SPORTS DIGEST || Star Wars Night to benefit hospital

Star Wars Night to benefit hospital

YOUNGSTOWN

The Phantoms to host Star Wars Night benefiting Akron Children’s Hospital of Mahoning Valley on December 29th at the Covelli Centre as they take on the Madison Capitols.

With the purchase of an adult ticket kids get in free. Plus the first 1,000 kids will receive a free light sword courtesy of The Shops at Boardman Park. During the first intermission there will be an on ice parade of fans who dressed up as Star Wars characters.

Phantom players will wear specialty Star Wars Jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game. Proceeds from the jersey auction and the 50/50 will be going to Akron Children’s Hospital of the Mahoning Valley.

For tickets to the game call 330-747-7825 or visit www.youngstownphantoms.com.

Boardman grad excels at bowl game

NASSAU, BAHAMAS

Boardman graduate Evan Croutch played a key role in Ohio’s 41-6 win against UAB in the Bahamas Bowl on Friday.

The redshirt-junior linebacker made eight tackles.

Florida State: FCS win counts for eligibility

Florida State says Delaware State did meet NCAA requirements that allow the Seminoles to count their victory against the FCS team toward bowl eligibility.

Questions about whether the Seminoles had indeed reached six countable wins were raised by fans who analyzed data on athletic scholarships provided by Delaware State and posted the findings on the website Reddit. The analysis found the school had failed use 90 percent of its football scholarship funds, which is required for an FCS team to be countable toward FBS bowl eligibility.

Florida State released a statement Friday night saying the information posted was incomplete and failed to account for “a long-standing NCAA rule interpretation that permits institutions to use academic scholarships and other forms of non-athletic institutional aid received by student-athletes in the computation.”

Hamsik breaks Maradona’s goal record

NAPLES, ITALY

Marek Hamsik has become Napoli’s all-time record scorer after netting his 116th goal for the Serie A club to surpass Argentine great Diego Maradona’s tally.

Hamsik took the record outright by scoring after 39 minutes in Napoli’s league game against Sampdoria on Saturday.

Allan dribbled through three players in the area before picking out Dries Mertens, who rolled the ball across for Hamsik to tap in from close range.

The goal put Napoli 3-2 ahead and the Slovenia midfielder was immediately surrounded and embraced by nearly all his teammates.

It has taken Hamsik 11 seasons and 478 appearances to reach that tally. Maradona, who was a forward, set the 115-goal mark in 259 games in seven seasons with Napoli.

Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles, in 1987 and 1990.

Dubuque’s Joseph wins Cliff Harris Award

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.

Dubuque’s Michael Joseph is the winner of this year’s Cliff Harris Award, which honors the nation’s top small-college defensive player.

Joseph on Saturday became the first Division III player to win the award.

He led the Iowa Conference with eight interceptions and twice had three interceptions in a game. The defensive back returned his only career kickoff return for a 96-yard touchdown.

The award honors Cliff Harris, who went undrafted out of Ouachita Baptist and later played safety in five Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. The award was first given out in 2013.

To be eligible, a player must be in NCAA divisions II or III or the NAIA. The award is presented by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and the Wright, Lindsey, Jennings law firm.

Staff/wire report