YSU’s St. Surin earns MVFC specialist award

November 20, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State wide receiver Samuel St. Surin was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound red-shirt freshman from Delray Beach, Fla., recovered a botched snap in the end zone for a touchdown in the Penguins’ 38-10 win over Missouri State.

In a 3-0 contest at the time, a high snap landed in the MSU end zone and St. Surin hustled to recover it for a TD. He also caught a pass for a 6-yard gain. He plays on YSU’s punt return, punt coverage and kickoff coverage teams.

UCLA fires Mora after 4th straight loss to USC

LOS ANGELES

UCLA has fired football coach Jim Mora, the day after the Bruins lost to rival Southern California for the fourth straight year.

Athletic director Dan Guerrero announced the move Sunday. UCLA fell 28-23 at USC on Saturday night to drop to 5-6 on the season. The Bruins can still become bowl eligible with a victory against California next Saturday but it will be another disappointing season regardless.

Mora went 46-30 record in six years with the Bruins, but the program has slid backward over the last three years. The former NFL coach won 29 games in his first three seasons, but with starting quarterback Josh Rosen, UCLA is 17-19 since 2015, including 10-16 in the Pac-12.

Guerrero says in a statement: “Jim helped re-establish our football program, and was instrumental in so many ways in moving the program forward. While his first four seasons at UCLA were very successful, the past two seasons have not met expectations.”

Oklahoma QB Mayfield contrite after antics

LAWRENCE, Kan.

Baker Mayfield knows full well by now that the television cameras are always on him, part of the gig when you’re the starting quarterback at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma.

Not to mention the Heisman Trophy front-runner.

The downside to all that attention is what occurred on Saturday. After getting slighted during the coin toss by the captains from Kansas, the fiery Mayfield proceeded with a series of histrionics that forced him to apologize after the 41-3 rout to just about everyone: his teammates, fans, even the kids who wanted his autograph.

There was the near-constant jawing with the Jayhawks. The back-and-forth with fans seated behind the Oklahoma bench. The cursing at Kansas coaches and, ultimately, the lewd crotch grabbing.

“In the moment, you do something, you get caught up in the emotional stuff,” Mayfield said afterward, never once ducking a question about his antics. “I talk about being a competitive player. When I realized the coaches said something, that’s when I realized that I really messed up.”

Sooners coach Lincoln Riley didn’t witness the lewd gesture, only hearing about it when the third-ranked Sooners returned to the postgame locker room. He praised Mayfield’s competitive nature but acknowledged that he’d gone out of bounds, saying “we can’t have that and he can’t do that.”

Yankees acquire teen pitching prospect

NEW YORK

The New York Yankees acquired 17-year-old Dominican prospect Juan Then from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

New York sent right-handed reliever Nick Rumbelow to Seattle for the right-hander Then and left-hander J.P. Sears.

Then was signed by Seattle last year at age 16 and went 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 13 starts with the Dominican Summer League Mariners in 2017.

Sears, 21, was drafted by Seattle in the 11th round this year and went 1-2 with a 0.65 ERA and three saves in 17 relief appearances for Single-A Everett and Clinton.

Rumbelow, 26, made 17 appearances for the Yankees in 2015, going 1-1 with a 4.02 ERA in 15 innings. In five minor league seasons, he’s 14-8 with a 2.73 ERA and 29 saves in 126 relief appearances.

Staff and wire reports