Bowman, BC have area date

There will be extra Youngstown-area interest in the Boston College-Kent State football game on Aug. 30 in Cleveland Browns Stadium. That game begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.

Marty Bowman from Liberty High will be the starting free safety for Boston College. He’s in his junior year after being forced out of the last five games last season with an injury.

Kent State has seven area players on the roster, including starters Pat Reedy of Austintown Fitch and Chris Anzevino of Warren Harding on the offensive line.

Reedy, a sophomore, will get the call at right tackle while Anzevino, a redshirt freshman, will be at center to replace senior Josh Perry who won’t play his final season because of chronic knee problems.

Bowman, who doesn’t know any of the seven KSU players, is looking forward to playing so close to home.

He said the proximity of the game is ideal for area fans.

“I expect a lot of family and friends to come to the game. I have been getting a lot of calls,” said Bowman, the son of Vanessa and Marcellus Bowman. “We usually play on the East Coast.”

Bowman has two seasons of experience, splitting time at strong safety,

In 2007, he had 13 tackles, including nine solo stops, with two pass breakups, one tackle for loss and one interception as strong safety.

Kitchen, Battles, Campbell ready to play as backups

In addition to Reedy and Anzevino, three other area players should see a lot of playing time for KSU.

Ishmaa’ily Kitchen (Cardinal Mooney), Sal Battles (East) and Dante Campbell (Warren Harding) are ranked No. 2 on the depth chart.

Kitchen, a redshirt freshman who missed spring practice because of an injury, is being groomed at defensive tackle.

Battles, a freshman quarterback, is the backup at H-back, which is a wide receiver positioned closer to the backfield that usual.

Campbell, a junior, is a strong candidate at offensive left guard.

The other two area players are Will Kandray, sophomore kicker from Mooney; and J.J. Pankewicz, a redshirt freshman defensive back from Fitch.

Reedy, whose quick movement while blocking makes him one of the top pass protectors on the line, played in 10 games for Kent State last season as a backup before earning a starting role for the season finale against Buffalo. He won a letter.

He was redshirted in 2006 as a freshman and won the team’s Offensive Scout Award.

The son of Patrick and Cynthia Reedy, Pat is majoring in manufacturing technology.

Anzevino, is considered one of the strongest players on the KSU team.

The son of Ronald Anzevino and Loraine Tomocik, Anzevino is majoring in special education.

Kitchen is very strong and moves well for player his size. He is expected to develop into a force in the middle of the line.

The son of Nellie and Clarence Kitchen, Ishmaa’ily is undecided about an academic major.

Battles switched from QB to H-back wide receiver

Battles, who played quarterback for East, will be on the receiving end of the passes in his freshman year.

The grandson of Zsa Zsa Arrington, Battles compiled 3,078 yards passing and 3,165 yards rushing with 74 touchdowns in his career at Rayen and East.

Campbell is a powerful player with outstanding blocking technique who has won two letters. He played in seven of KSU’s 12 games last season, including his first career start against Northern Illinois.

Kandray played in one game last season as a redshirt freshman at Northern Illinois.

The son of Bill and Maureen Kandray, he is majoring in exercise physiology and would like to become a chiropractor.

XJohn Kovach covers area college athletes for The Vindicator. Write to him at kovach@vindy.com.