Ball State likes its area ties

Two area high school graduates have helped the Ball State football team to its best start since 1988.

Dan Gerberry (Austintown Fitch), a senior center, and Sean Baker (Canfield High), a redshirt freshman defensive back, are key starters for the Cardinals (3-0, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) of Muncie, Ind., who are enjoying their best launch since going 5-0 in 1988.

Area fans will be able to see Gerberry and Baker play Saturday on television over the Big Ten Network when Ball State invades Indiana for a 7 p.m. contest in Bloomington.

The following Saturday, Ball State will play host to Kent State in the homecoming game at noon in Scheumann Stadium that will be televised by ESPN Regional.

Gerberry is in his fourth season of playing an iron-man role at center on the offensive line, after being redshirted in 2004.

Since his first season as a starter in 2005, he has started all 39 games over the span — 11, 12, 13 and three this year, respectively.

Last year as a junior, Gerberry teamed with other juniors and now-seniors Robert Brewster and Andre Ramsey to anchor the line and lead the charge to school-record offensive yardage.

Behind their blocking, the offense compiled a school-record 5,640 yards of total offense, including a school-record 30 TD passes and 3.704 yards passing from quarterback Nate Davis.

Gerberry, the son of Ron and Kathy Gerberry, also is an academic achiever with a 3.27 cumulative grade-point average. He had a 3.26 GPA last spring.

While at Fitch under coach Neal Kopp, Gerberry won two letters and helped the Falcons to a 6-4 record as a senior.

Baker has great game, gains national honors

Baker, the son of Kirk and Lisa Baker, is coming off a classic performance in Ball State’s 41-24 win at Akron last Saturday.

In a rare feat, Baker had three interceptions to tie a school record and one fumble recovery that he returned 33 yards to a touchdown. In addition, he registered a team-high nine tackles with one pass breakup.

For that near-incomparable performance, Baker was named the Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week.

Baker also leads Ball State in tackles with 24, with one tackle for loss and two pass breakups.

While at Canfield High under coach Mike Pavlansky, Baker won three letters and helped the Cardinals to a 29-8 record and the most wins in school history over the three-year span.

While a junior in 2005, he helped Canfield advance into the state championship game for the first time.

Babbaro leads Villanova to No. 19 spot in nation

VILLANOVA — Angelo Babbaro, another Canfield High graduate and a senior teammate of Baker’s on the Cardinals’ 2005 state runner-up team, also is excelling in college football.

Babbaro, a versatile sophomore running back and kickoff-return specialist for the Villanova football team, has helped the Wildcats (1-1) to a No. 19 ranking in the nation in NCAA Championship Subdivision.

Babbaro, a redshirt last season, leads the Wildcats in all-purpose yards with 303 or 151.5 per game, and also kickoffs with seven returns for a 24.3-yard average.

He also is No. 2 in pass receptions with seven for 73 yards and rushing with 60 yards in two carries for a 5-yard average.

In Villanova’s 48-21 season-opening loss to West Virginia, Babbaro returned five kickoffs for 124 yards, including a long runback of 39 yards. He also added five rushing yards in two carries and two receptions for 27 yards.

In the Wildcats’ second game last Saturday, a 33-14 win over Lehigh, Babbaro had 55 rushing yards in 10 carries, five pass catches for 46 yards, and two kickoff returns for 46 yards.

Babbaro, the son of Angelo and Lisa Babbaro, is a liberal arts major.

While at Canfield High, he won three football letters and numerous awards, including being named to the All-State and All-NEO first team as a running back.

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