43
It was a very good year for sports in the Valley and across northeastern Ohio
Ohio, and more specifically, northeastern Ohio has historically been one of the top areas of the country for gripping sports stories.
From titles to crushing defeats, state champions and streaks being snapped: Northeast Ohio had something new at every turn in 2016 from a sports perspective.
147 SEASONS IN THE MAKING
Topping everything was the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the first professional sports championship the city had seen since 1964 when the Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship Game.
Prior to the Cavs coming back from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit to the Golden State Warriors, the Browns, Cavs and Indians had combined for 147 seasons with no championships.
But all that changed when LeBron James blocked Andre Iguodala’s layup attempt and Kyrie Irving nailed a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play to down the best team the NBA had ever seen in the regular season.
The subsequent celebration parade saw about 1 million people flood the streets of The Forest City.
NEARLY TWO IN A ROW
Northeast Ohio nearly saw a World Series title just a few months after the Cavaliers’ NBA title when the Indians had the Chicago Cubs down 3-1 in The Fall Classic before the “Loveable Losers” for decades broke a curse of their own, rallying for three-straight wins.
Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 7, the Indians rallied to tie the game after Rajai Davis homered off of star closer Aroldis Chapman, sending the game to extra innings. But an RBI-double by Ben Zobrist and an RBI single by Miguel Montero were enough to survive the 10th inning and the Cubs broke a 108-year World Series drought.
Television ratings estimated 40 million people watched Game 7 of the World Series as casual fans became captivated between the two tortured franchises. It was the most watched baseball game in 15 years.
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1997
While professional teams in northeast Ohio have found success in 2016, Youngstown State’s football team has found that success as well.
The Penguins will play James Madison on Jan. 7 for the FCS National Championship. A win would give YSU their first national title in 19 seasons.
Bo Pelini’s squad makes quite the story. Not only has the former Nebraska head coach returned to his hometown, but the team has battled through four quarterbacks, a struggling offense that couldn’t find the end zone for multiple weeks, multiple suspensions to major contributors and had to play an extra game in the playoffs as an unseeded team.
Now the Penguins are one more win from hanging another banner and championship flag at Stambaugh Stadium if they can defeat the fourth-seeded Dukes on a Saturday afternoon in Texas.
golden jacket
Youngstown native and former owner of the San Francisco 49ers from 1977-2000 Edward DeBartolo Jr. was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton this past summer.
DeBartolo owned the 49ers during their most successful years, winning five Super Bowls in 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1995.
The Cardinal Mooney graduate was included in a hall of fame class which also included Dick Stanfel, Ken Stabler, Orlando Pace, Kevin Greene, Brett Favre and Tony Dungy.
TWO IN THREE YEARS?
The Ohio State football team has a large following in northeast Ohio and is making their mark on the college football landscape this year as well.
The Buckeyes are two wins away from a national championship of their own if Urban Meyer’s squad can defeat the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff semifinals and the winner of the Washington-Alabama game after the new year.
The Buckeyes are no stranger to playoff runs at this time of year. OSU won the 2014 playoff as a four seed in the four-team bracket.
Ohio State made things interesting in terms of their playoff bid when they were upset by rival Penn State in October. The Nittany Lions scored 17 fourth-quarter points to stun OSU 24-21, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Buckeyes out of the playoffs.
EAGLES SOAR
Keeping with the football theme, the Warren JFK Eagles rattled off a season the school will remember for eons.
Jeff Bayuk’s team stormed through Division VII, finishing the regular season with a 9-1 record before blowing through the playoffs and winning a state championship over Minster at Ohio Stadium.
The Eagles outscored their opponents 174-29 in the playoffs and after falling behind Minster 6-0 in the state title game, JFK scored 24 unanswered points to take home the trophy.
Evan Boyd racked up 204 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the win.
STREAK SNAPPED
Mount Union’s football team, a team that has become synonymous with winning, was shocked by John Carroll this season.
The 31-28 defeat to the Blue Streaks was the first regular-season loss for the Purple Raiders in 22 years. And that shocking blemish in Mount Union’s loss column became even more shocking when Mary Hardin-Baylor stunned the purple and black with a 14-12 win in the Division III semifinals.
The loss meant it was the first time since 2004 the Purple Raiders weren’t in the Division III National Championship game.
CONFERENCE POWERHOUSE
Moving onto other sports, Youngstown State was a force to be reckoned with in the Horizon League in terms of track and field and cross country.
The YSU men won the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championship in February while the Penguins swept the outdoor titles with the women and men both winning championships in May.
Conner Neu broke the school record in the hammer throw, won the Horizon League’s Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year award and finished 11th in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the hammer throw.
The YSU men’s cross country team also won their first conference title since 1996, winning the Horizon League Championship in October, dominating the field, defeating second-place Milwaukee by 20 points.
FASTER THAN THE REST
Mahoning Valley track and field stars had strong showings at the state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Stadium in June.
State champions included Poland’s 4x100 meter relay team consisting of Doug Rutana, Matthew Holsinger, Colten McFadden and Gino Centofanti, who defeated Galion by 0.02 seconds in the final.
Girard’s Collin Harden blew away the competition in the 300 meter hurdles, winning state by a half second to end his high-school career on top.
McDonald’s 4x400 meter relay team consisting of Iva Domitrovich, Sara Joseph, Abbie Matig and Malina Mitchell also captured a state championship. The team came from behind to beat Archbold and Minster down the home stretch.
sister act
Canfield’s sisterly duo of Hannah and Sydney Cianciola went down to Mason this fall and returned to northeast Ohio with a state championship in doubles tennis.
The pair won all of their state matches, with the exception of one, in straight sets. The senior and sophomore won the championship in Mason with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Maria and Anne Sivick of Green.
Hannah had been eliminated each of the last three years on the first day of the state tournament, but dominated the field along with her sister to bring a title back to Canfield.
ON THE ICE
Across the border in western Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Penguins captured their first Stanley Cup Finals win since the 2008-09 season, defeating the San Jose Sharks in six games.
Sidney Crosby was named the series’ Most Valuable Player and the Penguins became the only team in a 2016 championship series to hold onto a 3-1 series lead in North American professional sports.
It was the Penguins’ fourth Stanley Cup title and didn’t seem very likely after the team fired head coach Mike Johnston on Dec. 12. But the hire of Mike Sullivan and the acquisition of several key players either from trades or call-ups propelled the team to a playoff spot and ultimately a championship.
Closer to home, longtime assistant coach Brad Patterson was named the new head coach of the Youngstown Phantoms.