Liberty downs Roane, 11-1
From Staff Reports

    After a sluggish start, Liberty scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to blow out Roane County 11-1 in prep baseball Friday.
    The game was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule. The second game of the doubleheader was rained out.
    Mike Schlicker, Ryan Wagner and Dave Patterson each homered for Liberty, while Patterson and Josh Matheny each had two RBIs. Sam Davis was 2-for-2 with two runs and a stolen base. Freshman Brett McClain won for Liberty (4-4). He gave up five hits, fanning four.
    Liberty is home against Hedgesville  today in a doubleheader at noon.
    NOTRE DAME 10, Bishop Donahue 9: Notre Dame jumped to a 10-4 lead after three innings and held on.
Mike Nicholas had a three-run homer in the first. Brian Rokisky was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs, while Morgan     O’Brien and Evan Kupec each had two hits for Notre Dame (6-2, 3-0 Mason Dixon). Jeremy Wright added three RBIs. Jake Minges went 4 1/3 innings for the win, while O’Brien picked up the save.
    Notre Dame travels to Bridgport today.


Loria makes college football Hall
Former ND High School standout in same class as Herschel Walker
From Staff Reports

    Former Notre Dame High School and Virginia Tech standout Frank Loria was named Friday to the College Football Hall of Fame.
    Loria, an All-American defensive back at Virginia Tech from 1965 through 1967, was joined in the Hall of Fame class by 11 players — including Georgia’s Herschel Walker and UCLA’s Billy Kilmer — plus three coaches.
Loria wasn’t the most physically gifted athlete, but used hard work to become a star first at Notre Dame, then at Virginia Tech.
    He was so well known for his tenacious attitude that the area’s Columbian Club holds the Frank Loria Awards Dinner annually in his honor. It pays tribute to today’s star student-athletes. “Frank was proof that you can live out your dreams,” his friend, area businessman Clarence Fiber, said recently.
    Loria was an assistant coach at Marshall when he was killed in 1970 in the crash of the team’s plane. Loria will be inducted into the hall at a ceremony in December, and have his plaque placed in the hall at South Bend, Ind., next August.
    Other players who will be inducted with Loria are: Notre Dame’s Ross Browner, a defensive end who played in 1973 and 1975-77; Chuck Dicus of Arkansas, who played end from 1968-70; Chris Gilbert of Texas, a running back who played from 1966-68; Alabama’s John Hannah, an offensive guard who played from 1970-72; Kilerm, who played running back for UCLA from 1958-60; and Tennessee’s Steve Kinder, a linebacker from 1967-69.
    Also, Iowa’s Chuck Long, a quarterback from 1981-85; Virginia’s Joe Palumbo, a defensive lineman from 1949-51; Oklahoma’s Greg Pruitt, a running back from 1970-72; Walker, a running back for Georgia from 1980-82; and Cal-Berkley’s Ed White, a defensive lineman from  1965-68.
    Coaches to be inducted: Jerry Claiborne, who coached at Virginia Tech, Maryland and Kentucky; Don Coryell, who coached at Whittier and San Diego State; and Jim Young, who coached at Arizona, Purdue and Army.


Nehlen:Scrimmage only so-so
by Joedy McCreary
SPORTSWRITER
    MORGANTOWN — If Don Nehlen was a well-known movie critic, he might rate Friday afternoon’s intra-squad scrimmage like this:
Effort: Thumbs up.
Beauty: Thumbs down.
Star quality: Two thumbs up.
Way up.
    West Virginia quarterback Marc Bulger completed 14-of-14 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown in the Mountaineers’ first scrimmage of the spring. Bulger’s performance overshadowed what was an otherwise uneventful scrimmage, Nehlen said. “You can only take that so long with guys who don’t know the plays,” Nehlen said. “It was good hitting. It was not good football. “But the kids had a little fun,” Nehlen said. “When you’re rebuilding, you can’t expect big things after six practices.”
Bulger’s perfect outing was a direct result of his experience, he said. “They played generic coverages that were easy to read,” Bulger said. “If I’ve been here four years, I should be able to hit the open receivers.”
    Bulger’s 50-yard touchdown pass went to Pat Greene, who caught the short pass near the 40-yard line and zig-zagged through the Mountaineer secondary into the end zone. “Marc had a good year last year, and this year, he’ll either get better or get worse,” Nehlen said. “He knows what we’re trying to do. He just has to recognize it on the field.”
    The afternoon’s leading receiver was a mild surprise: Shawn Terry, DB Nate Terry’s younger brother, caught six passes from backup quarterbacks Andy Keating and Brad Lewis for 47 yards. None of the four tailbacks emerged as the leader in the hunt to replace Amos Zereoue, Nehlen said.
    Alvin Swoope had 43 yards on 12 carries, Cooper Rego ran for 40 yards on 12 carries — with the bulk of that coming on a 32-yard around-end touchdown — Avon Cobourne had 33 yards on nine chances and Brannon Goins had 15 yards on 11 carries. “All the tailbacks ran hard when they had the chance,” Nehlen said. “They all made a pretty good showing.”
    Bulger isn’t getting too excited over his gaudy first-scrimmage numbers.  He’d prefer to save all that for later. “We’ve still got a long way to go,” Bulger said.  “You can’t assess it after just two weeks of practice.”

Middle schools hit track running
From Staff Reports

    Washington Irving’s boys team and Bridgeport’s girls team were victorious in an intra-county two-team middle school track meet last Thursday.
    Washington Irving outscored Bridgeport 48-43 in the boys division, while Bridgeport’s girls won 56-36.
Bridgeport’s Chris Heater and
    Washington Irving’s Joe Bowie tied with 11 1/4 points for  boys high point total, while Bridgeport’s Sarah Snider finished with 11 1/4 points after winning the 400- and 800-meter events, and competing with Emily Stout, Jessica  Mayfield and Maria Alvaro on the winning 4x400 relay team.
    Heater had first-place finishes in the 400 meter, 800 meter and 4 x 400 meter relay team with teammates Adam Zahradnik, Kash Kiefer and Brant Edgell.
    Bowie was equally impressive, with first-place finishes in the 1,600, high jump and 4 x 100 meter relay with Scott Randolph, Scott Haynes and Steve Howard.
    In the boys division, Washington Irving’s John Paul Nardelli won the shot put, while teammate Ashby Hardesty won the 75-meter low hurdles. Bridgeport’s Josh Goad won the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
    Bridgeport’s team of Scott Stuart, B.R. Hathaway, Eric Moccia and Michael Selario won the 4x200-meter relay, while Washington Irving’s Scott Shifflet, Chris Otto, Craig Light and Larry Blevins finished first in the shuttle hurdles.
“I was really pleased with the way all of our kids ran,” said Washington Irving coach Pete Bowie.
“Every kid got a chance to run in three events, and now I think they have a better feel for what track and field really  is.”
    Bridgeport’s Rachel Williams finished first in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Brittany Amodio led Washington Irving with a win in the 75-meter low hurdles, while Rachel Brown claimed the 1,600.
Bridgeport’s Valan Daniel finished first in the shot put, while teammate Lindsey Waugh was the winner of the high jump.
Waugh was also a member of the winning 4x200-meter team with teammates Nicole Pondel, Becky Williams and Ashley McCauley.
    Washington Irving claimed first in the girls 4x100 and shuttle hurdles. Team members on the 4x100 team were Amanda Leary, Kristin Alastanos, Libby Jarvis and Nikki Rogers, while Laura Rogers, Mary Beth Cox, Laura Denny and Amanda Steven made up the shuttle hurdles squad. “For only being outside three  weeks, I was happy with our performance,” said Bridgeport coach Rob Riley.  “This was a good meet to get the kids ready for the season. “For most of them, this is a new sport.”
    Earlier this week, Washington Irving’s boys and girls teams were victorious in a meet with Bridgeport. The meet was held at the Bridgeport Athletic Complex. Washington Irving was a 65-45 winner in the boys division, while its girls posted a 62-47 win.
    Washington Irving’s Josh Wagner earned 11 points with a win in the high jump and two second-place finishes, while Britney Amodio led the girls team with a win in the 75-meter hurdles  and was a member of the champion shuttle hurdles team with teammates Amanda Despasquale, Keisha Bowsman and Lora Squires.
    Bridgeport’s Josh Goad and Michela Nicas were the boys and girls high-point medalists. Goad finished with 13 points and won the long jump and 200-meter dash. Nicas totaled 16 1/4 points, highlighted by wins in the high jump, and two sprint races: The 100- and 200-meter dashes. She was also a member of the winning 4x200 relay team with Lindsey Waugh, Ridenour and Adams.
    Washington Irving’s John Paul Nardelli finished first in the shot put, and along with teammates Chris Lake, Dean Carter and Scott Gonzalez won the 4x200 meter relay. Nardelli was also a member of the winning 4x100 meter relay team with Scott Randolph, Steve Howard and Scott Haynes. Bridgeport’s Chris Heater also captured two wins, the 400-meter and 800-meter races.
    Washington Irving’s Scott Shiflett won the discus, and teammate Scott Gonzalez was victorious in the 100-meter dash.
Steve Howard of Washington Irving captured the 75 meter hurdles.
    Bridgeport’s Kyle Sappington won the 1,600 meter run, and Bridgeport’s team of Tyler Francis, Brandon Martin, Benji Riley and Andrew Bartlett won the shuttle hurdles. Bridgeport’s 4x400 relay team also was victorious.
    For the girls, Washington Irving’s Jenna Wolfe had first-place finishes in the discus and shot put, while teammate Libby Jarvis won the long jump.
    Bridgeport’s Jessica Alvaro won the 400-meter dash, while Washington Irving’s Rachel Brown won the 1,600-meter run.
Sarah Snider rounded out the individual event winners with a first-place finish in the 800-meter race.
Amanda Leary, Kristin Alastanos, Libby Jarvis and Nicki Rogers made up the winning team in the 4x100 relay team. Bridgeport’s team of Emily Stout, Jessica Pumphrey, Jessica Alvaro and Sarah Snider won the 4x400 relay.
    Both teams return to action in a meet on Monday at Robert C. Byrd with Buckhannon-Upshur and Taylor County Middle School.
    Bridgeport also travels to Doddridge County for a meet on Thursday.


Return