JoePa's MID AMERICAN CONFERENCE Preview

[fitter]

thnkx JoePa

for the info....was looking early @ BU vs UTEP, but with Wiley gone and now Starks, just can't pull that one off yet. Line has shifted up 2 for UTEP, still, that one now may be a "watch and monitor". Question...ya gonna take it easy on the Zips or are ya gonna run it full bore...what with you being a MAC officianado and all...LOL. BOL this year JoePa...here's to a profit filled season for ya. :beerbang:

[joepa66]

Who cares about the dumb MAC....i want a preseason report on Stubenville....:beerbang: Any thoughts on the skyline shootout this weekend?....:beerbang:
Colerain/Elder is going to be a huge matchup in week 2.

Well your Big Red's are 1-0 to start the season....check out the story below! AND, did you know that they are on a 56 game "Home" win streak that dates back to 2002! Their all-time record at home in "Death Valley" is 453-133-11...that's 77%! I'm gonna get ya some more info on them, but I do know they have 14 letter winners back. As for the skyline shootout, I'd take a 5-way with hot sauce and don't forget the two skyliners on the side with onions!


Big Red tops Indian Creek
By STEPHANIE ELVERD, sports writer
POSTED: August 28, 2009

STEUBENVILLE - Before Big Red's season-opening game Thursday, coach Reno Saccoccia asked his team to play fast, physical and smart and in that particular sequence. After the game, Saccoccia was wishing he would have chosen his words more carefully.

"I told our kids I wanted them to play fast, physical and smart and I told them to do it in that order," he said. "I guess I should have said to play fast, physical and smart all at the same time, because we didn't play too smart tonight."

Steubenville opened up 2009 with a 43-20 victory over Indian Creek at Harding Stadium. That gave the veteran coach something to celebrate. But in the win, Big Red ended up with 121 penalty yards after being flagged 17 times. That gave Saccoccia something to criticize.

"Penalties are part of the game. They happen, but they happened too much tonight. And it's the personal fouls that upset me," Saccoccia continued. "Personal fouls are exactly what they are. They're personal. They're not for the team. When you're on the field everything has to be about the team, not yourself or letting your emotions get the best of you."

Aside from the penalty yards and a few first-game miscues, Saccoccia was pleased with the win - his team's 61st-straight in the regular season.

"Honest to God, I'm happy with the way everybody played. I was happy with Everything except the penalties. Dropped passes happen. Missed blocks happen," Saccoccia said. "I was happy with the effort our kids gave."

Big Red jumped on the Redskins early - as early as possible to be exact. On Steubenville's first play from scrimmage, junior Jesse Birden took a handoff and raced 73 yards for a score. Four minutes later, Shaq Petteway scored on a 4-yard run. The eight-play, 66-yard drive was highlighted by a 23-yard pass from quarterback Dwight Macon to Sage Cutri. Fullback LeShawn Luke also broke lose for a 9-yard run on the possession.

Birden would strike for the second time in the opening quarter when he returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Pierro split the uprights on all three PATs. He would do the same on the next two.

On Steubenville's fourth possession, Big Red tried and failed to convert a fourth-and-4 on its own 43, giving the Redskins excellent field position which they capitalized on at 8:32 of the second quarter. Indian Creek's nine-play scoring drive began with a 20-yard pass play from quarterback Adam Young to Gavin Smith. Runs of 3, 4, and 1 yards followed and the Redskins found themselves in a fourth-and-short situation.

Like Big Red, they went for it. Unlike Big Red, they got it. Young hit Doren Thomas with a quick slant. Big Red defensive back Jordon Meyer dropped Thomas immediately, but after a measurement, Indian Creek was awarded the first down at the 13.

Thomas picked up 3 more yards and an unsportsmanlike call against Big Red moved the ball half the distance to the 5. Thomas finished the drive runs of 4 and 1. The kick after was blocked. Not bad for a team who found itself down a quick 21-0.

"We have a 10-game schedule and we want to play every game hard and we want to play every game to the best of our ability. I think we did that tonight and I'm proud of the kids for it," Indian Creek coach Andrew Connor said. "We just want to play hard, play physical and play to the whistle. I thought we did that in the second half and it is something that we can continue to build upon."

The Redskins entered the second half down, 35-6. Big Red had scored two more touchdowns before the bands took the field. Cutri hauled down an 11-yard TD pass from Macon at 3:55 in the second quarter. Pierro caught a scoring reception with 25 seconds left in the half. The next two touchdowns, however, would belong to the Redskins. Young, facing fourth-and-4, found Smith in the end zone on a 33-yard pass with 2:50 remaining in the third.

A Big Red fumble, recovered by Indian Creek freshman Shane Winland on the Big Red 45, set up the Redskins' second score. Ty Yocum eventually capped off the drive with a 1-yard run with 6:29 left in the game. Brandon Mathieu came through on both extra-point kicks.

Steubenville would wrap up the scoring when Alvin Taylor broke lose on a 45-yard scoring run with 3:20 on the clock and Marcus Prather ran in for two. Taylor finished with 48 yards on the ground and Lucas McClurg ran for 67. Birden was the game's big rusher. He registered 127 yards on six carries. As a team, Steubenville racked up 300 yards on the ground. Macon finished 5-of-11 for 110 yards. Pierro led with 76 yards receiving.

Indian Creek was led by Young who was 7-of-15 for 117 yards. Backup David Kemp added 29 more passing yards. Smith paced Creek's wideouts with 53 yards. The Redskins finished with 112 yards rushing. Mark Ludewig had a team-high 39 yards on the ground.

Big Red next plays Woodland Hills in the Wheeling Hospital Rally in the Valley. The game will be played at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Wheeling Island Stadium.

[joepa66]

Who cares about the dumb MAC....i want a preseason report on Stubenville....:beerbang: Any thoughts on the skyline shootout this weekend?....:beerbang:
Colerain/Elder is going to be a huge matchup in week 2.

Well your Big Red's are 1-0 to start the season....check out the story below! AND, did you know that they are on a 56 game "Home" win streak that dates back to 2002! Their all-time record at home in "Death Valley" is 453-133-11...that's 77%! I'm gonna get ya some more info on them, but I do know they have 14 letter winners back. As for the skyline shootout, I'd take a 5-way with hot sauce and don't forget the two skyliners on the side with onions!


Big Red tops Indian Creek
By STEPHANIE ELVERD, sports writer
POSTED: August 28, 2009

STEUBENVILLE - Before Big Red's season-opening game Thursday, coach Reno Saccoccia asked his team to play fast, physical and smart and in that particular sequence. After the game, Saccoccia was wishing he would have chosen his words more carefully.

"I told our kids I wanted them to play fast, physical and smart and I told them to do it in that order," he said. "I guess I should have said to play fast, physical and smart all at the same time, because we didn't play too smart tonight."

Steubenville opened up 2009 with a 43-20 victory over Indian Creek at Harding Stadium. That gave the veteran coach something to celebrate. But in the win, Big Red ended up with 121 penalty yards after being flagged 17 times. That gave Saccoccia something to criticize.

"Penalties are part of the game. They happen, but they happened too much tonight. And it's the personal fouls that upset me," Saccoccia continued. "Personal fouls are exactly what they are. They're personal. They're not for the team. When you're on the field everything has to be about the team, not yourself or letting your emotions get the best of you."

Aside from the penalty yards and a few first-game miscues, Saccoccia was pleased with the win - his team's 61st-straight in the regular season.

"Honest to God, I'm happy with the way everybody played. I was happy with Everything except the penalties. Dropped passes happen. Missed blocks happen," Saccoccia said. "I was happy with the effort our kids gave."

Big Red jumped on the Redskins early - as early as possible to be exact. On Steubenville's first play from scrimmage, junior Jesse Birden took a handoff and raced 73 yards for a score. Four minutes later, Shaq Petteway scored on a 4-yard run. The eight-play, 66-yard drive was highlighted by a 23-yard pass from quarterback Dwight Macon to Sage Cutri. Fullback LeShawn Luke also broke lose for a 9-yard run on the possession.

Birden would strike for the second time in the opening quarter when he returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Pierro split the uprights on all three PATs. He would do the same on the next two.

On Steubenville's fourth possession, Big Red tried and failed to convert a fourth-and-4 on its own 43, giving the Redskins excellent field position which they capitalized on at 8:32 of the second quarter. Indian Creek's nine-play scoring drive began with a 20-yard pass play from quarterback Adam Young to Gavin Smith. Runs of 3, 4, and 1 yards followed and the Redskins found themselves in a fourth-and-short situation.

Like Big Red, they went for it. Unlike Big Red, they got it. Young hit Doren Thomas with a quick slant. Big Red defensive back Jordon Meyer dropped Thomas immediately, but after a measurement, Indian Creek was awarded the first down at the 13.

Thomas picked up 3 more yards and an unsportsmanlike call against Big Red moved the ball half the distance to the 5. Thomas finished the drive runs of 4 and 1. The kick after was blocked. Not bad for a team who found itself down a quick 21-0.

"We have a 10-game schedule and we want to play every game hard and we want to play every game to the best of our ability. I think we did that tonight and I'm proud of the kids for it," Indian Creek coach Andrew Connor said. "We just want to play hard, play physical and play to the whistle. I thought we did that in the second half and it is something that we can continue to build upon."

The Redskins entered the second half down, 35-6. Big Red had scored two more touchdowns before the bands took the field. Cutri hauled down an 11-yard TD pass from Macon at 3:55 in the second quarter. Pierro caught a scoring reception with 25 seconds left in the half. The next two touchdowns, however, would belong to the Redskins. Young, facing fourth-and-4, found Smith in the end zone on a 33-yard pass with 2:50 remaining in the third.

A Big Red fumble, recovered by Indian Creek freshman Shane Winland on the Big Red 45, set up the Redskins' second score. Ty Yocum eventually capped off the drive with a 1-yard run with 6:29 left in the game. Brandon Mathieu came through on both extra-point kicks.

Steubenville would wrap up the scoring when Alvin Taylor broke lose on a 45-yard scoring run with 3:20 on the clock and Marcus Prather ran in for two. Taylor finished with 48 yards on the ground and Lucas McClurg ran for 67. Birden was the game's big rusher. He registered 127 yards on six carries. As a team, Steubenville racked up 300 yards on the ground. Macon finished 5-of-11 for 110 yards. Pierro led with 76 yards receiving.

Indian Creek was led by Young who was 7-of-15 for 117 yards. Backup David Kemp added 29 more passing yards. Smith paced Creek's wideouts with 53 yards. The Redskins finished with 112 yards rushing. Mark Ludewig had a team-high 39 yards on the ground.

Big Red next plays Woodland Hills in the Wheeling Hospital Rally in the Valley. The game will be played at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Wheeling Island Stadium.

[joepa66]

for the info....was looking early @ BU vs UTEP, but with Wiley gone and now Starks, just can't pull that one off yet. Line has shifted up 2 for UTEP, still, that one now may be a "watch and monitor". Question...ya gonna take it easy on the Zips or are ya gonna run it full bore...what with you being a MAC officianado and all...LOL. BOL this year JoePa...here's to a profit filled season for ya. :beerbang:

I'd lay off that UB/UTEP game for sure until we figure out what UB if going to be like......as for the Zips, even though I'm a Kent guy I think I'm going to ride with UA pretty hard this season. But I'll take the wait and see until they get through the non-conference stuff......let's make some dough bro! :thumbs:

[joepa66]

BIG REDS PIGSKIN PREVIEW

STEUBENVILLE, OH — The year was 2002, and Big Red football lost a regular season game. Six years or 2,189 days have passed since Steubenville lost its Week 10 matchup to East Liverpool at Patterson Field. That’s 60-straight wins, six-straight undefeated regular seasons, and a whole lot of football.

Aside from its 60-game regular-season streak, the Red has also won its last 55 home contests (the last OVAC team to defeat Steubenville at Harding was Zanesville way back in 1997) and is 80-4 since dropping that final game in 2002. Big Red’s offense has been shut out just twice in the last decade – that’s 10 years of football from 1998 to 2008 – while its defense has recorded 25 shutouts. Included in the streaks are back-to-back perfect seasons which brought the Red the Ohio Division III title in 2005 and 2006. Last season, Steubenville finished 14-1 with a Division IV state runner-up finish and recorded the 704th win in program history and upped Saccoccia’s career record to 271-47.

Though the Red lost some playmakers to graduation – WVU-bound linebacker and fullback Branko Busick, fullback Jordan McIntyre, receivers Michael Goodwin and Brandon Carroll, lineman Ryan Dugan, DeVon Campbell, Jeryl Christian and secondary stars Patrick Gilbert and William Jackson – a talented troop returns to Death Valley.

Among the returning lettermen is quarterback Dwight Macon, who returns for his senior season and third year starting at the position. Macon is 266-of-406 in his career with 30 TDs and just eight interceptions. He ran for an additional 2,049 yards and 27 touchdowns. As a starting QB, Macon is 26-2. Macon will be backed up by junior Jordon Meyer as well as fellow junior Anthony Pierro and sophomore Marcus Prather. Demetrius Brandon, who rushed for over 1,300 yards last year as a junior, transferred to Toronto City Schools where he will lend his talents to the Red Knights this year.

OLB Petteway, who had 116 tackles including 19 for losses, returns to the position. ILB Birden, who had 108 total tackles, four interceptions and four fumble recoveries in 2008, will also play linebacker.

While high numbers and high expectations remain the same at Steubenville in 2009, one thing will change – the Red’s schedule. Included on the itinerary is a Week 2 showdown with WPIAL powerhouse Woodland Hills. Steubenville will take on the Class AAAA Wolverines in the Wheeling Hospital Rally in the Valley at Wheeling Island Stadium. Big Red will also face old All-American Conference foe Massillon Washington on Oct. 9 at Harding. Big Red also plays host to Fairview, Pa. Sept. 25 and play Michigan power Inkster, in Week 9.