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STILL PENGUIN PROUD
YOUNGSTOWN
Thousands enjoyed the first- ever FCS championship watch party at the Covelli Centre on Saturday, but not so much the result of the game in which Youngstown State lost to James Madison.
Chuck Beltz and his daughter, Heather Beltz, both of Boardman and both at their first watch party, described the event as exciting.
Chuck, a 1971 graduate of YSU, said he was “happy to be here. We didn’t have an opportunity to go to Texas, so this is the next best thing to being there.”
He said he was disappointed in the outcome, but noted: “We were in the championship game.”
“Just being in the championship game is a feather in the Penguins’ hat,” said Heather, a graduate of Bowling Green State University and a teacher at Stambaugh Charter Academy in Youngstown.
As the Covelli Centre began to empty in the fourth quarter when it became unlikely that the Penguins would make a comeback, Carlotta Sparks of Youngstown, who was accompanied at the watch party by several of her grandchildren, described the party as “awesome” and said she would stay to the end.
A self-described “die-hard Cleveland Browns fan,” Sparks said she was “proud of the YSU team and not disappointed with its loss. I wish we could have won the game, but we’re in the championship game.”
Interviewed early during Saturday’s game, James Cecil of Campbell, originally of Youngstown, said he came to the watch party with his nephew, Daniel ll, “to be part of the celebration.”
At that point, Cecil thought the Penguins still “had a shot” at winning, despite all the mistakes made by the special teams.
“At least we scored better than Ohio State University in its playoff game,” he said with a chuckle, referring to the Buckeyes’ 31-0 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Friends Aaliah Frost of Youngstown, a sophomore at Austintown Fitch High School, and Amerah Green of Youngstown, a freshman at YSU Early College, both big football fans, said it was “kind of fun to be part of the watch party supporting the YSU football team.”
Interviewed at halftime of the game, Bob Baker of Howland, accompanied by his son, Michael Baker, and Michael’s friends David Ford and Jim Lerakis, all YSU students, said the Penguins could come back but would have to quit making mistakes.
McGiffin credited JAC Management Group LLC, the management firm at the Covelli Centre; Covelli Enterprises, Youngstown State University and the city administration and council for “stepping up” financially to make the free watch party possible. McGiffin also thanked area residents for coming out to support the Penguins.
In defeating YSU 28-14, the Dukes became the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision champions, winning their second national title. Before 2006, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA championship. The Penguins were trying to win their fifth national title.
About 4,500 excited fans came through the doors of the Covelli Centre for the watch party, said Mike McGiffin, Youngstown’s coordinator of downtown events and special projects.
The game, which got underway at noon, was played in Frisco, Texas.