Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

When Youngstown State opens their season Saturday at Pittsburgh, Isaac Bennett (above) should see plenty of playing time for the Panthers.  The Panthers big horse, senior Ray Graham, is questionable, opening the door for Bennett to get some quality chances.  He relishes the opportunity as much as the Penguins relish the chance to play a quality school in a beautiful setting, Heinz Field.

Pitt is a program undergoing a major transition, a new head coach, which means a whole new system.  Paul Chryst and Eric Wolford coached together at the University of Illinois.  Wolford thinks Chryst is a good fit for the Panthers and was very respectful in his comments about his peer.

“Coach Chryst had tremendous success at Wisconsin.  He was at Illinois while I was there.  He was a great hire for the University of Pittsburgh and I think he will do a great job there”, said Wolford.

Wolford knows that even if Graham does not see much game action, Pitt has other weapons that could do damage.

“You jump into the Pitt backfield, and you have a stable of running backs as good as anyone in the Top-25.  Graham, Bennett, and Shell are all very talented backs.”

Bennett (above) is a 5’11” 205lb. sophomore who runs hard.  As a true freshman, Bennett racked up 237 rushing yards on 58 carries with two touchdowns.  He was initially slated to be redshirted, but when Graham went down for the season, Bennett was forced into action.  He shared his views about facing Youngstown State this Saturday via telephone.

“We are looking at this game like any other game.  We do not see it as a small school versus a big school game“, said Bennett.  “We know that Youngstown State is fast on defense and I will be curious as to whether or not I can break one against that speed.”

On his new coach, Bennett remarked “Coach Chryst has been fun.  He has two sides and can be real serious, but has a sense of humor that allows us to have fun too.  He is very down to Earth.”

When asked whether or not the big school should destroy the small school in one of these games, Bennett was politically correct with his answer.

“It is going to be a lot of fun in front of a big crowd”, said the running back.  “I don’t have any prediction and we have not been able to exploit any big weakness in their [YSU’s] defense.  They look good against the run and we know how fast they are.  We look forward to the challenge.”

The time has finally come… Game Week…  In reality, it is the last opener for a good Senior class that includes Jamaine Cook, Will Shaw, Aronde Stanton, and D.J. Main, just to name a few.

In the past, a game like the one YSU has coming up this Saturday, at Pitt,  was simply seen as a beating that a smaller school would hope to leave healthy, unable to have any say so about the outcome, and sign a fat DI paycheck for showing up.

This year, the competitive juices are flowing like never before under the watchful eye of Eric Wolford.  Now in his third year, Wolford seems poised to deliver on his promise that there is no acceptable outcome other than to win championships.

“The strength of this football team is the chemistry”, said Wolford.  “We don’t have too many selfish guys and our work ethic has been where it should be.  We have a confident group.”

Kyle Bryant is one of the Penguins who has made an impact at camp and will see some time, possibly at the expense of Andrew Radakovich.

“Kyle Bryant is pushing him [Radakovich], commented Wolford.  “Bryant stepped in when Radak got hurt, then he had an issue with his knee and Radak came in and played well, so we figured whoever plays the best will start next week, there is nothing like competition.”

One of last year’s experiments, was moving Will Shaw from linebacker to the other side of the ball, at tight end.  It has been a good move as Shaw has been productive and will surely be heard from this season.

“I am real confident this year”, said Shaw.  “I had the Spring and camp to work out the kinks and have had a full year to prepare.  I have a really good feel about this offense and where we are going.  As long as we keep focusing on the little things and try to get better every day, we will be fine.”

Junior Rachel Morrison scored her first career goal just 12 seconds after Robert Morris knotted the match at 2-2 and lifted the Youngstown State women’s soccer team to a 3-2 victory over the Colonials on Friday evening.

With the win, the Penguins improve to 2-0 for the first time since 1999, while Robert Morris falls to 0-3.

Sophomore Cara Armstrong gave the Guins a 1-0 lead at the 13:38 mark after blasting a shot into the upper right corner of the goal from a pass from junior Allison Ludwig. It marked Armstrong’s first career goal.  Robert Morris tied the game at 1-1 at the 25:03 mark when a shot by RMU’s Lauren Sulkowski bounced past YSU goalkeeper Ali Viola.

Just 10 minutes into the second half, sophomore Chelsey Haney put the Guins ahead, 2-1, on a breakaway shot into the left side of the goal after a long pass from freshman Shannon Leghart.

The Colonials tied the match at 2-2 when Alex Sarsfield lauched a 45-yard shot over Viola’s head and into the net with at the 64:22 mark.  Morrison took the ensuing kickoff and dribbled through the Colonials defense and buried the game-winning goal at the 64:34 mark of the second half.

The Penguins host Buffalo, Tuesday, Aug. 28, in the 2012 home opener at 3 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .253 as a team and got double-doubles from Missy Hundelt and Jenna Cavanaugh to defeat McNeese State in five sets on Saturday at the Spartan Showcase.

The Penguins won the first two sets 25-17 and 25-22, and they had to rally in the fifth to win 15-13. The victory was the first for YSU in 2012 and the first for Mark Hardaway as the Penguins’ head coach.

Hundelt finished with 17 kills and 13 digs while hitting at a .359 clip, and the junior right-side hitter earned all-tournament team honors for her efforts. Cavanaugh posted a career high with 11 kills, and her 10 blocks were the most by a YSU player since Ruth Boscaljon had 10 at Pittsburgh in 2009.

“I’m very happy that we pulled out the win,” Hardaway said. “We played inconsistently, and McNeese State came after us hard and played very smart. We have a lot of work to do to get to where we need to be, but there were a lot of positives this weekend to build on.”

 

Chris Notareschi is very deserving of her 2012 Youngstown State Hall of Fame induction.  I have the perfect witness to verify her dedication and commitment to women’s softball greatness, me.

I was fortunate enough to grow up two doors down from the Notareschi family.  I would get home after football practice at dusk on a school night and could see the silhouettes of Chris and her father throwing softballs around.  Chris would be pitching and Dave would be catching and working with her to assist her in pursuing a dream most Lowellville residents never get to see, a chance to play college sports.

“I am really honored by the induction”, said Notareschi.  “Hopefully I won’t be too nervous when I have to talk, but I truly am honored and my family is thrilled.  I am looking forward to seeing many people, especially those who will be inducted with me.”

Lowellville didn’t have baseball or softball in those days, so Chris had to go to Poland to play the sport she was best at.  The bloodlines of her father, Dave, and mother,  Debbie (Koss) are full of athletic tradition and greatness, especially football.  Chris was never one to suit up and run sweeps, so softball was the chosen sport.

“My father was a huge influence on my career, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did with softball”, said Notareschi.

Notareschi practiced pitching for all those years, but her legacy will be left in the hitting department.

Notareschi was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time first-team all-conference pick. She finished her career as YSU’s career home run and RBIs leader with 18 and 103, respectively, and is currently tied for third in home runs and ranks fourth in RBIs. She set the single-season home run mark with eight and the RBI record with 33 in 1998. She now ranks tied for sixth all-time with 169 hits.

“The most rewarding thing about playing at YSU was that my family was close and got to come and watch me play.  I have been able to maintain the friendships I made with teammates, and obviously, getting my degree and allowing me to be where I am today.”

“I try to keep up on the internet with what the team is doing today, but I have not been on campus since I graduated, so I am really looking forward to going back”, said Notareschi.

“I played ball with Stacy Banfield at Poland.  We went on to play together at YSU.  She lives in North Carolina now but we still talk once a week.  Facebook is the best way for me to keep contact with all of my former teammates.”

Pretty much the entire Notareschi clan has headed West to Las Vegas, Nevada.

When asked if she still wears Youngstown State apparel in Sin City, Notareschi had a good response.

“When I am wearing Youngstown State stuff there, people are always coming up to me and asking me if I know so-and-so, or if I was really from Youngstown, Ohio.  There is always somebody.  As big as our country is, it is weird that someone knows your friends or your relatives back home.”

Notareschi is a teacher in Las Vegas but swears that the students don’t learn about football lines before fractions.

“If I had one career regret, it would be that we never won a championship”, reflected Notareschi.  “The fact that the teams were always getting better each year was pretty rewarding.”

So I can vouch wholeheartedly that my friend has earned the honor to be inducted.  She is a good representative of the product that Youngstown State turns out as an academic model and as a person.

** Photos courtesy of YSU Sports Information / Jamie Hall

 

 

 

Expect a lot.  This is the time that everyone has been waiting for in the Youngstown State Football community.  Coach Eric Wolford, in his third season with the Penguins, expects to win.  Kurt Hess and Jamaine Cook, leaders of an explosive offense that returns everybody, expect to win.  Enter a slew of defensive transfers to mix in with what worked last season and you should pretty much expect to win in 2012.

What will you win besides the Valparaiso game?  How about every game.  People automatically rule Pitt out as a potential win.  Blame the defense or perhaps the “big school” theory as early reasons this team cannot succeed.  These games are not money beatings anymore, they are winnable contests, ask Michigan State.

“I have had pressure on myself since Day One”, said Coach Wolford.  “I am at a school that has won four National Championships and the pressure does not effect me.  We are flying around, we’re faster, we’re stronger, and the defense is more accountable.  It has been a process to get to that point, but recruiting can solve a lot of problems.”

YSU had problems on defense last year, but not many on offense.  Wolford and staff have done a tremendous job scouring the United States looking for defensive help, and they came up big.  Chris Charles, Julius Childs, Dale Peterman, and Ricardo Dixon add instant impact to a secondary that limped to the finish line last season.

“I think our defensive back play has been better”, said Wolford.  “It is early, but they are really making our receivers work.  The defensive line is definitely more mobile and stronger than where we have been in the past.  At linebacker, we can flat out run.  We have to stay healthy.  We definitely solidified our defense and developed some depth.”

So the polls and writers that picked Youngstown State to finish third, the experts, citing YSU’s defense as a sore spot probably should have waited to see the talent in camp that wasn’t even here yet before predicting.

I will say that YSU will finish the season at 10-1 and gain at least a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  The Pitt game and the North Dakota State contest will be tough challenges for the ‘Guins, but if this team can stay healthy they have the potential to make a run deep into the playoffs, this season.

I could be wrong, they could go 11-0.  They could go 9-2, but I don’t think that this team will finish any worse than that.  The playoffs are within reach and Hess knows that undefeated is a goal only achieved by winning one game at a time.

“We want to go out and win games”, said Hess.  “I really think we are going to continue to build team chemistry.  As far as not being picked to win it all, there are a lot of defensive players who just got here that will have a say in those predictions.  We have so much invested it would be devastating if we don’t reach the playoffs.  We expect to get there by going 1-0 every week.”

As the challenge of going to Pitt  on September 1 nears closer, a group of young men and coaches in Youngstown are readying themselves for what can be more of a war than anyone might predict.  Just four years ago, YSU traveled to Pitt and pretty much got spanked.  The goals of scoring a touchdown and staying close at halftime (Penn State), and being in a game against a D-1 team in the second half (Michigan State) have all been met.  All that is left is to win.  Expect to win.

 

The Youngstown State football program is one of just two FCS squads with two players on the Walter Payton Award Watch List, The Sports Network announced on Thursday. Senior tailback Jamaine Cook and junior quarterback Kurt Hess both represent the Penguins.

Cook and Hess joined Sam Houston State juniors Timothy Flanders (running back) and Richard Sincere (all-purpose) as teammates who made the preseason list.

Twelve of this year’s initial 20 nominees were finalists for the award last year, including finalist Shakir Bell of Indiana State. Ten running backs, six quarterbacks, three wide receivers and an all-purpose performer make up the preseason Watch List group.

Cook, who earlier this week was tabbed a third-team preseason All-America by the Sports Network, rushed for 1,386 yards on 271 carries and scored 13 touchdowns. In 2011, Cook was seventh in the FCS in rushing (126.00) and 14th in all-purpose yards (145.36) per contest.

Hess passed for 2,468 yards while completing 187-of-288 attempts in a breakout campaign during the 2011 season. He averaged 245.8 yards passing per contest and his 164.9 passing efficiency rating was fourth best in the FCS. He set school records for single-season touchdown passes (26), completion percentage (64.5), 200-yard games (eight), touchdown passes in consecutive games (11) and touchdown passes in a game (five vs. Missouri State).

The Payton Award Watch List can undergo revision during the 2012 season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 175 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season on Nov. 19. The top three vote-getters will be invited to The Sports Network FCS Awards Presentation.

Youngstown State men’s basketball Head Coach Jerry Slocum will participate in the Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer Program and Fall Tip-Off Event, Friday June 15, at 5 p.m. at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Cleveland, Ohio.

Joining Slocum are Northeast Ohio Division I Head Coaches Keith Dambrot (Akron), Rob Senderhoff (Kent State) Gary Waters (Cleveland State) and special guest Phil Martelli from St. Joseph’s.

Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) that empowers coaches, their teams, and communities to join the fight against cancer.  The recent success of the event has led to the program’s expansion at the high school and Division I, II and III college levels.

Since its national inception in 1993, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised more than $70 million to support the American Cancer Society’s work to save lives from cancer.

For more info on the Coaches vs. Cancer, please contact Dave Heck at 215.985.5316 or david.heck@cancer.org .

 

The Youngstown State football coaching staff will hold a Youth Football Camp for children ages 8-13 at Stambaugh Stadium on the YSU campus on Saturday, June 9. Cost to attend the camp, which will offer a variety of drills for the children, is $45 and goes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Campers can register directly online at www.penguinsfootballcamps.com or by calling the football office at (330) 941-3478.

The camp will teach young football players offensive and defensive drills and skills. Lunch will be provided and all participants will receive a YSU hat. The registration deadline is June 8. No walkups will be accepted. Campers will register in the F-7 Parking Lot just north of Stambaugh Stadium.

Youngstown State University has parted ways with Rich Pasquale.  Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Ron Strollo, said that the Penguins will begin to search for a new mentor immediately.  Pasquale coached from 2008 until this season.

“I want to thank Coach Pasquale for his service to our department, the university, and the community in his five seasons as our head baseball coach,”said Strollo.  “We experienced several successes under his direction, and we are looking forward to experiencing many successes in the future.”

The Penguins went 86-187 in Pasquale’s five seasons as the skipper.  In 2012, they finished with an 11-44 mark but did manage to pull together for a third-place finish at the Horizon League Tournament.

“I appreciate the opportunity that Youngstown State gave me to coach at the Division I level,” said Pasquale.  “I was fortunate to coach and develop some great young men both on and off the field, and I thoroughly enjoyed who I worked with.”

Three YSU players were drafted to the Major League system under Pasquale’s tenure, including two in one year – a program first.  Seven players earned all-conference first team honors during the five seasons he coached.

Pasquale was the Horizon League’s Co-Coach of The Year in 2008 when the Penguins posted 23 wins and had a 13-12 record in league play, which were both his best marks over the span.