does.  People say things to get into his head.  Sometimes it gets hard because Keith and Frankie miscommunicate.  Sometimes Frankie doesn’t answer the phone, sometimes Keith never calls.  It goes both ways, maybe a little power trip on both ends.

Paneech: Joe Corvino is someone who is very involved in your career.  You have told me that he is a good guy and that he has done great things for you.  Expand on his role in your betterment.

Giuriceo: Joe is my boxing manager/promoter/father/public relations guy (laughs) – he really does everything.  There isn’t anything that Joe does not do.  We have built a solid relationship because of boxing.  He runs his business like a family, which is why he is in the lead role of my team.  When I go to California, he foots the bill or I wouldn’t eat over there.  He takes care of me, I work part time for him.  It is hard to find a job where you can leave for months at a time and just come back, he took care of that for me.  He helps me in all aspects and I love him.

Paneech: How supportive are your family, friends, future wife, future in-laws, and everyone else?  It’s nice when you are winning, but those people will be there for you in the end.  How supportive are they as you ascend?

Giuriceo: My family is pretty small.  There is really only my mom, two brothers, and an uncle.  I have a few aunts that are here and there, but they all love me and are very supportive, and it is nice to know they will always be there, no matter what happens.  The family that I am marrying into is absolutely awesome.  My fiance is very family-oriented.  We go to those birthday parties and there are twenty or thirty people there.  They have embraced me and love me as long as I treat Jackie right.  My closest friends are just people I share my Faith with.  The close friends I had growing up, I only associate with about three or four of them.  The whole big group is very supportive though.

Paneech: Joe said maybe doing some stuff out of town to increase exposure, maybe grab some television time.  What is on the recent agenda?

Giuriceo: My next fight is on November 19 and will be for a UBO Lightweight Title.  It is a vacant title that we will be fighting for over at St. Lucy’s in Campbell.  The card is called November Fury and is being put on by Mike Cefalde and Lights Out Promotions.  It is to be the biggest fight of my career,so far.

That career can extend quite a ways if Team Giuriceo can start to grab that bigger spotlight.  Win or lose, Giuriceo has the heart and spirit of any athlete I have ever interviewed.  He is someone that large circle of friends and relatives can be proud of for his beliefs, his Faith, and his never say stop work ethic.

There will be a complete preview for the November 19 card here next week.