Branch flag football set to go

BELOIT — West Branch’s flag football team will hold its first games on Sunday at Rayen Stadium in Youngstown. The Warriors will play Rootstown at 1 p.m. and Newton Falls at 3 p.m.

West Branch will play 10 games on the season — all on the road — over five Sundays.

Warriors on the roster include Tallie Muniz, Morgan Kurtz, Allison Kanagy, Abigail Janosik, Faith Hicks, Ciara Evans, Allie Brammer, Samantha Beatty, Erin Albert, Makenna Woost, Cambrie Nezbeth, Julia Egli, Nicole Deckard, Brianna Clark, Hayden Mulinix, Kaylee Hoops, Kelly Ewing, Elli Colian and Holly Broadway. West Branch is coached by Rick Mulinix.

Penguins host WNIT on Tuesday

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State women’s basketball team will host the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks in a WNIT second-round game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Beeghly Center.

All reserved and general admission tickets are $15 in advance and $17 on game day.

Maryland Eastern Shore (20-14) advanced with a 59-48 win over Wake Forest on Thursday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. It was the Hawks’ first postseason game in program history.

Hawks freshman guard Desi Taylor was 5-of-11 from three-point range for a team-high 19 points and freshman forward Kaliya Perry collected 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals

Steubenville on the verge of title

DAYTON — The Steubenville boys basketball team is a game away from its first state title.

Big Red held Akron Hoban to three points in the final 3:45 and advanced to the Division III state championship game with a 60-58 win Thursday night at University of Dayton Arena.

The only other time Steubenville reached the state tournament was 1952 when Big Red was state runners-up.

Steubenville (26-1) carries a 21-game winning streak into the state final against Trotwood-Madison (22-4) at 7:30 p.m. today. Trotwood-Madison rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Toledo Central Catholic, 55-53, in overtime in Thursday’s first semifinal. The Rams have won their last four tournament games by 11 total points.

A tip-in by senior Josiah Rea gave Steubenville a 60-56 lead with 3:30 remaining Thursday. Big Red didn’t score the rest of the game, but held Hoban to just a basket with 1:27 to play.

Sophomore Landon Bowers led Big Red with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Junior Santino Haney collected 13 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists –both team highs. Senior Tre’Von Wiggins added 11 points

Steubenville played twice in Columbiana County this season — winning the season opener at East Liverpool, 99-68, and then at Beaver local, 75-58, on Jan. 30. Big Red also beat Minerva, 75-46, on Dec. 23 and East Liverpool again, 73-39, on Feb. 6.

Glenville makes title game

DAYTON — Cleveland Glenville has a championship pedigree.

The Glenville boys basketball team advanced to the Division IV state championship game for the second straight year by downing Cincinnati Wyoming, 48-36, in Thursday’s semifinal at Wright State’s Nutter Center.

The Tarbloodeers (19-9)– who took a 23-4 lead into the second quarter– will play Cincinnati Wyoming (26-2) in the championship game at 4:15 p.m. today at University of Dayton Arena.

Both teams lost to eventual state champion Zanesville Maysville at the state tournament last year.

Glenville is seeking its first basketball state title, but has won three of the last four Division IV state titles in football and added Division II boys track titles in 2022 and 2023 along with state runner-up finishes the last two years.

Glenville defeated West Branch, 60-45, in the district final.

Wyoming outscored Maysville 22-11 in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 68-51 in Thursday’s second semifinal.

Maysville had its 26-game winning streak snapped to finish the season with a 26-2 record. The Panthers beat East Liverpool, 78-32, in a district semifinal.

NCAA eases up on targeting

A targeting penalty will no longer automatically take a player off the field for the following game. The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee has approved a one-year trial rule that gives a player a break for his first targeting penalty. For 2026, a player disqualified for targeting for the first time in the season may play the following game. The trial rule will apply regardless of which half the targeting penalty is called. Before 2026, players disqualified for targeting in the second half of a game have had to sit out the first half of the following game.

For at least one season, a targeting penalty will no longer automatically take a player off the field for the following game.

The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee on Thursday approved a one-year trial rule that gives a player a break for his first targeting penalty.

For the 2026 season, a player disqualified for targeting for the first time in the season may participate in the following game. The trial rule will apply regardless of which half the targeting penalty is called.

A player who draws his second targeting penalty of the season will be required to miss the first half of the next game. A player who draws his third targeting of the season must sit out the full following game.

No players were disqualified for targeting three times in the 2025 season.

A conference can choose to initiate an appeals process after a player’s second targeting penalty. The appeal would be sent to the NCAA national coordinator of football officials for a video review. If the appeal is successful, the player would not be forced to sit out the first half of the following game.

Before the trial rule, players disqualified for targeting have had to sit out the first half of the following game if the targeting penalty occurred in the second half of a game.

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