November 14, 2005

Athletics > November 14, 2005

Monday, November 14, 2005

Tues. 15 Women's Basketball (H) vs. Ursuline 6 pm

Men's Basketball (H) Daemen 8 pm / AM 900 WCER

Fri. 19 Men's Basketball at Roberts Wesleyan 8 pm / AM 900 WCER

Women's Basketball at Wheeling Jesuit 6 pm

Sat. 20 Men's Basketball at Houghton 4 pm / AM 900 WCER

Women's Basketball vs. West Liberty at Wheeling Jesuit 4 pm

Cross Country at NAIA Nationals/Louisville, KY 10:30 am

FOOTBALL: Cavs (8-3, 5-2) Fall to Saint Francis/Miss Playoffs

Walsh (8-3, 5-2) lost a heartbreaker to NAIA No. 2 University of Saint Francis (10-0, 7-0) 21-7 at Fawcett Stadium in a Mid-States Football Association Mideast game last Saturday. The loss denied the Cavs a share of the Mideast crown and their first ever NAIA playoff berth, as they dropped to number 18 in the final poll. The Cavs finished 15th in the NAIAFOOTBALL.NET poll and 14th in the Hansen Gazette poll. Unfortunately for Walsh, it's the NAIA Coaches poll that determines the post season. For Walsh, it was their fifth consecutive 8-3 season and the seventh straight time that they were defeated by Saint Francis in the final game. For what it's worth, the Cavs maybe the only team in the country, at any level, to finish five straight years 8-3 and never qualify for the post season or a bowl game.

The Cavs gave one of their finest efforts in team history against the second ranked Cougars. Walsh struck first, when Rayshaun Kizer (Jr., Euclid, OH/HS) intercepted a Cougar pass on the Walsh 18-yard line and returned it ten yards to the 28. Walsh then marched 72 yards in nine plays to take the lead on a three-yard run by Antwain Reine' (So., Dayton, OH/Trotwood Madison). The PAT gave the Cavs a 7-0 lead. USF tied the game on the next possession, with a 17-play, 80-yard drive, when QB Chris Brammel scored on a one-yard run. The PAT tied the game at 7-7, with 1:10 to play in the first quarter. USF took the lead for the good at the 10:26 mark of the second period, when Jeremiah Wood caught a three-yard pass from Brammel. The PAT gave the Cougars a 14-7 halftime lead.

The teams traded interceptions in the scoreless third quarter, with Walsh blocking a 32-yard field goal and holding USF without points in the third quarter for the first time this season. The game remained tied, when Walsh started a drive at their 35-yard line with 8:47 to play. Chase Hostetler (Jr., New Philadelphia, OH/HS) caught a pass from Sam Cerreta (So., North Canton, OH/HS) and advanced the ball to the USF 47-yard line. Walsh kept moving and reached the 25-yard line when Cerreta hit Donel Durham (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/Schenley) for a first down at the USF eight-yard line for a first and goal. Hostetler rushed five yards to the three-yard line, and then lost a yard to the four with a little over two minutes to play. Walsh then faced third and goal on the four-yard line when disaster struck. With Cerreta rolling to his left, he lofted the ball over the head of fullback Brad Jarrett (Sr., North Ridgeville, OH/HS) and into the hands of USF's Paul Carter, who raced 100-yards for a score to ice the win for the Cougars. It was Carter's third interception of the day.

Walsh held the high-scoring Cougars 20 points below their scoring average of 41.7 points per game. For USF, it was their 27th straight MSFA Mideast win. Dustin Stewart (R-Fr., Ravenna, OH/Southeast) led the Cavs with 80 yards rushing. Hostetler added 78 yards.

Antwain Reine' finished second in the MSFA in rushing with 1,094 yards. Reine' led the MSFA with a 5.3 average. Dustin Stewart finished eighth in rushing with 710 yards and averaged 4.6 per carry. Rob Lash led the MSFA in kick returns (32.3), third in punt returns (12.2), fourth in all purpose yardage (139.1) and fifth in scoring (6.5). Lash led the Cavs with 38 catches and 12 TDs. As a team, the Cavs led the MSFA in kickoff returns (26.1), punting (38.4) and third down conversations (.509). Walsh's three tailbacks, Hostetler, Reine' and Stewart, rushed for a combined 1,988 yards.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: McKee/Zundel Set for Nationals

Walsh will send Brendan McKee (Fr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Chris Zundel (Jr., Madison, OH/HS) to Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday for the 50th annual NAIA Championships. McKee earned the trip with a 17th place finish (27:05) at the AMC/Region IX meet two weeks ago. He was also named honorable mention All-AMC. Chris Zundel (Jr., Madison, OH/HS) finished 28th in a time of 27:40 to qualify. Both are going for the first time. The 8k race starts at 10:30 am at Tom Sawyer Park.

VOLLEYBALL: Cavs (21-14, 8-8) Fall at AMC Tourney

Walsh's (21-14) season came to an end, when they were defeated by Seton Hill University in the second of the American Mideast Conference Tournament. The Cavs advanced to the second round after defeating Houghton University in a first round match. The season ending defeat in the AMC Tournament, marked the first time since 2000 that the Cavs did not advance to the NAIA Region IX Tournament.

Walsh defeated Houghton College in four games (29-31, 30-11, 32-30, 30-21) in their first match of the tournament. Jillian Barry (5-5, So., Salem, OH/HS) paced the attack with 56 assists, Jamie Herr (5-9, Jr., Attica, OH/Seneca East) had 19 kills and Katie Vellucci (Jr., Canton, OH/GlenOak) 16. Heather Hernandez (5-9, Oakdale, CA/HS) led with 20 digs and Erica Parker (6-0, Fr., Concord, OH/Mentor) had four aces.

The season then came to a close, when they were defeated by Seton Hill College in three games. The Cavs lost game one 21-30, game two 28-30 and game three 40-42. The combined point total of 82 in game three is the most in Cavaliers' history. Jillian Barry led the Cavs with 47 assists. Jamie Herr had 17 digs and Erica Parker 16 kills. Barry ended the season with 1371 assists for a 12.7 average. Parker led the team with 454 kills and a 3.8 per game average. She also led with a .379 attack percentage. Herr paced the squad with 426 digs (3.7), Parker led in blocks (36) and in aces (47).

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Open Defense of NAIA Title With Two Wins/Araujo Classic MVP

Walsh opened defense of its first NAIA National Championship with back-to-back wins at the Notre Dame College (OH) Holiday Inn Classic on Friday and Saturday. This week the Cavs open the home season on Tuesday night (8 pm) against Daemen College, then travel to Roberts Wesleyan on Friday (8 pm) and to Houghton College on Saturday (4 pm). All three games will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the internet at www.wcer.us.

Walsh (1-0) opened defense of its NAIA D-II National Championship with a 76-68 win over the University of Saint Francis (IN) (2-2) in the season opener. Behind 14 first half points from Brandon Weems (Fr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and 10 from Eder Araujo (So., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Odete Maria de Freitas), the Cavs built a 43-33 halftime lead. Walsh led by as many as 14 points in the second half, with St. Francis getting no closer than four points. Araujo tallied 11 second half points to finish with a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Weems finished with 18 points and Corey Jones (So., Avon Lake, OH/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) added 13 points. Jason Hicks (Jr., Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) rebounded from a slow first half, to finish with 11 points, with eight coming in the second half. The Cavs shot .483 from the field and .391 from three-point. They out rebounded the Cougars 40-32.

Walsh improved to 2-0 after drubbing the University of Michigan-Dearborn 92-58 on Saturday. Walsh shot .559 from the field in the first half in building a 48-34 halftime advantage. The second half was all Walsh, as they held UMD to just 24 points on 9-38 from the field and outscoring the Wolves 44-24. Eder Araujo led a balanced Walsh attack with 17 points and nine rebounds and was named the tournament MVP. Cleiton Sebastio (Sr., Santa Luzia, Brazil/Colegio Brasieleiro Dia) came off the bench to score 16 points on 6-7 from the floor. He also added seven rebounds. Corey Jones and Jason Hicks each tallied 12 points. Hicks also had seven rebounds. Brandon Weems who scored 18 points on Friday night, was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

Walsh opens the home season on Tuesday at 8 pm against Daemen College. Before the opening tip, the team will receive their 2004-05 National Championship rings in pre-game ceremonies.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Open 27th Season

Walsh opens its 27 season, at home, against Ursuline College on Tuesday night (6 pm). The Cavs then hit the road for the weekend at the Wheeling Jesuit Classic. The Cavs tangle with Wheeling on Friday night (8 pm) and meet West Liberty State on Saturday at 4 pm.

Head Coach Theresa Berg (101-100, 7 yrs.) returns nine letter winners and four starters from 2004-05. The Cavs finished 11-17 overall and 5-13 (8th) in the South Division of the American Mideast Conference. Walsh was picked tied for seventh in the AMC's preseason poll. For a complete season outlook, log onto www.walsh.edu and navigate to women's basketball.