REMEMBERING ROBERTO; 50 YEARS LATER

By Radar Pavlov

This New Year’s Eve 2022, a lot of us will be celebrating the holiday by either going out to New

 Year’s Eve parties, watching College Football Bowl Games (especially the NCAA FBS College Football

 Playoffs Semifinals – 1. the VRBO Fiesta Bowl with Michigan vs. TCU; 2. the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

 featuring Ohio State vs. Georgia) or heading out to town and seeing the big ball drop to ring in the new year (2023), this New Year’s Eve 2022 will rather be a sad one for those in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Pirates fans all over the world – including those that live in the area, Puerto Rico and the world of baseball.

 This New Year’s Eve, 2022 will mark exactly 50 years to the day since the Puerto Rico DC-7 plane that was sent to help aid in the relief efforts in earthquake-stricken Nicaragua, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean waters minutes after takeoff in Carolina, Puerto Rico killing all 5 persons on board, among them was Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente.

 Just before we knew Wayne Gretzky (hockey), Michael Jordan (basketball), and Tom Brady (football) as “The Great One” in their respective sports, there was only one “The Great One” in baseball and he wore the number 21 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Roberto Clemente.

Clemente had such a historic career: he was selected to 15 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, won 12 Gold Glove Awards (1961-1972), 4 times led the National League in batting average (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967) and 1966 National League Most Valuable Player.

 In 1960, Clemente became the first Caribbean and Latin America player to win a World Series as a starting position player when the Pirates upset the New York Yankees in 7 games.

11 years later, he became the first Caribbean and Latin America player to be named the World Series Most Valuable Player when the Pirates won the 1971 World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles in 7 games. Clemente in that World Series had a batting average of .414 (12 hits in 29 at-bats) and hit 2 home runs.

 In every World Series game that he played in (14 games in all), he collected at least 1 base hit in every game.

On September 30, 1972, Clemente became the 11th player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 3,000 career lifetime hits plateau when he hit a double off of Jon Matlack of the New York Mets at Pittsburgh’s old Three Rivers Stadium. It was the last regular season at-bat of his career.

After his untimely tragic ending, more honors came for Clemente. His uniform number 21 was retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day 1973, he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the summer of 1973, and Major League Baseball renamed its annual Commissioner’s Award in his honor. The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and the individual’s contribution to the team.”

 Sports legends endure forever in our memory, and as we’re about to enter 2023, let us remember 50 years later, the life of Pittsburgh Pirates’ legendary number 21 Roberto Clemente this New Year’s Eve 2022.

1987 CARDINAL MOONEY AND BOARDMAN FOOTBALL REVISITED- 35 YEARS LATER

By Radar Pavlov

This weekend will mark the Golden Anniversary of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Football Championships from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at the Pro Football Hall if Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Here in the Mahoning Valley, we have a rich tradition of seeing High School Football over the years.

Many of us that lived in the Mahoning Valley in the past and in the here-in-now present still remember the 1973 Class AAA Football Championship Game between Cardinal Mooney and Warren Western Reserve, the 3 times that 3 schools from the Mahoning Valley that played in the Football Championship Game:

1989: Campbell Memorial (Division III), Warren JFK (Division IV), McDonald (Division V),

1994: West Branch (Division III), Wellsville (Division V), McDonald (Division VI),

2022: Canfield (Division III), South Range (Division V), and Warren JFK (Division VII),

2009 with Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline (Division V) winning football state titles in their respective divisions.

And then, there was the year of 1987, the year that Cardinal Mooney won their fourth OHSAA Football title under the late Don Bucci in Division III while Boardman came oh so close to winning it all in Division I.

This year marks 35 years since Mooney’s and Boardman’s Football deep run to the OHSAA Championship Round.

If you’re a football fan living in the Mahoning Valley that follows High School Football regularly, here was how we got to ‘87.

In the first 11 years of the OHSAA Football Playoffs, between the years of 1972 and 1982 – 4 different schools from the Mahoning Valley won an OHSAA Football Championship on 6 different occasions:

Brookfield – 1978 (Class AA)

Cardinal Mooney – 1973 (Class AAA), 1980 (Division II), 1982 (Division II)

Warren Harding – 1974 (Class AAA)

Warren Western Reserve – 1972 (Class AAA)

In the 4 years that proceeded 1987 between the years of 1983 and 1986, only Cardinal Mooney played for an OHSAA Football Title during that period, but they were shut out by Gallion, 6-0, in the 1985 OHSAA Division III Football Championship Game played at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Coming into the 1987 High School Football season in the Mahoning Valley, the Mahoning Valley was coming off a fourth straight season of no school winning an Ohio High School Athletic Association Football Title of any of the 5 Division classes in 1986.

Going into 1987, the Boardman Spartans Varsity Football Team had never made an Ohio High School Athletic Athletic Association Football Postseason Appearance which includes the years that Boardman was led by a future Miami Hurricanes NCAA National Champion and Cleveland Browns Quarterback by the name of Bernie Kosar (1979 to 1981) while the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals Varsity Football Team we’re perennial OHSAA Football postseason Contenders, but was coming off an embarrassing playoff upset by Campbell Memorial in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III Region 9 Semifinals the previous year.

There were three other Mahoning Valley schools that qualified for the OHSAA Football Playoffs in that memorable year of 1987: Struthers (Division III Region 9, defeated Orrville in the Regional Semifinals; lost to Cardinal Mooney in the Regional Finals), Springfield Local (Division IV Region 13, lost to Gate Mills Hawken in the Regional Semifinals) and McDonald (Division V Region 17, lost to Mogadore in the Regional Semifinals), but Boardman and Cardinal Mooney we’re the cream of the crop in High School Football in the Mahoning Valley in 1987.

Here is a look at those two schools from 1987, beginning with the school that almost won it all in OHSAA Division I, the Boardman Spartans.

1987 Boardman Spartans Football

Led by Boardman Head Football Coach Bill Bohren, the Boardman Spartans Football posted a record of 7-2 in the regular season which was good for a #3 Seed in the OHSAA Football Division I Region 1 Computer Rankings at the end of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in school history. Only losses to New Castle (Week 1, 1987) and future OHSAA 1987 Division III Football State Champion Cardinal Mooney (Week 6, 1987) prevented Boardman from going undefeated during their 1987 Regular Season.

While Boardman’s Offense scored only 165 points in their 9 regular season contests (conservative in today’s OHSAA Football), Boardman’s defense was king, posting shutouts in 5 games during the regular season, allowing a total of 29 points.

In the OHSAA Playoffs in ‘87, Boardman took full advantage of being in the football postseason for the first time in school history by posting their 6th shutout of 1987 by upsetting Euclid, 31-0, in the Division I Region 1 Semifinals played in Mentor, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, then in the greatest football game in Boardman history, they upset a Cleveland St. Joseph team that featured a future Heisman Trophy from Michigan, a future Super Bowl MVP and college football analyst by the name of Desmond Howard in 3 overtimes, 20-19, in the Division I Region 1 Finals played at the old Rubber Bowl in Akron. Boardman then defeated Sandusky in the Division III Semifinals 21-14, in a game played at the Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio before losing to Cincinnati Princeton, 14-7, in the Division III Championship Game also in Columbus.

Boardman Spartans Football had never advanced to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Football Championship Game before 1987, and they never advanced to one since 1987, even though Boardman made a State Semifinal appearance in 1995 in Division I.

Here is a game-by-game results summary of 1987 Boardman Spartans Football:

9-4-1987 0 at New Castle 9

9-11-1987 35 Chaney 0

9-19-1987 35 at Lorain Admiral King 6

10-2-1987 47 Howland 0

10-10-1987 6 vs. Cardinal Mooney (at YSU) 7

10-16-1987 7 Ursuline 0

10-23-1987 32 Indiana (PA) 7

10-30-1987 3 at Austintown Fitch 0

11-6-1987 10 South 0

11-14-1987 * 31 Euclid (at Mentor, Ohio) 0

11-21-1987 * 20 Cleveland St. Joseph (3OT) (at Akron, Ohio) 19

11-28-1987 * 21 Sandusky (at Columbus, Ohio) 14

12-5-1987 * 7 Cincinnati Princeton (at Columbus, Ohio) 14

*-OHSAA Football Division I Playoffs Head Coach: BILL BOHREN Record: 10-3

Next, the one that won it all in OHSAA Division III, were the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals.

1987 Cardinal Mooney Cardinals Football

Led by Cardinal Mooney Head Football Coach Don Bucci, the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals Football team posted a regular season record of 8-1 in 1987 which was good for a #Seed in the OHSAA Football Division III Region 9 Computer Rankings at the end of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. Only a loss to a Cleveland St. Joseph team that featured Howard and a future Michigaand NFL journeyman quarterback named Elvis Grbac in Week 2 prevented a perfect season for Cardinal Mooney. While Mooney’s Offense scored only 135 points in 9 games of regular season play, Mooney’s defense permitted only 29 points from their opponents, posting shutouts in 6 regular season games for Mooney.

In the OHSAA playoffs, Mooney football kicked it into another gear by outscoring their 4 Division III football playoff opponents by a combined score of 95-10 in victories over Wickliffe (21-0, Division III Region 9 Semifinals at Stambaugh Stadium), Struthers (21-3, Division III Region 9 Finals at Stambaugh Stadium), Elyria Catholic (23-0, Division III Semifinals at Berea, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland) and Thornville Sheridan (30-7, Division III Finals at Ohio Stadium on the campus of the Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio) to claim their 4th OHSAA Football Championship under Don Bucci while posting 2 more shutouts bring their season total of shutouts to 8 games overall while becoming the first Ohio High School Football school to win OHSAA football championships in 3 different classes: (1973 – AAA, 1980 – II, 1982 – II).

Sadly, it would be the last OHSAA football title for Mooney Football under Bucci even though they would make 3 state semifinals appearances in the 1990s (1990, 1996, 1999, all in Division III), and they would not win it all again until 2004 under Bucci’s successor, P.J. Fedko.

Here is a game-by-game results summary of 1987 Cardinal Mooney Cardinals Football:

9-5-1987 28 Ashtabula (at YSU) 0

9-11-1987 11 Cleveland St. Joseph (at YSU) 20

9-18-1987 7 at Austintown Fitch 3

9-25-1987 8 at Canton McKinley 0

10-10-1987 7 Boardman (at YSU) 6

10-16-1987 15 at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s 0

10-24-1987 20 at Cincinnati St. Xavier 0

10-31-1987 14 Ursuline (at YSU) 0

11-6-1987 25 vs. Chaney (at YSU) 0

11-13-1987 * 21 Wickliffe (at YSU) 0

11-20-1987 * 21 Struthers (at YSU) 3

11-27-1987 * 23 Elyria Catholic (at Berea, Ohio) 0

12-4-1987 * 30 Thornville Sheridan (at Columbus, Ohio) 7

*-OHSAA Football Division III Playoffs Head Coach: DON BUCCI Record: 12-1

As this unforgettable 2022 High School Football season in the Mahoning Valley comes to a close this weekend in Canton, Ohio, all of us at YSN would like to say a big thank you to the student-athletes, the coaches, and the families of the 1987 Boardman Spartans Football and 1987 Cardinal Mooney Cardinals Football teams 35 years later for making our community proud of all of the accomplishments from that great year of 1987.

To share a quote from a hit song from 1987, both Boardman and Cardinal Mooney Football had the time of their lives in the year 1987.

Until the next On The Radar, this is Radar Pavlov reporting for YSN Live.

40 YEARS OF STAMBAUGH STADIUM

The year was 1982. It was the year the 1982 World’s Fair came to the United States. Knoxville, Tennessee played host to the World’s Fair that summer. It was also the year when the Anheuser-Busch company launched Budweiser Light (aka Bud Light) and the year that gave us one of the biggest movie box office blockbusters of all-time in “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” Remember the “E.T. Phone Home” scene? I do.

Locally, the Mahoning Valley had the highest unemployment rate of any region in the United States in late 1982 when the Youngstown-Warren area had an unemployment rate of 20.9 percent in August 1982.

On the sports scene locally, we cheered for Youngstown’s own Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini when he became the World Boxing Association (WBA) Lightweight Champion of the World by beating Arturo Frias on May 8, 1982, in Las Vegas, Nevada, we cheered for Boardman’s Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. when his NFL team that he owned San Francisco 49ers won the first of their 5 Super Bowl championships when they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, 26-21, on January 24, 1982, in Pontiac, Michigan, and we cheered for the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals football team coached at the time by the legendary Don Bucci won their third Ohio High School Athletic Association Football Championship by defeating Toledo St. Francis deSales in the OHSAA Division II Football Championship Game, 12-0, played at the legendary Akron Rubber Bowl.

On the campus of Youngstown State University, a new multi-purposed stadium opened it’s gates on September 4, 1982, when YSU played host to their then-main rival, Akron, in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,833 people. It’s known officially as Arnold D. Stambaugh Stadium, to most however as Stambaugh Stadium (aka “The Ice Castle”). Akron spoiled YSU football’s Stambaugh Stadium opener that day, 20-19.

When it opened in 1982, Stambaugh Stadium had one large grandstand on the west side of Stambaugh Stadium, with a seating capacity of approximately 17,000. Stambaugh Stadium was renovated several times since its 1982 opening:

1. In 1997, the stadium was upgraded and expanded with the addition of over 3,000 bleacher seats on the east side of the field, on the site of a practice field. In addition, a new press box was created and 14 additional luxury suites were built (12 suites pre-1997 to 26 suites today), along with a stadium club, which hosts the YSU football’s weekly press conferences. Stambaugh Stadium’s capacity since 1997 is 20,630, the largest facility in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

2. In 2009, an auxiliary scoreboard was constructed in the south end zone, giving Stambaugh Stadium a scoreboard in each end zone, along with the installation of new reserved chairback seats and 2 new flagpoles next to the scoreboard in the north end zone, one for the Ohio flag and one for the United States flag.

3. In 2015, a state-of-the-art video board installed by LED3 of Canfield was enhanced in the North End Zone.

4. In 2019, the opening of Constantini Multimedia Center.

5. A new film and meeting room is currently under construction. When completed, the facility located on the second-level hallway will feature seating of more than 100 student-athletes, coaches and staff members.

There were great student-athletes that played for YSU football during the 40 seasons that YSU has called Stambaugh Stadium its home: Tim Johnson (1999-2000), Paul McFadden (1980-1983), Marcus Mason (2005-2006), Jeff Wilkins (1990-1993), Kevin Rader, Colt McFadden, Derek Rivers, Avery Moss, Jaleel McLaughlin (2020-present) to name a few of the YSU Football student-athletes that played at The Ice Castle over the past 4 decades.

Then, there we’re the YSU Football great games that we’re playing at Stambaugh, particularly the playoff games at Stambaugh in which YSU has a record of 16-1: remember the great catch by Herb Williams against Villanova in the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA First Round that set up Jeff Wilkins’ game-winning field goal, and the great games against Alcorn State (led by the late Steve McNair), Eastern Kentucky and Montana in 1994.

Since 1982, YSU Football has qualified for the NCAA I-AA/FCS playoffs 13 times, advancing to the championship game 7 times, winning 4 of those I-AA/FCS titles (1991, 1993, 1994, 1997).

Yet, my first memory of being inside Stambaugh Stadium for a sporting event is wasn’t even a YSU Football game, it was in June of 1990 when as a kid I attended the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association High School Football All-Star Game that was played at Stambaugh Stadium. The Blue team won that game over the Gold team 19-13 in double overtime.

Even there were some great High School Football games played at Stambaugh Stadium in the 40 years since The Ice Castle opened its gates:

There were the Holy War matchups between the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals against Ursuline Fighting Irish and the so many home games from Mooney and Ursuline that we’re playing at Stambaugh Stadium in the past 40 years.

And, then the great Ohio High School Athletic Association Football Playoff Games played at Stambaugh Stadium since 1982.

Many in the Mahoning Valley still remember the Ursuline-Steubenville OHSAA Division II football playoff game played in a driving rainstorm on November 9, 1984 – a game where the Big Red of Steubenville shut out Ursuline, 8-0, that launched Steubenville’s road to their first ever OHSAA football championship in Division II 2 weeks later when they defeated Columbus Whitehall Yearling, 12-9, in overtime, and the 3 football playoff meetings between Mooney and Campbell Memorial Red Devils in a 4-year span (1986, 1988, 1989) – Campbell Memorial defeated Mooney in 2 of those meetings (1986, 1989).

It’s been a great joyride of seeing the many great moments at Stambaugh Stadium over the past 40 years, either attending a game, covering a game, or seeing it on TV.

I along with everyone at YSN Live (along with my colleagues Kristin Seidler and Scotty “Scooter” Mincher) join in wishing YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium a happy, healthy, and prosperous 40th Anniversary. Here’s to 40 more great years of more great memories of YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium.

Until the next On The Radar, this is Radar Pavlov reporting for YSN Live.

STRUTHERS VS. WEST BRANCH PREVIEW

By Radar Pavlov

It’s going to be a big-time barn burner this Friday Night at Clinton Heacock Stadium in Beloit when Division IV Region 13 #1 Seed West Branch Warriors plays host to that region’s #8 Seed Struthers Wildcats in Ohio High School Athletics Association Football Division IV Region 13 Quarterfinals. The winner of Struthers-West Branch will move on to Division IV Region 13 Semifinals against the winner of the game between Akron Buchtel and Canal Fulton Northwest on Saturday, November 12.

Here is a scouting report on those 2 fine teams

Division IV Region 13 #8 Seed Struthers Wildcats (7-4)

Struthers has one of the most potent rushing offenses in the Mahoning Valley. Last Friday night in their first-round win over Ashtabula Edgewood, 49-16, the running tandem of senior quarterback Alex Grzyb aka “Grzyb the Great” and fellow senior running back Tyler Sanchez ran for a combined 266 rushing yards (Grzyb for 163 yards, Sanchez for 103 yards) while the Wildcats gained 486 yards of total offense.

They have a defense that can cause some havoc with some opponents offensive game plans, and last Friday Night was no exception when the Struthers defense created 4 Ashtabula Edgewood turnovers.

Struthers has won their last 6 games since beginning the 2022 season with a 1-4 mark, Their 4 losses came against teams who all made the playoffs, including the two teams that are still playing in Week 12 (Geneva and South Range).

A week ago, the ‘Cats won their first post-season game since 2013 (def. Lakeview, 14-3).

Struthers is making their fifth playoff appearance in the last seven years.

In John Bayuk’s third season, his Wildcats have more games (7) than the entire 2020 and 2021 (6) seasons combined.

Thru 11 Weeks (Struthers)

Scoring Offense: 33.9 Scoring Defense: 19.4

Division IV Region 13 #1 Seed West Branch Warriors (10-1)

West Branch has one of the most prolific offenses in the Valley in 2022.

With their win over Salem two weeks ago, West Branch clinched their third outright Eastern Buckeye Conference championship in a row. During a 3-year stretch (2020-22), the Warriors have accumulated a record of 31-4.

– Most wins in a three-year span at West Branch

1992-94 – 32 wins

2020-22 – 31 wins

1993-95 – 30 wins

1990-92 – 29 wins

West Branch has won 10 consecutive games since falling to Canfield in week one (35-31).

In their Week 11 win, West Branch crushed Mogadore Field, 52-20, behind a big day from Boston Mulinix (117 rushing yards) and Beau Alazaus (filling in for the injured Dru DeShields, 242 yards passing, 5 total touchdowns) among others.

West Branch has now compiled back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time since 1990-91 when coach Jim Laut’s teams won the Northeastern Buckeye Conference and advanced to the playoffs. Back then in 1990 and 1991, it would make a team to make the top 4 in any region in OHSAA Divisions I, II, III, IV, and V to qualify for the football playoffs.

Thru 11 Weeks (West Branch)

Scoring Offense: 45.9 Scoring Defense: 20.0

Keys to the Game

Alex Grzyb vs. Dru DeSheilds – Both are fine senior QB’s. Whoever makes the least mistakes will determine the winner.

Who Can Make the Big Plays? – Both schools are capable of the big play on both sides of the ball. Who can make enough big plays that will decide the game?

In The Zone – Both Struthers and West Branch are in the zone as in winning streaks: West Branch (10) and Struthers (6). One of these winning streaks will continue into Week 13 next week.

If you can’t be at Clinton Heacock Stadium in Beloit this Friday with kickoff time at 7 p.m., you can catch it LIVE on YSN Live Pay Per View, it costs you $9.99 during the OHSAA Football Playoffs. Air time for Struthers vs. West Branch on YSN Live is 6:50 p.m.

Catch me again for another On The Radar article on YSNLive.com.  I’m Radar Pavlov reporting.