March 14, 2008 game time
The Mohigans got off to a slow start in the first quarter but have recovered and are only down 3 points after one. Craig Carey has 2 fouls though, and that is exactly what we didn't need so he has to play through it. The Black Eagles are making the Mohigans play a much faster tempo then they are use to and it is causing turnovers. South has knocked the ball loose on several occasions so far with their quickness. The Mohigans are down by 12 points at the half and have closed the gap on several occasions but then SC makes another run. They are going to have to come out of the halftime locker room fired up this next half or this game could get out of hand. SC is getting too many second chance baskets. If we don't control the boards it could be lights out. I have confidence that the fire that is in this team will help them to play much better in the second half.
Well it wasn't as good a second half as I had hoped for and the team went down to defeat. South Charleston was clearly the more talented team and deserve their #1 ranking. They constantly harrassed our players with their defense and we had no answer for them except for Ben Hewitt who had an outstanding second half and was the only player to score for the Mohigans in the second half. Everyone on this team should be proud of their accomplishments though. It has been another very good season and not many teams in WV have won as many games as the Mohigans have in the last eight years. This is the 7th time in 9 years that they have been to states. I don't look for them to fall off much either even though they lose 7 seniors from this team. Next years team will have some tall guys under the basket and both the JV and Freshman went undefeated. So its on to spring ball and a new crop of players to fill the big shoes that this years team has left behind.
March 14, 2008
Last evening, after watching the Martinsburg vs Woodrow game the team went back to their rooms and had pizza then it was lights out. Today as I write this the team is at George Washington High School practicing for today's game against South Charleston. Last evening as Coach Hoffman and I were in our room watching NCAA basketball, Hoff got a phone call from a guy wanting to know if Hoff was still interested in purchasing his log truck. After a few minutes I realized that Michael Caridi, who had called the old trading post on our way down, had given Hoff's cell number to this guy. Hoff was totally confused and I busted out into uncontrolled laughter. Needless to say Hoff had to get even with Caridi and he did, but I will not say what he did to get even. These kids have been very good down here and are very respectful to everyone. They are loose and having fun. You can tell that they have been here before and that is a plus. I personally felt that RCB played nervous since they had not been here with their current group. Next year they will be more relaxed if they get here. With their two big men back it is a good chance that they will. After we leave the gym we are going back to the motel and clean up and then go to lunch before going to the Civic Center to play the game. The game is at 5:30. While down here I was able to meet up with a former MHS classmate and fitness guru Cindy Boggs. Cindy is very well known for her expertise in exercise and nutrition. She writes a column for the Charleston Daily Mail every two weeks and just published her first book. I met Cindy at the Charleston YMCA where she works and she gave me a tour of the facility. You can learn more about Cindy at her website at www.cindysays.com.
March 13, 2008
The Mohigans had lights out at 10 pm last night and rose at 6:30 to go to breakfast. After that they went to the Civic Center to watch the first half of the Gilbert vs Trinity game. Coach Yester gave them the game plan and then Michael Caridi tried to loosen the team up by interviewing the Seniors for broadcast on our website interview link. At this writing they are in their pregame warmups. The team was very quiet and focused in the lockeroom. I have a good feeling about the teams preparation for the tournament. Hopefully they will be able to get their share of rebounds in this game. I know they are not nervous because this in not new to most of the players having been here last year. Well it is just about game time so let's see what happens.
March 12, 2008
The Mohigans arrived in in Charleston on Wednesday in time to watch the Capital vs. Preston game. Preston gave Capital a battle before bowing in the second half. The Mohigans are staying at the Charleston House Holiday Inn a few blocks from the Civic Center. After Practice at the University of Charleston in the afternoont they checked in and then got to go to dinner. As I write this blog the team is currently watching the South Charleston vs Huntington game. They will play the winner of that game if they win against RCB. So far South Charleston is winning 33-21 and seem to be in control of the game. They will be going back to the motel and get some late food and refreshmnets before lights out in preparation for tomorrows game. More later.
March 11th, 2000
The Mohigans will have their work cut out for them when they take on Big and Strong Robert C. Byrd On Thursday in Charleston. I have seen RCB play against UHS & Bridgport earlier and they are a tall talented group. They have found ways to win close games this season with their hustle and determination. Hopefully Morgantown will not get off to a slow start as it seems to do against teams in the state tournament recently. I have noticed that teams in the state tournament really get after it from the time the ball is thrown up. The Mohigans have to be ready to get at it from the opening bell. If everything goes right I may be able to upload articles about the state tournament as they happen. So keep and eye on this site for updates. We thank the individuals and businesses that have donated resources to the team to have an enjoyable state tournament. I know the Mohigans will help represent Monongalia in a positive manner. Good luck also to Grafton, Preston, and Trinity. Don't forget that applications are now being taken for The Mountaineer Shootout and Tom Yester basketball camp from this site.
February 5th, 2008
In 7 of the last 10 games the Mohigans have been on the road. They won 6 of 7 games. They truly are road warriors. Now we get a chance to see them at home for 4 of the next 6 games. After Wednesdays trip to Elkins they play their arch rivals UHS at home on Friday. Today I received the CD disk with the new team pictures on it so I will be busy putting them on site starting with the Sophomores since they have no pictures at all on the site. The cheerleaders pictures are being taken today and I will upload them as soon as I receive them. The WVSSAC web site is an excellent source for information concerning High School sports schedules in WV. The sectional and regional tournaments are tentatively scheduled for April 29th (sectional) at UHS at 7:30 and March 4th, (Regional) at Fairmont State College at 6pm according to the WVSSAC site. This years State tournament should be up for grabs now that Huntington is no longer dominating WV teams. Signups for this springs Mountaineer Shootout and this summers Yester Basketball Camp are happening now. check them out on this site. Good luck Mohigans the rest of the season!
January 6th, 2008
Fresh off 2 straight victories the Mohigans seem ready to go full steam ahead into the rugged season ahead. A rugged
road it is going to be because the next five games are on the road starting with North Marion on Monday night. Then the Mohigans must contend with the likes of John Marshall and Martinsburg. JM is very capable of beating the Mohigans and the Mohigans have not beaten Martinsburg there in recent years and maybe never. The Bulldogs beat Jefferson recently and Jefferson is no pushover either. Then the Mohigans travel to Fairmont to play East & West and the games are always closer at their courts. So far this team looks very balanced and has had different leading scorers in several games. That's a sign that the team has good chemistry and each person to a man doesn't care who scores a s long as they win. Good Mohigan teams of the past have always had that ingredient and the coaches do a good job of maintaining that attitude. It's been a long time since a Mohigan team has such good success against Parkersburg South. We'll see how they do when they travel to PSHS because it is a hostile place to play. Recently Anthony Schifano was shown some interest from Grove City College to further his education and continue his basketball career. The Morgantown Youth Basketball Club held a Christmas basketball tournament for grade school children and it was a big success. Events like these help MYBO to provide it's club members with opportunities to play in the off season and MYBO thanks all those who helped during the tournament. The team pictures have still not been taken so pictures of this years teams and players are not updated. Hopefully they will be taken soon so I can update the site.
November 17th, 2007
It's time to start this years addition of MHS basketball. The teams have been picked and now I can start loading information for the this years teams. I will be uploading the information all this week so stayed tuned in to mohiganbasketball.com. As always there is always change in personnel and this year is no different. Each year the coaches tell me that this is the hardest time for them because they have to cut good players after tryouts and it is no fun for them. There is a fine line between talent of potential players. Some classes have a more abundance of talent then others. I don't think any coach wants most of their talent in one class only to lose them all as seniors. Every year it seems that something happens that changes the makeup of the team and the team must adjust. Fortunately for Morgantown other players have stepped up to fill in when something unforeseen happens. This year is no different. Taylor Dunn, a player of many talents injured his knee and is out for the year and will be really missed. Also two new players have joined the team. Ben Hewitts' parents moved to Suncrest so he will be playing for the Mohigans this year. Ben played for UHS last year. Colton Hinkle and his family moved here from Leanardtown Md. during the off season. This team should be very experienced and talented and hopefully will have a very successful season. Another important event that will be happening this year is the 500th win for Coach Tom Yester. Also I have been researching the records of all basketball teams at MHS since 1918. There will be a history section for that information on this site. Time to get started so see you at the games.
March 27th, 2007
Congratulations to the girls for winning states and to the boys for advancing to the semi-finals at states. There should be many post season awards for coaches and members of the teams. The boys team was inspiring in Charleston. Capital High School has an outstanding athletic basketball team who by the way returns all five starters for next season and should be ranked #1 going into next season. South Charleston should also be good next year. Morgantown also will be no pushover next year because they will return 4 starters and other players who saw lots of playing time. The Mountaineer Shootout will be held this weekend and there are going to be over 50 teams involved in it. I was able to see Huntington High at states and thought they were as outstanding as I had heard and read. O.J. Mayo is so talented!!! I have always been impressed with Patrick Patterson. He has matured so much since taking out Morgantown a couple of years ago in the semi's of the state tournament. If I had my choice (and I may be wrong down the road) I would select Patterson over Mayo to build a team around. He is so athletic for a big man. He can jump and he is so strong. He seems to have a great attitude also. Well it won't be long until school is out and Mohiganbasketball.com will take a break but we hope to be even more improved next season. Video clips are the main thing I will be working on and also Coach Yester is closing in on his 500th victory in his career. That is a great accomplishment and we will be sure to celebrate that victory in style. I am compiling some history of MHS basketball and also am updating some old articles from the Dominion Post. Well see you next season. Go Mohigans!!! Hello Brooke B.!!!
March 7th, 2007
Congratulations Mohigan girls and boys on winning another trip to the state tournament! Went to Wheeling last night to watch the Wheeling Park game. The boys team showed us that they are very capable of overcoming adversity. They were without JT Lewis last night and Wheeling Park had a whole section of their students at the game hollering at the team yet Morgantown prevailed. Only a handful of MHS students showed up for the game. Maybe because of the threat of snow or whatever but I hope they support the team in Charleston with bus loads of kids. This is probably the quickest team I have seen at Morgantown High. They really are fast and when the ball is loose on the floor they usually come up with it. Of course in Charleston they will be up against teams that also have quickness. The # 5 Mohigans will be playing # 3 seeded Capital High School in the first round of the state tournament on Thursday morning at 11:15. The Cougars are having a very good season also and have a 18-5 record having defeated Parkersburg South in the regional. By the way you can get a wealth of information about the state tournament pairings from several sources on the internet including these sites. wvstatetournament.com/ wvmetronews.com and by clicking on statewide newspaper and TV sites at newslink.org/WVtele.html 50states.com/news/westva.htm Also there are links to other media outlets on our articles page and favorites page including radio and TV. The MHS program has much to be proud of this season and what they have accomplished in recent years. This is their 6th trip in 8 years to the state tournament. With 4 juniors starting against Wheeling Park and the bench contributing 16 points last night they should be solid again next year.
Febuary 6th, 2007
The first MHS-UHS game this year was as good as I expected. This weeks rematch should also be entertaining. Both teams are playing well and winning games. The athletic ability of todays players is mindboggling to me. I saw players jumping up and pinning shots against the backboard and dunking like it is nothing. Back in the sixties and early 70's when we played it was a great thing in junior high and high school if you could jump up and touch the rim. I remember we would try and dunk tennis balls in those days. I used a gym spring board to get up high enough to dunk the ball in the girls gym at MHS so the coaches couldn't see us trying. So what does the future hold? I can only imagine. I do think there will come a day when they will have to raise the rim in Pro ball. The schedule for MHS gets really hectic in the next few days. Starting with Thursdays UHS game the Mohigans will play three games in 6 days. The TV schedule will also change due to the postponement of the Preston game last week. I will post the revised schedule when it is released by West TV. Go Bears!!! (My wife collects Bears) and I have never rooted for the Colts since they pulled up a truck in the dark and stole the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis. I guess I should get over it.
January 24th, 2007
It is the eve of the first of three big games with defending NCAC champions and cross town rival University High School. The Mohigans have won 7 of their last eight games and are playing good basketball. UHS is also having a very good season so far and have rebounded from their home loss to Preston High. The Mohigan program has realized two more goals this season since the MYBO basketball club started 10 years ago. The home games are now broadcast on TV and with help from our sponsors it will get better and better. WE now have feeder grade school teams from Ridgedale, Brookhaven, Mountainview, North and St. Francis coming in as guests of MHS. The teams that have come in so far have really enjoyed themselves. It lets the players from those schools come in and see what the Mohigan basketball program is all about. There has been a change in the TV schedule and I will be posting the information later this evening.
January 9th, 2007
Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season. Things have been really moving fast these last few days. We had the first tv telecast of of the North Marion game and it was great! The quality was good and I thought Trent Lusk and Mike Caridi did a fine job for their first time broadcasting. Mike Ellis, the owner of West TV said that the next games will be even better with the addition of more cameras and player and coach interviews pregame and post game. We will be having several grade school teams as guest of the Varsity for upcoming home games. There will be teams from Brookhaven, North, Ridgedale and Mountainview leagues. The Morgantown High Chapter of the Fellowship Christian Athletes met at Cameron Taylor's house Sunday evening Jan. 7th. They watched the TV broadcast and then had a short bible study. On Friday at MHS FCA will be hosting a DPB Hip Hop concert and then DPB will be playing for the WVU-FCA at the Pushkar Center at 7:00 pm on Sunday, January 14th. Be sure and visit Jr. Petsko's photo site for pictures of Mohigan teams in action. www.naturesessencephoto.com The varsity has 3 straight home games after playing only one home game in 8 games to start the season. Come out and support the teams. I think that later in the season, once they find out their roles and understand how to work together that they will be hard to beat. The raffle tickets are due by January 15th. Please make a hugh effort to sell them. Go Mohigans!
December 28, 2006 Christmas is over for another year and it's time to get busy with Mohigan basketball. I uploaded new pictures of the teams and players and cheerleaders today but the information is only partially updated. I still need some numbers and of the players. That comes later after everything settles down. I was sorry to hear that Derek Long has decided to quit the team. This is another of several disappointments that have hit the team in the last few years. But just as in everyday life the team must go on and learn to adjust. Fortunately one disappointment opens up opportunity for others to step up. I remember in 2001 when Alex Lake decided to concentrate on football instead of basketball it allowed some juniors to have more playing time. As a result the experience the players got as juniors lead to an appearance in the state tournament the next year.
November 23, 2006 Well I am full of turkey and dressing and ready to talk about the major TV announcement made by West TV today. The 10 Mohigan home games this season could be broadcast on Cable channel 3 on tape delay. That means that on those cold winter nights relatives and friends can see our children's games without leaving home. That is an exciting thing for sports in Monongalia County. That means that not only can the basketball team be seen on the local public access channel but West TV can feature any team in Monongalia County that wants to have a package deal set up. Also bands in the area could also have their band spectaculars aired on cable. West TV will also offer high quality DVD's for sale after the event. This is a great opportunity for businesses to advertize on TV and suppor tour kids. Hopefully the community will jump on the bandwagon and do what other communities are already doing.
The final cut for the basketball teams will not happen until the final Mohigan football game is played so we must wait for the rosters to be posted on this web site. The schedule has been updated so that you may print out a printer friendly verson on your computer. Remember that schedules change during the season for lots of reasons so check often for annoucements of changes. Team pictures still have to be taken also. It will be a mad rush for everything to come together.
November 13th, 2006 It's time to start updating Mohiganbasketball.com for the new season and we are excited to see how this new addition of speed and athleticism will perform this year. It is time for me to start updating player pages because tryouts are going on now. A number of new things are happening this season. I modified the home page because it was getting too busy. We have added some new sponsors to our site and there are a few surprises down the road that I am not able to divulge now. Player pages will have sponsors for their pages and anyone interested in sponsoring a player page can let us know by emailing us at webmaster@mohiganbasketball.com. We will be glad to call you and set up a logo for your company or family. All proceeds for the pages go toward the Mohigan basketball program. The new pages will not be shown until after tryouts. We will be working with a photographer this season to take pictures of many games and you will be able to purchase the photos from him. More later on that. Well, time to get busy. Se you at the games!
March 14th, 2006
The sectional game between MHS & UHS was one of the most exciting games I have seen between the rivals in many years. I t reminded me of game in 1969 when present day athletic director Dan Erenrich was playing for UHS. It was a regular season game at the Arthur Clyde gym. It was very exciting down to the last second shot that Rick Fortuna made to beat UHS 76-75. At that time UHS was a AA school but always gave MHS all it could handle in basketball every year. My senior year 1970 we split with UHS. Before that time there were many other rivalry games but when I was in grade school there was a boy from Cassville who played for UHS from 1960-63 named Duke Pride. He was an all around athlete who was very good in basketball, baseball, and football. The reason I know about this boy is because my wife Sherran was married to him at one time. I recently have been looking at his scrapbooks and discovered several things. Duke was probably the best all-around 3 sport star to ever come out of University High. He still holds the record I believe for points in a basketball game at UHS when he scored 53 points against Parsons and he also netted 38 on another occasion in his senior year. His junior year University High split a pair of games with MHS losing the first game 54-46. Duke scored 14 points in that game.They won the second game by a score of 43--38. Duke scored six points in that game. George Jackson was the star player for UHS that season. Duke's senior year saw UHS defeat MHS twice, 53-48 (20 pts) and 48-47 in overtime (16 pts.) In football he ran for one touchdown and passed for another from his halfback position to help UHS defeat MHS 25-7 in 1962. It was the first win over MHS in 8 years. He was also responsible for many baseball wins for UHS and American Legion teams. Duke had an untimely death after high school and Army duty when he suffered an injury playing pickup football. His memory will always live on in UHS sports history as I intend to present the UHS administration with copies of these well preserved articles.
February 27th, 2006
The Mohigans have just completed their regular season by winning their last 5 games and beating a very good #5 ranked Martinsburg team. They certainly have made the adjustments they needed to make to get ready for the playoffs. They are playing very good basketball as a team now and seem to fit into their new roles well. Friday night they travel through downtown and up the hill approximately one mile from their school to play University High School one more time for the Region 1, Section 2 title. The Hawks have beaten the Mohigans twice this season and are the NCAC conference champions. This will be one of the biggest games in recent years between the 2 teams. The Hawks are very talented but the Mohigans are coming on strong. It should be a very good game.
Two years ago I ask Coach Hoffman if he knew what Coach Yesters overall career record was so I could put it on his personal page. Well nobody knew including Coach Yester so I began trying to find out what it was. I asked the Dominion Post if I could look at their archives. They said that they were on microfilm at the WVU library. Well Coach Yester has never been one to pay much attention to records especially personal ones so it was hard to get him to pay much attention to my inquiries. Well I had to develop another plan to get the information I needed. So I approached his boss. His wife Onie. I told her what I needed but she said "Good luck because Tom isn't into records and things." I said "But Onie the public has the right to know, Freedom of Information and things like that. So Onie said she would try to help me by giving him a little push. So here we are. If you want to know Tom's record as a very successful and humble basketball coach click here.
The Freshman team recently finished their season on a winning note. Coach Lindsay VanVoorhis had this to say about his team. "The team got better as the season progressed. They were a good sized group and very athletic. The best thing was that they got along well together." The freshman finished the season with a 17-1 record. They won their last six games convincingly with their only loss being an away game at John Marshall in OT. Coach V said they just didn't play well at all that night. It was another great year and hopefully the guys will work hard in the off season and continue to improve.
I will try to catch up with Coach Hoffman soon and get his thoughts on the JV season. As you know he is always on the go. I imagine he was at the Coliseum tonight watching WVU's great victory over PItt. Go Mountaineers!!!!
Speaking of the off season, the dates for this years Mountaineer shootout have been announced. Here is the info:
23rd ANNUAL MOUNTAINEER SHOOTOUT
$200, 4 game guarantee, games at Morgantown High and local gyms
Dates: April 22-23, boys 5th, 6th and 7th grades
April 29-30, girls 5th, 6th and 7th grades/ boys 10th, 11th
May 6-7, 8th and 9th grade boys
Contact: mohiganbasketball.com for more info or call 288-5753
The raffle donation is winding down with tomorrow nights $250.00 drawing. Will there be a winner or will it be a ticket that wasn't sold? Either way the Mohigan program will benefit. Thank you very much for participating by selling or buying a ticket.
February 11th, 2006
Things I was happy to see at last evenings MHS-UHS game:
Elliot Law and Marlan Robinson
Cameron Taylors improved aggressive play
My long time friend Duane Lewis whom I played Jr. High & High school basketball with.
My two sons Ronnie Shaver and Justin Vidovich along with Justins dad John who I also played ball with in later years
The Rowdie Society whooping it up.
Mr George's imitators at halftime
Joe Fatt, Mr. Jenkins and all the Mohigan supporters who come to games win or lose year after year.
Justin Collins who plays for UHS and rides my bus. What a great kid!
The big crowd and good competition between teams.
The sportsmanship between teams..
Parents of former players still coming to games.
The concession stand and hot dogs.
The flips the cheerleaders do.
The new scorers table.
The shirt that Coach Bowers had on.
Elliot Law diving for the ball.
Kristen and Sean Yester here for a visit to cheer for their Dad.
February 7th, 2006
Things sure have been hectic for the varsity in recent weeks. Our family and Church members have been praying for the team and especially Marlan and Elliot. These young men have had to deal with life's harsh realities when they should be enjoying their basketball playing years. Hopefully they will be able to come together even more as a team and fight through these tough times. I hope to talk to Marlan soon and see how he is doing. I know he needs his rest and recovery time but would like to talk to him and let him say what he wants to all of you out there. I am sure he has had many well wishers but I know some of you are like me and do not want to disturb him too much as he recovers. I am told by the coaches that Marlan has become a real team leader and has worked very hard this year. Elliot is practicing and should return for the UHS game hopefully.
Speaking of the UHS game, it is Friday night at MHS and the gym should be packed. I again expect a to see a close game although I thought that would be the case the last game but the Hawks showed how good they are this year. It should be a good measuring point for MHS to see if they have improved as a team since then.
I have heard that a Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle has been organized for MHS basketball team members. They have already had meetings and are developing a lot of interest. Here is the address for the WVFCA web site for more information on a statewide basis. www.wvfca.org
Here also is the schedule for the next meetings:
The Basket Ball Huddle Group has chosen February 12, 2006, February 26, 2006 and March 12, 2006 as the upcoming meeting dates. The Huddle will begin at 4:00 and last until around 6:30. Larry & Lydotta Taylor will be hosting the meetings. Pastor Ken Ramsey will be leading the huddle. For more information you can contact Cameron's mom, Lydotta Taylor. On March 26, 2006 an event for all MHS Athletes is being organized.
The donation raffle winners are being announced on this site on the home page. The raffle sales went as expected based on past years experiences. Some people sold all of their tickets, while some sold a few, while others were not able to sell any tickets. The raffle should raise some funds for the basketball program this year.
The Freshman will be closing out another great season on February 14th at home against Fairmont Senior. Show them some love by coming to the game and cheering them on.
January 22, 2006
WVU's loss to Marshall for the second time in many years reminds me of how many times down through the years that I have seen the proud made humble when they got a high opinion of themselves. The bible reminds us that "Pride comes before a fall". Saying that they guaranteed a victory only fired Marshall up all the more.
Heading off to the Hawks nest to see game one of the MHS-UHS rivalry. I expect to see a very tight game that will be decided at the foul line. I'm not sure how MHS's younger players will respond in a pressure game like this one. They have been in some tight games in the off season but not like this. Hopefully those experiences will help them handle the pressure. Next week I will have the privilege of transporting the UHS varsity & JV team to John Marshall. Looking forward to cheering for my bus student Justin Collins and the rest of the Hawks. (Tonight , of course I will be cheering for the Mohigans) I remember when my son Ronnie was playing games against Scott Gyorko, I would always see Jedd hanging around the gym taking shots. I knew then that someday he would burn the nets for UHS. That someday is here. Tomorrow I am going to watch my cousins son Jordan play. He plays for Robert C. Byrd High school. They play at Fairmont Senior. Well off to the game.
