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Matsakis still upbeat with Defiance effort

WHEELING - A one-win season may not be a source of hope for most coaches, but Manny Matsakis in not your average football coach. The Shadyside native is the master of the reclamation projects. His maiden voyage directing the Defiance College grid team resulted in a 1-9 campaign this fall. Two solid reasons played into that less-than-gaudy mark. First, Defiance is a down-trodden program, posting just one winning season in the last 12. Secondly, and possibly even more importantly, Matsakis took the job Aug. 7, less than a month before the Yellow Jackets’ first game. It was the ...

Freshmen Olave, Banks leave mark on ‘The Game’

COLUMBUS — The atmosphere was at an all-time high inside the big Horseshoe Saturday afternoon. You’d expect nothing less on the last Saturday in November when it’s ‘The Game.’ The annual meeting between Ohio State and Michigan has yielded many memorable performances and coming out parties over the course of its history. And the most recent edition — the 116th in history — didn’t disappoint in that regard. Just a year after Dwayne Haskins had moment in the sun at Michigan Stadium when he stepped in for an injured J.T. Barrett during a key drive, true freshmen ...

Prep wrestling season inching closer

The 2018-19 wrestling season — both collegiately and scholastically — promises to be an exciting one as a pair of huge post-season tournaments — one on each level — will be staged in the Ohio Valley. On the local level, for the first time in quite a while, Division III high school wrestlers from Ohio’s Eastern District will qualify for the Ohio state tournament from a venue in the Ohio Valley. Buckeye Local High school was awarded the two-day event. The district tournament is set for Mar. 2-3. The top 4 wrestlers in each weight class move on to the state tournament at The ...

Bonus points prove decisive in OVAC race

WHEELING - There has been much discussion and some confusion over this season’s OVAC 2A football championship. After Wheeling Central defeated Shadyside in Week 10 the popular notion was that the Maroon Knights clinched the conference crown. However, Central, as fate would have it, stubbed its toe in its season finale to Magnolia, throwing the 2A banner chase into razor-thin issue. Even though Central had a 9-1 record and Shadyside finished 8-2 regular season mark, the title was decided by bonus points. Winning teams get 30 points for a win over a Class 1A foe, 40 for a Class 2A ...

Bellaire native leads N. Alabama to impressive win

FLORENCE, AL. -- Missy Tiber is building something special on the hardwood in the heart of football country. The former Bellaire High hoop standout is in her sixth season as head coach of the University of North Alabama women’s basketball team. Tiber transformed the Lions into a NCAA Division II force, including last season’s 24-5 campaign. North Alabama, however, is moving up the collegiate athletic ladder, now playing as a Division I institution, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Lions made their initial voyage into the D-I waters an impressive one, defeating SEC ...

Madonna grad set to begin first season at B.C.

CHESTNUT HILL - Joanna (Bernabei) McNamee has been successful every step of her basketball career. The Weirton Madonna legend is now ready to embark on her greatest challenge. McNamee is in her first year as head women’s hoop coach at Boston College, taking the post after two successful campaigns at the University of Albany. She inherits a program that is a bottom feeder in the power-packed Atlantic Coast Conference. BC is coming off a 7-23 record last winter, going 2-14 in the ACC, a conference that includes national powers Notre Dame and Louisville. The Eagles are predicted ...