Million scores 15 at RMU

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Six-foot-11 Josh Hill scored 16 points as Robert Morris beat Geneva, 93-47, Monday in front of 1,589 fans at the UPMC Events Center.

Thirteen players scored for the Colonials as their bench collected 57 points.

Senior Nick Million from Columbiana led Geneva with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range in 20 minutes.

Fellow Geneva senior Jonathan Bertovich from Heartland Christian played a game-high 32 minutes, finishing with seven assists and three rebounds.

Geneva will host Lancaster Bible College (Pa.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

YSU doubles up Shenango

YOUNGSTOWN (AP) — Imanuel Zorgvol scored 18 points to help Youngstown State defeat Penn State-Shenango 115-53 on Monday night.

Zorgvol also had six rebounds for the Penguins (2-1). Cam Polak went 5 of 8 from the field (4 for 7 from 3-point range) to add 14 points. Jaiden Haynes shot 5 for 8, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points, while adding four steals.

The Nittany Lions were led by Cameron Brown with 16 points. Garrett Hamrick added 13 points and D’Montez Owens totaled nine points and nine assists.

Rambo guides Titans into PAC tourney

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — The Westminster women’s volleyball team closed out the regular season by outlasting Allegheny, 20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10, at Ridly Gymnasium on Saturday.

Former Crestview High School standout Shelby Rambo was one of five Westminster seniors honored before the match.

Rambo collected eight kills, four blocks and four digs in the match as the Titans improve to 19-10 overall and 10-6 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

Westminster opens PAC tournament play at 7 p.m. today at Chatham University east of Pittsburgh.

Greenlief leads Waynesburg

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — After dropping a heart-breaking 1-0 contest in the finals of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament on Saturday, the Waynesburg University women’s soccer team willl play at least one more match this season.

The Yellow Jackets (15-3-2) have been selected to participate in the four-team Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament and will host Pitt-Greensburg (9-8-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Pitt-Greensburg beat Waynesburg 1-0 on Sept. 10.

Waynesburg junior goalkeeper Lex Greenlief from Oak Glen made 10 stops in the loss to Grove City, which won its third straight PAC championship.

Greenlief has started 19 matches this season, allowing 11 saves with 89 saves.

‘Tis the season for running

The holiday racing season has arrived and there these upcoming local events:

• The Greenway Half Marathon, 10k and 5k in Leetonia on Nov. 15.

• It’s Leg Day takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

• On Thanksgiving, the East Palestine Turkey Trot 5k race.

• Twas the Night Before 5k goes through The Joy of Christmas light display at Columbiana’s Firestone Park on Dec. 2.

• The Just a Jog 5k will take place from Columbiana High School on Jan. 18.

• The You Complete Me 5k at the Canfield Fairgrounds on Feb. 14.

Hunter ed class coming up

CHESTER, W.Va. — A hunter education class will be held from 1 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Chester-Newell Sportsmen’s Club. The class is free and good in all 50 states. To register, go to register-ed.com and find West Virginia and the class.

The club’s turkey shoots will be held at 10 a.m. every Sunday. Sign up is at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $30.

More uncertainty to Browns’ QB situation

Even though Kevin Stefanski maintained that Dillon Gabriel remains the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback, the coach added some uncertainty about when and who might eventually replace the rookie.

When asked Monday if Deshaun Watson would be cleared to practice this week, Stefanski answered: “I’m not sure if that’s what we’re doing.”

That marked the first time Stefanski has suggested Watson, who’s rehabbing after two Achilles tendon tears in three months, might soon return, rather than ruling it out or providing no update.

Watson has been rehabbing at the Browns’ facility and been involved in meetings in the quarterbacks room. He has also posted videos on social media of working out on the indoor field at the Browns’ facility.

If Watson would begin practicing, a 21-day window would open during which he wouldn’t count against the 53-player active roster.

Watson is 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter and unpopular among fans after the Browns traded three first-round picks to Houston for him in 2022 and signed him to a massive contract widely regarded as one of the worst in NFL history.

Going to Watson could further alienate an already restless fan base, as many are eager to see if touted rookie Shedeur Sanders will get his first chance to start at quarterback this season.

The calls for Sanders grew after a 27-20 loss to the New York Jets, who were previously winless at home and traded their two best defensive players early last week.

Gabriel completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, but he missed opportunities to hit open receivers. The uneven performance continued the debate about Gabriel’s hold on the starting job.

The third-round pick is 1-4 as the Browns starter and he has a 78.3 passer rating in his starts.

Stefanski was correct in saying it wasn’t one play that was a determining factor in the Browns falling to 2-7.

Instead, you can point to five that ended up resulting in a brutal loss despite having extra time to prepare coming out of a bye week. And it showed again why the Browns continue to be one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Cleveland became the eighth team since 1994, and the first since 2013, to allow both a kick and a punt return touchdown in the same quarter. Kene Nwangwu returned a kickoff 99 yards to tie it at 7 midway through the first quarter. After a three-and-out, Isaiah Williams brought back Corey Bojorquez’s punt 74 yards, putting the Jets ahead.

It was also the first time since 1999 that the Browns surrendered multiple punt return scores in a season.

The offense made small gains with coordinator Tommy Rees calling plays for the first time, but a fourth-and-1 at the Jets 33 with 10:21 left was not one. Cleveland trailed 24-17 when Rees put Gabriel in the shotgun and called a pass. The Jets pushed up the middle and Will McDonald IV drove left tackle Cam Robinson into the pocket and got the third of his four sacks of Gabriel.

The most inexcusable mistakes were made by the unit that has been the most reliable this season. The defense had two penalties in the final 2 minutes, which allowed the Jets to run out the clock. Linebacker Devin Bush was called for holding on third-and-16 with 1:50 remaining when Jets QB Justin Fields scrambled right and was looking to run time off the clock.

Defensive lineman Cam Thomas was then flagged for a neutral zone infraction on fourth-and-5 with 58 seconds left, allowing the Jets to go into victory formation. The defense was flagged for a season-high four penalties.

“Hard to win on the road, and certainly hard when you do some of the things we did in that ballgame,” Stefanski said.

What’s working

Running back Quinshon Judkins has forced 28 missed tackles, including eight against the Jets. Judkins rushed for 75 yards on Sunday, which included 22 yards gained after missed tackles. The second-round pick is tied for second among rookie running backs this year.

What needs help

Since Bubba Ventrone became special teams coach in 2023, the Browns have allowed a league-high three punt return touchdowns and a 12.1-yard punt return average, fourth highest in the NFL.

Stock up

Jerry Jeudy posted season highs with six catches and 78 yards, plus his first touchdown of the season on a 22-yard pass from Gabriel. He was targeted on 32.4% of his routes after averaging just 18.7% in the first eight games.

Stock down

The offensive line allowed six sacks and 24 pressures. Offensive tackles Robinson and Jack Conklin allowed four sacks.

Injuries

DE Alex Wright suffered a quadriceps injury in the third quarter and did not return. … WR Isaiah Bond was out with a foot injury.

Key numbers

2 — Times in the past 14 games the Browns scored over 17 points.

13 — Consecutive road losses. The Browns haven’t won away from home since Week 2 last season against Jacksonville.

Next steps

The Browns have a six-game AFC North losing streak as they prepare to host the surging Ravens on Sunday. Baltimore (4-5) has a three-game winning streak since starting the season 1-5.

Eagles survive Packers in defensive struggle

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw a 36-yard pass to DeVonta Smith for Philadelphia’s only touchdown as the Eagles’ defense led the way to a 10-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

Brandon McManus’ attempt at a game-tying, 64-yard field goal as time expired fell several yards short.

Green Bay’s second straight loss dropped the Packers (5-3-1) to third place in the NFC North, behind Detroit and Chicago. The Packers, who owned the NFC’s best record before their 16-13 loss to Carolina on Nov. 2, would have the conference’s seventh and final playoff seed if the regular season ended now.

A defensive struggle that featured the first halftime tie of the season had a serious lack of big plays until the Eagles (7-2) delivered a one-two punch early in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia led 3-0 and faced third-and-7 from its own 23 when Saquon Barkley caught a pass 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, made a spin move past cornerback Carrington Valentine and burst up-field for a 41-yard gain.

On the next play, Smith made a leaping catch in the end zone over safety Evan Williams, giving the Eagles a 10-0 lead with 10:35 remaining.

Green Bay cut Philadelphia’s advantage to 10-7 on Josh Jacobs’ 6-yard touchdown run with 5:49 left. The Packers then had a couple more opportunities in the closing minutes.

The Packers got the ball back at their own 10 with 2:18 and two timeouts remaining, but that drive ended when Josh Jacobs fumbled while getting stopped for a 4-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 44.

Green Bay had one last chance with 27 seconds left from its own 36 after the Eagles threw a long incompletion on fourth-and-6 rather than punting. An 18-yard completion from Jordan Love to Bo Melton got the Packers beyond midfield, but McManus couldn’t convert what would have been the longest field goal in team history.

The Packers couldn’t get a measure of revenge against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Philadelphia had beaten the Packers twice last season, knocking them off 34-29 in Brazil on the season’s opening week and then beating them 22-10 at Philadelphia in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs.

During the offseason, the Packers proposed banning the tush push that Philadelphia has used so effectively in short-yardage situations over the last few years. The measure was supported by 22 of the NFL’s 32 teams, two votes shy of the three-quarters majority needed for passage.

The Packers actually executed the first quarterback sneak of the game, and Love didn’t need a push to convert a fourth-and-1 on the game’s opening series. During its first drive, Philadelphia answered with a tush push that gave Hurts a 3-yard gain on third-and-1 from the Eagles’ 18-yard line.

There weren’t many other successful plays by either offense for much of the night.

This was the first NFL game to be scoreless at halftime since Dec. 10, 2023, when both the Minnesota Vikings’ 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets’ 30-6 triumph over the Houston Texans had no first-half points. Philadelphia finally broke through when Jake Elliott’s 39-yard field goal capped the Eagles’ opening series of the second half.

Each quarterback fumbled away his team’s best first-half scoring opportunity.

Green Bay’s Edgerrin Cooper knocked the ball away from Hurts at the end of an 11-yard run that would have put the Eagles inside Green Bay’s 15-yard line on Philadelphia’s opening series. Keisean Nixon recovered the fumble and returned it 22 yards.

The Packers had second-and-10 at Philadelphia’s 27 in the final minute of the second quarter when Love lost the ball while getting sacked by Nakobe Dean. The fumble was recovered by Jaelan Phillips, who was making his Eagles debut after coming over from Miami at the trade deadline last week.

Injuries

Eagles: RT Lane Johnson went to the locker room with an ankle injury in the second quarter but returned in the fourth quarter. C Cam Jurgens (knee) didn’t play.

Packers: C Elgton Jenkins (ankle) and WR Romeo Doubs (chest) left the game. WR Matthew Golden (shoulder), DL Lukas Van Ness (foot) and CB Nate Hobbs (knee) didn’t play.

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