Marauders win home finale
WILBERFORCE — Saturday’s game featuring the Central State Marauders and Concordia (Ala.) Hornets had a bit of everything including big plays, over 2,000 prospective high school students in attendance, senior recognition ceremonies, a Marauder victory and a marriage proposal.
The events started a half hour prior to kick off as 17 senior football players were recognized. Gervell Morgan, a senior linebacker from Chattanooga, Tenn., concluded the pregame ceremony with a successful marriage proposal to his new fiancée Jasmine Dotson.
“It was an amazing feeling to share our moment with all our friends and family,” Morgan said. “It truly was an incredible day and an even better feeling when she said ‘Yes.’”
CSU totaled 264 yards on the ground with an average of 5.3 yards per carry. Defensively, CSU forced four turnovers and recorded six sacks.
Jihad Rasheed finished the day with a season-high 121 yards to go along with three scores. Making his first start at quarterback in the final game of his collegiate career, Julian Walker was an effective 7-for-15 for 175 yards through the air with no interceptions. He also picked up 20 yards on the ground.
“We emphasized ball security this week and we did a good job of that to finish the game,” Marauders coach Cedric Pearl said. “I commend Julian for working hard and going out there and executing.”
On defense, CSU had a host of outstanding performances including Morgan’s 10.5 tackles. 2 sacks and fumble recovery. Deonate Gary eclipsed 100 tackles on the year with a game-high 15 on the afternoon. Justin Woods-West finished with two sacks to go with 11 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. Woods-West looks to finish atop the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 13.5 sacks on the year.
“Today is a great win for our seniors and we had a lot of guys who put together tremendous individual performances this year” Pearl said. “With today’s win, we also show that our program is headed in the right direction. I think our fans and alumni have a lot to look forward to going into next season. The returning players and coaches continue to be dedicated to finding ways to improve as a team each and every day heading into next year.”
The 50-point performance is the most CSU has scored since the 2012 season. Finishing the year at 5-5 overall, the Marauders tie for the best overall record since 1995.
(The full story can be found online at xeniagazette.com)
Five earn All-Horizon League honors
INDIANAPOLIS — Five members of the Wright State men’s soccer team were honored as the Horizon League announced its postseason awards on Monday.
Junior forwards Peguy Ngatcha and Eric Lynch were each selected to the First Team while junior midfielder Sam DeRoy was named to the Second Team. Midfielder Jackson Dietrich was chosen as the Freshman of the Year and was joined on the All-Freshman Team by defender Eric Hutton.
Ngatcha (Manchester, NH/Kimball Union Academy) is tied for fourth in the league with six goals and his 15 points are tied for third. He scored two goals against Cincinnati while his other four came against Binghamton, Cal State Fullerton, Cleveland State and IPFW. Ngatcha also added two assists at Eastern Illinois and one at IPFW.
Lynch (Bellbrook) is tied for seventh in the league in goals with five and is tied for 10th in points with 13. His goals came against Binghamton, Eastern Illinois, West Virginia, Valparaiso and Detroit while the assists were versus Cincinnati, Bowling Green and IPFW.
Part of this year’s Wolstein Classic All-Tournament Team, Lynch has received all-league honors in each of his three seasons at Wright State as he was selected to the All-Freshman Team in 2013 and was a First Team honoree last season as well as the overall Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year.
DeRoy (Powell Olentangy Liberty) scored a goal against West Virginia and recorded assists against Cal State Fullerton, Cincinnati and Detroit.
Dietrich (Las Vegas Foothill) is tied for second in the league with six assists, with two coming against Binghamton and one each versus Cal State Fullerton, West Virginia, Cleveland State and UIC. He also tallied game-winning goals against Cincinnati and Milwaukee and had a goal at Eastern Illinois.
Hutton (Chillicothe Zane Trace) helped lead a Wright State defense that posted a 1.13 goals against average for the season. He also notched an assist in a win over Cincinnati.
With Dietrich’s and Hutton’s selections, the Raiders have had 10 players named to the All-Freshman (Newcomer) Team in the seven years that WSU coach Bryan Davis has been at the helm.
Wright State (10-7-1, 4-4-1 Horizon) opened Horizon League Tournament play on Monday night at Northern Kentucky. The semifinals and finals will be held at Illinois-Chicago on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL
Adams Stadium to host playoff games
XENIA — The Xenia High School Athletic Director Mark Stoll confirmed Monday that the school’s Doug Adams Stadium will serve as the host site for Friday’s Division V second-round high school football playoff game between the fifth-seeded Greeneview Rams (8-3) and the top-seeded Brookville Blue Devils (11-0). Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Stoll also announced that today’s Division II girls soccer state semifinal contest between third-ranked Granville (16-3-2) and second-ranked Cincinnati Indian Hill (17-1-3) will be played at Adams Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.