Five from area set for Toledo tonight

John Greco and Brandon Alexander are in their second straight bowl game.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MOBILE, Ala. -- Five Youngstown-area players are on the roster of the University of Toledo football team (8-3), which will face Texas-El Paso (8-3) tonight in the GMAC Bowl (8, ESPN).
Two of the players -- sophomores John Greco (Boardman High), a starting offensive lineman, and Brandon Alexander (Howland), a back-up linebacker -- will be playing in their second bowl games.
Greco also was a starter in last year's Motor City Bowl which the Rockets lost to Connecticut, 39-10, while Alexander was a back-up free safety.
Toledo, which went 6-2 in the MAC to share Western Division honors this year, is in its fourth bowl game in the last five years under fifth-year coach Tom Amstutz, and 10th overall.
Toledo and UTEP, which went 5-3 in Conference USA, will be meeting for the first time.
Also on the Toledo roster are redshirt freshman running back-kick returner Richard Davis (Warren Harding), freshman linebacker Keith Forestal (Liberty) and sophomore placekicker Jonathan Ameen (Ursuline).
Greco was moved from left tackle to right tackle before this season, and is one of the team's top linemen. Last year, he started all 13 games and won the Norman Cohen Award as the team's top freshman. He was a redshirt in 2003.
Alexander has played in all 13 games and has 15 tackles, including seven solo stops. Last year, Alexander played in all 13 games and had 12 tackles, including a season-high four against Kansas.
Davis all-purpose ace
Davis, who hasn't played as much lately as he had earlier in the season, still ranks No. 3 on the team in all-purpose yards (690). He has 387 yards on kickoff returns, 252 rushing and 51 receiving. His 252 yards rushing came on 35 attempts for a 7.2-yard average and two TDs. He has five catches for his 51 receiving yards. Davis also had six tackles, including four solo stops.
Forestal, doing well as a true freshman, ranks No. 2 on the depth chart at inside linebacker. He has played in nine games and has eight tackles, two of them solo stops.
Amen is a walk-on and is listed as the No. 3 placekicker for the second straight year. While at Ursuline, he helped the Irish win the Division IV state championship as a junior, making 7-for-7 extra-point attempts in the state final.
kovach@vindy.com