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PEACE RACE
YOUNGSTOWN -- Former Columbiana High School standout Justin Boggs won the two-mile race during the 52nd annual Youngstown Peace Race on Sunday.
Boggs was first out of 306 finishers in a time of 11 minutes, 45 seconds.
He was followed by the Dudek family from Columbiana.
Crestview seventh grader Azariah Dudek was second (12:15) and sister Azalea Dudek, a Crestview eighth-grader was 10th (14:13). Peter Dudek, was 12th (14:34).
There were 430 finishers in the 11K race and 83 finishers in the 25K race.
In the 11K race, Natalie Guappone of Lisbon was seventh in the women’s division and 34th overall (52:31).
In the 25K race, Anna Shivers of Salem was third in the women's division and 25th overall (2:17:50) and Jessica Irwin of Columbiana was eighth in the women's division and 38th overall (2:29:24).
POLL CHAMPS ANNOUNCED
The Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association released its final state poll of the season on Sunday. Poll champions were: Seton (Div. I), Magnificat (Div. II), Archbishop McNicholas (Div. III), Bishop Fenwick (Div. IV), Coldwater (Div. V), Patrick Henry (Div. VI) and Calvert (Div. VII). No area teams were ranked in the top 10. Crestview did receive votes in Div. V. Martins Ferry was fourth in Div. V, while South Range was fifth. In Div. IV state volleyball power Mentor Lake Catholic was second, while Canfield was 10th.
STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE SET
CANTON -- The Ohio High School Athletic Association state football championships will be held Dec. 3-5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Div. II title game will kick things off at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3. On Dec. 4, the Div. V (10:30 a.m.), Div. III (3 p.m.) and Div. I (7:30 p.m.) title games will be played. On Dec. 5, Div. VII (10:30 a.m.), Div. VI (3 p.m.) and Div. IV (7:30 p.m.) will be held.
All-session general admission tickets are $95 for adults and $60 for students. All Friday or all Saturday tickets are $42 for adults and $30 for students.
See the OHSAA web site for details.
AMATO LED N.C. STATE
Chuck Amato, the longtime Florida State assistant football coach who went on to lead his alma mater at N.C. State for seven seasons, has died at the age of 80.
Amato died early Monday at his Raleigh home under hospice care, the school announced on its athletics website. Amato had previously battled throat cancer and eventually lost his voice.
Amato led the Wolfpack from 2000-06, highlighted by the four-year career of eventual NFL star quarterback Philip Rivers and an 11-win season in 2002 that stands as the program’s only season with double-digit wins in its history. He did it with flair, from his barrel-chested bravado to attention-grabbing choices for sunglasses and sneakers as he roamed the sideline for the program he played for in the 1960s.
“A huge personality, a great mentor to coaches and players alike, and a great alumnus,” current Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said Monday, noting that Amato had come to practices and sat in meetings earlier in Doeren’s 14-year tenure.
Among those offering tributes on Monday were North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, who remembered Amato as “NC State to his core” in a social media post. Retired NFL coach Bill Cowher thanked Amato for “your influence and guidance in shaping me as a young LB” during Cowher’s playing days at N.C. State while Amato was a Wolfpack assistant in the 1970s.
Earlier Monday, Duke coach Manny Diaz remembered Amato for giving him a start in coaching as an FSU graduate assistant.
“Wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for Chuck Amato,” Diaz said during a news conference in Durham, adding: “I don’t know of anybody who loved N.C. State University more than Chuck Amato did.”
The Easton, Pennsylvania, native was a Wolfpack linebacker from 1965-67, which included N.C. State sharing an Atlantic Coast Conference title in 1965 under coach Earle Edwards. Amato was also an ACC champion wrestler.
Amato would later spend nine seasons as a Wolfpack assistant before later moving to FSU, working as a defensive assistant under famed coach Bobby Bowden during the Seminoles’ 1990s peak that included national titles in 1993 and 1999.
It was after that latter championship run that he returned to N.C. State as head coach. His first game was a rain-soaked double-overtime win against Arkansas State, with Rivers starting as a true freshman on his way to a four-year career as the Wolfpack’s QB.
Amato went 49-37 at N.C. State, winning five bowl games as well as handing FSU and Bowden its first-ever ACC home loss in 2001 -- the Seminoles’ 10th season in the league -- and coaching a No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in defensive end Mario Williams. There were off-field gains, too, as the school invested in upgrades and renovations to Carter-Finley Stadium as it sought to capitalize on the early buzz from Amato’s return.
He was fired after a 3-9 season in 2006. He returned to Bowden’s last staffs at FSU (2007-09), then had a stint as Akron’s associate head coach before retiring in 2018.
MICHIGAN WON’T SAY WHO IS QB
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Mum’s the word at Michigan.
Kyle Whittingham said he has decided whether Bryce Underwood or Tommy Carr is the Wolverines’ starting quarterback against No. 6 Indiana, but the veteran coach doesn’t want to let the Hoosiers know before their matchup at the Big House this weekend.
“We’re not going to tip our hand,” Whittingham said Monday.
Underwood was benched and Carr was given a chance on Saturday -- with Michigan trailing Penn State 3-0 at halftime -- and the grandson of two College Football Hall of Famers and the brother of Notre Dame’s quarterback made the most of his opportunity.
Carr led two touchdown drives in the third quarter, and his 12-yard touchdown run on third-and-9 late in the game gave Michigan a two-score lead it needed for a win to avoid starting 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967.
His grandfathers are Lloyd Carr, who led the Wolverines to the 1997 national title, and Tom Curtis, who was an All-America defensive back and holds the school’s career interceptions record. His brother, CJ Carr, is starting at quarterback for the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish.
Underwood threw two interceptions in the second quarter against the Nittany Lions. The sophomore, who was the nation’s No. 1 recruit last year, has thrown six interceptions and five touchdowns this season.
QUALIFYING OFFERS RISE
NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of a qualifying offer for this year’s major league free agents rose 5.1% to $23.15 million from $22,025,000.
The figure is determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year. The price dropped by $100,000 to $17.8 million in 2019, then rose to $18.9 million in 2020, fell $500,000 in 2021 and rose to $19.65 million in 2022, $20,325,000 in 2023 and $21.05 million in 2024.
Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only 18 of 157 offers have been accepted.
A free agent can be made a qualifying offer only if he has been with the same team continuously since opening day and has never received a qualifying offer before.
Among the top players who can become free agents after the World Series and are eligible to receive qualifying offers are Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena, New York Yankees left-hander David Bednar, Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers, Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe, San Diego left-hander Adrian Morejon, Baltimore left-hander Trevor Roger and Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki.
A record four players accepted last year from among the 13 who received offers: Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga, Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff, New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham and Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Other potential free agents ineligible for qualifying offers this offseason include Philadelphia second baseman Luis Arraez, Baltimore right-hander Chris Bassitt, New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette, Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen, San Diego right-hander Michael King, Padres left-hander Robbie Ray, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Toronto outfielder George Springer.
Bichette and King must decide on player options.
A qualifying offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept.
RAMS LOSE KEY ASSET
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Rams receiver Davante Adams will be out for six to 10 weeks with a significant hamstring injury, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said Monday.
The Rams (2-4) also lost veteran defensive tackle Poona Ford for the season due to a ruptured triceps, and defensive tackle Kobie Turner is going on injured reserve with a groin injury amid a cascade of health setbacks for the struggling preseason Super Bowl favorites, who have lost three of four.
Adams, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and the NFL’s leader in touchdown catches last season, apparently got hurt on the Rams’ penultimate offensive snap in their embarrassing 18-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The injury happened on a noncontact play, with Adams pulling up in the end zone and hobbling to the sideline.
The 33-year-old Adams has 30 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns this season, his 13th in the NFL. He missed three games late last season with a hamstring injury, but returned for the playoffs.
“It’s significant when you don’t have a player like Davante, but we have to be able to adjust,” McVay said. “His contributions can’t be measured. You don’t replace somebody like him, and so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to be able to figure out what’s the next right thing? What does that look like in terms of our vision? We’ll have to adjust and adapt.”
Adams’ injury is particularly significant to the Rams because they don’t have a trusted No. 3 receiver on their roster behind him and All-Pro Puka Nacua. Konata Mumpfield’s eight catches for 127 yards are the third-most for a Rams wide receiver this season.
Los Angeles also didn’t have an effective No. 3 wideout last season, and Matthew Stafford threw to his depth receivers with less frequency than any other quarterback on a playoff team.
Ford is a nine-year NFL veteran in his second season with the Rams. He has played just under 40% of their defensive snaps this season as a space-filling lineman alongside Turner and Aaron Donald.
Turner is on the field much more frequently than Ford for the Rams, but the fourth-year pro with 22 tackles this season also will miss “a handful of games,” McVay said.
McVay confirmed new kicker Blake Grupe is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his knee while making a tackle on kickoff coverage. The Rams will have to sign their third kicker of the season before they visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
McVay said star cornerback Trent McDuffie is “feeling much better” after missing Sunday’s game with an injury picked up in practice late last week. The Rams won’t determine whether McDuffie will play against the Raiders until later in the week.