Balanced attack gives YCS win over Chaney

By Greg Gulas

YOUNGSTOWN — Winning nine of their first 10 games has been satisfying thus far for the Youngstown Christian Eagles.

Coach Dolph Carroll, however, knows the bulls-eye on his team’s back gets bigger with every win.

Casey Carroll’s 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Caleb Yanno’s 13 points off the bench helped lift Youngstown Christian to a 72-54 decision over the Chaney Cowboys Friday at the Eagles’ Gymnasium.

“Chaney is a hard team to match-up with so we had an extra hard week of practice just to prepare for them,” Casey Carroll said. “We’re not a one-man team, instead relying on a balanced scoring attack with everyone knowing their roles and playing together as a unit,

“Looking back at our loss earlier this month to Cardinal Mooney was a very humbling experience so we’ve had to dig down, practice much harder and therefore we take northing for granted.”

The teams split the first 12 points, but Carroll, who canned nine of his 18 points in the opening period, keyed a 17-4 run to give the Eagles a 23-10 advantage heading to the second period.

Caleb Yanno then added five points in the second frame as the Eagles took a 41-26 halftime lead.

“Chaney put a lot of pressure on us all night, but to our credit we were able to handle that pressure, hit some key shots including several from three-point range and that was the difference in the game,” Yanno said. “It’s a great feeling to be 9-1 right now, but the real challenge will be in the second half of the season knowing that everyone is looking to knock you off.

“As long as we take it one game at a time and don’t look ahead, we should be all right.”

Dolph Carroll credited Chaney and coach Josh Marsh for keeping his team on its toes.

“Chaney was all over the place, all night long and that presented a real challenge for us,” he said. “Josh [Marsh] has done an excellent job the past two seasons and when you play the Cowboys, you just expect an all-out effort from them for 32 minutes.

“For us, our system dictates how we play. There are a lot of reads involved and everyone is becoming more comfortable with the system. We hope to have four or five players score in double figures each game. That’s when we are most successful.”

John Pecchia added 12 points while both Victor Shaw and Louis Fatimus each added nine points apiece for YCS.

Charles Jennings, who canned 18 points for the Cowboys, torched the nets for 10 points in the third quarter as Chaney pulled to within 59-40, but Yanno added five more points in the final stanza to ensure the Eagles’ 18-point victory.

“We hit a team tonight that just couldn’t miss in the first half,” Marsh said. “When you get down 15 or 16 points early, it gets to be a challenge to have to battle back.

“To our credit our kids never quit. I have the utmost respect for Coach Carroll. He’s one of the best coaches in the area and Youngstown Christian is lucky to have him.

“He’s not only a great coach, but an even better man.”