Tag Archive for: Blue Devils

MATISI HITS WIN NUMBER 500

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MCDONALD OH- Thanksgiving weekend is special in the world, but it was even more special for the Matisi family on Wednesday as head basketball coach Tony Matisi, from starting out as coach at Ursuline (92-98), to being the all time winningest head coach in Lowellville history (98-2013) , to South Range (2013-2019) and now at McDonald gotten his 500th career victory, as the Lady Blue Devils had a come from behind victory against the Windham Bombers 57 to 37.  

 

The first half score was all Bombers as they ended the first quarter up 13 to 11 and then the second with a 25 to 20 lead.  Even though they were up by five, the Lady Blue Devils did find some momentum after being down by more than 10 at one point.  At the beginning of the third, the defense showed that it was missing in the first half.  They would only hold Windham to a total of 11 points in the last two quarters.  Four points by Freshman Sydnie Sweet, two points by Mariah Woods, three points by Briah Daniel in the fourth quarter and two by Brielle Jones.  McDonald meanwhile after not being able to find the basket much in the first half took off and the young team with four freshmen were finding their rhythm.  Alivia Morrison, the lone senior, led the pack with eight points in the second half after a struggling start early, only hitting one three in the first.  Sophomore Grace Bundy put up six points in the second half, and freshman Juliana Krumpak had 16 points total in the game, scoring six in the second half and played really well on defense.  With this victory, Matisi’s head coaching record is now 40-12 at McDonald, all time is 500-200 and had another milestone hit as it was his 700th all-time game.  

 

After the big victory, YSNs Ian O’Brien was able to catch up with coach Matisi, talking about this victory, but his coaching career from start to now and how special the journey was getting here.  

 

*Contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

RESERVE LOOKS GOOD TO START

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BERLIN CENTER OH- After it was all said and done Monday night in Western Reserve, head coach Steve Miler would admit that it wasn’t the best basketball his team has ever played. But in their first game of the season, the Blue Devils had to deal with all kinds of adversity that they’ll surely meet again during the long basketball season. Whether it was stretches of rough shooting, foul trouble, or Mathews press, Reserve fought through it all to come away with a comfortable 52-36 win.

Lisa Eichert showed how much she’s looking forward to a healthy season as she dashed her way to 17 points to lead the Devils. Alyvia Hughes did a good job chipping in 13.  Brooke Schantz fought some early foul trouble but became a big factor in the second half finishing with 9.  Angelina Cappabianca nailed a pair of triples on her way to 9 points as well.

Mathews was led by Brooke Bauer who tied Eichert for the game-high with 17.  The Mustangs couldn’t get much more contribution offensively, which ended up hurting them.

Western Reserve will continue their season on December 1st against Hubbard.  Mathews schedule sees them take on Pymatuning Valley next up still looking for their first win.

WESTERN RESERVE GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH STEVE MILLER

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BERLIN CENTER OH- Western Reserve has been consistently successful over the last several season in the world of girls basketball.  Not only have they been blessed with a lot of talented players, but a great coach at the top with Steve Miller. Steve is back yet again for another season holding the reigns of this exciting Blue Devils team. Last season, Western Reserve finished the year with a record of 11-11 dealing with a few injuries throughout the year. The Devils should be back and better than ever as they get ready to open the season on Monday November 21st at home against Mathews.

Steve Miller took the time to sit down with YSN’s Ty Bartell to help us get a good look at this season.  They talk about key returning pieces, the standard coach Miller and his staff has set at Reserve, and so much more. Take the time to check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Steve Miller.

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BACK AT IT AGAIN; EAGLES FIND THEIR WAY TO FINAL FOUR

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NEW PHILADELPHIA, OH – The Warren JFK Eagles came into Saturday night’s game at Quaker Stadium as the defending regional champions and wanted to make a trip back to the State Semifinal game. But they would have to cross the dangerous Danville Blue Devils, who won last week against the Lucas Cubs 21-20 when down 0-20. The Blue Devils would have to make no mistake in this regional matchup, for the Eagles would not leave room for error. However, it was not enough. For Warren JFK was victorious against Danville with a score of 22-21 in a thrilling finish. 

 

On the second drive for the Eagles, a long drive capped off with an 8-yard touchdown run by Caleb Hadley to set the tone in the first quarter. The Blue Devils had one big play in the first quarter that included a 24-yard pass completion from Walker Weckesser to Kaiden Colopy. That drive ended in a punt that caused Warren JFK to start their drive from the 7-yard line. On that drive, Antonio Smith got the ball stripped from him, and Weckesser recovered it and turned it in for the score making it 7-7. 

 

The first half didn’t have much action after that score, but the second half provided a classic duel of dominant forces. 

 

Danville received the ball at the start of the second half and had a drive that lasted 5:21 and capped off with a 5-yard touchdown run from Max Payne. The defensive line for the Eagles stepped up to block the extra point, which kept the score 13-7. The defense continued to step up to the plate on Danville’s second drive of the half. Thomas Easton intercepted a pass from Weckesser and took it to the Blue Devil’s 19-yard line. It only took four plays for the Eagles to tie up the score led behind Caleb Hadley, and the extra point made it 14-13 as they faded into the fourth quarter. 

 

Danville again responded well to the score from Warren JFK and led their team 12 plays, 61 yards down the field, which capped off with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Payne to Colopy with 5:51 left in the fourth quarter. They also converted in a two-point conversion on a special play from Colopy to Caleb Lucas making it 21-14. 

 

Kennedy on their final drive had plenty of special plays to help right this story to a finish. Hadley performed a spinning circus act dodging defenders and connected 31 yards downfield to Aidan Rossi on the opposing 33-yard line. A couple of short yards from Easton, Hadley, and Ambrose Hoso ended them up with 4th down and 11 yards to go on the 13-yard line. Hadley dropped back and dodged two blue devil defenders and sent a pass to a diving Rossi for a touchdown where only he could get it, making it 20-21. Coach Dom Prologo looked at his team, and made the gutsy decision to go for the two-point try. Rossi handed it off to Hadley behind his powerful offensive line and dove for the score with 37 seconds left on the clock. Danville received the ball back on the 33-yard line but got stopped in their tracks within four plays to give Warren JFK the win for the regional championship, 22-21. 

 

Danville will end the season with a record of 11-3 and Warren JFK will advance to the state semifinals next week to play a rematch with Newark Catholic in Orville. 


*Contributed By YSN’s Dom O’Brien 



LISBON GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER WITH RYAN SNYDER

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LISBON OH- Lisbon girls basketball has a bright season ahead of them looking at 2022-2023. There’s no reason to think the Blue Devils can’t take the positives of last season and expand them to deeper horizons.  Last season, the Blue Devils were 9-12 (7-4) and they finished 4th in the EOAC. They turned things around after a slow start. They lost 5 of the first seven last season. This year, the Blue Devils have high hopes. They’ll open their campaign November 22 at Malvern.

Lisbon’s head coach Ryan Snyder took the time to jump on to an interview with YSN’s Ty Bartell to preview the upcoming season.  They talk about the players that can make big impacts on the year, what makes Lisbon special, and so much more. Check out the season preview in Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Ryan Snyder.

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PREGIBON’S HAT TRICK ADVANCES MOONEY

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BOARDMAN OH- Cardinal Mooney didn’t miss a beat on Wednesday night in their regional semifinal matchup. After dropping out of the tournament earlier than expected last season, the Cardinals have been hungry to prove what they can do this season. Their opponent Wickliffe couldn’t keep up in a 4-0 Mooney victory.

Junior Nick Pregibon was a force to be reckoned with.  His first goal came about half way through the first half. Once the first goal was scored, any nerves that Mooney had washed away.  They stayed on the attack the rest of the game. Even though Wickliffe withstood the storm for a while, with 15 minutes left in the second half, Mooney blasted three goals.  Pregibon scored two more, and Mason Janis added one in the final seconds.

With the win Mooney has advanced to the regional championship.  They’ll square up with Beachwood on Saturday at 4:00 at Howland High School.

THE COSTANTINO EMPIRE

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MCDONALD OH- There is no greater act one can do for their team than stepping up in a tough situation. That is exactly what McDonald’s Gianna Costantino has done this season.  After their starting setter had to miss the remainder of the season, Gianna and her teammate Maria Rasile stepped right into a 6-2 offense and continued to set up the Blue Devil offense.  Gianna’s offensive output never slowed down either. Since stepping into a setter’s role McDonald’s success continued all the way to a district runner up campaign.

Constantino put up fantastic numbers this season.  In 82 sets played, Constantino finished the year with 256 kills. Averaging over 3 kills a set, Costantino was a constant threat for the Blue Devils to go to.  She also eclipsed the 200 mark in assists, finishing with 231 on the year.  If you thought that was the end of the impressive numbers, you’d be wrong. Costantino also finished with 310 digs on the year.  It’s not easy to find a player with triple digits in three different categories. Costantino is one of the few.

Gianna took the time out of her day to sit down with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig to go over her season. They also talk about her family, her well rounded numbers this season, and much more. Don’t miss the Blue Devils too much, check out one more McDonald Player Profile only on YSN!

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RESERVE CANT GET BY CRUSADERS

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COLUMBIANA OH- Western Reserve came in to Thursday’s district championship game in Columbiana hoping to add another trophy to the school’s case. They had a big task in front of them though with Canton Central Catholic staring at them across the net. The Crusaders may be a Division IV team, but they don’t play a Division IV caliber schedule. Their experienced showed up as they swept the Blue Devils to win the district. (25-19 25-19 25-9)

Alyvia Hughes led the offense for the Blue Devils with 14 kills. She also dug up 8 digs, and 3 blocks. Madison Leone finished her senior season with a double double acquiring 11 assists and 10 digs. Raelyn Meyer led the team in assists with 14.  Aly Jones finished with 12 digs out of the back row.
Western Reserve ends the season with a record of 20-5.

TIGERS ARE HEADED RIGHT BACK TO REGIONALS

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LISBON OH- Wellsville carried a 25 game winning streak in to Thursday’s district championship game. They hadn’t lost since their first game of the season to Western Reserve. Their championship opponent McDonsld boasted a win against that same Reserve team this season. But this was a different Tigers bunch. Focused, and highly motivated the Tigers swept a very good Blur Devil team.  (25-19 25-23 25-20)

Strong finishes to each set seemed to be the theme for Wellsville. In a back and forth set one, Wellsville pulled away late to earn the 25-19 win. In set 2, they jumped out to a big 17-6 lead before watching the Blue Devils climb all the way back to tie the set at 22-22. However, from that point the Tigers scored 3 of the next 4 to win 25-23.  Plays down the stretch of set 3 would tell the story as well as the Tigers win their third consecutive competitive set 25-20.

District player of the year Presley Stokes showed up big for the Tigers all night. But her leadership shined brightest in the third set after a long stoppage of play, she kept the team calm and they forged ahead to take the sweep.  Wellsville has been here before so you can imagine that not much would phase them.

McDonald was in their first program District Championship. That is particularly impressive since the program started just four seasons ago.  The Blue Devils end the season at 20-6.  A fairly young roster only graduates two seniors, so expect even more growth from the Blue Devils to come.

The Tigers advance to the Division IV Regional Semifinals. They will be matched up with Ashtabula St John on November 3rd at 7:30 in Strongsville.  They’ll be the second game of the night.

 

MCDONALD PACKS UP FOR BIG TITLE GAME

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LISBON OH- McDonald spent their Tuesday night grinding their way to a big win in the District Semifinals. The Blue Devils were matched up with 8th seeded Dalton.  The Bulldogs are historically successful and fought like crazy. McDonald pushed their way to a four set victory.  (25-22 19-25 25-15 25-22)

Maria Rasile put on a show in the semifinals.  She finished with a triple double with 22 kills, 24 assists, and 18 digs.  Gianna Constantino also had a triple double with 12 kills, 28 digs, and 21 assists.  The defense for the Blue Devils was on full display as they got three other players in double digit digs.  Megan Zajack finished with 14 digs, Miley Titus grabbed 19 digs, and Juliana Krumpak gathered 22 digs.

McDonald will now set their sights to the Division IV Lisbon District Championship.  They will meet top seeded Wellsville.  That match is slated for 7:00 on Thursday at Lisbon High School.