September 1, 2015 // Uncategorized

CYO fall action heats up cool nights

Todays Catholic

St. Charles scores CYO victory, continues 12-game winning streak

FORT WAYNE — St. Charles extended their CYO football winning streak to 12 games with their first victory in 2015 over a talented and big Knights team.

The St. Charles Cardinals’ defense was outstanding not allowing any first downs in the game. A trio of linebackers, eighth-graders Patrick Finley and Hayden Ellinger and seventh-grader Devon Tippmann, led the defense. Nose guard Lucas Krohn and defensive end Braden Groves also had plenty of big stops. On offense, the Cardinals had 140 yards of total offense from Finley, who accounted for the Cardinals’ first two scores. Finley’s second score was a 50-yard strike from signal caller Drew Lytle. Hayden Ellinger ended the first half with a 45-yard touchdown jaunt and Blayne Huston scored the Cardinals’ final six points on a seven-yard scamper.

Coach Sam Talarico detailed, “I know that we will have more battles with the Knights. Their nose guard gave us fits the entire day and No. 11 has fantastic speed. We have a special group of linebackers this year. I think local Catholic football followers will likely be hearing the names Finley, Ellinger and Tippmann for several years to come.”

Talarico added, “I feel very good about our team. We believe 27 is the largest number of eighth-grade football players in the history of the program. We have some talented returning players from last year’s undefeated diocesan championship squad. It should be a great year. I expect close battles every weekend and I believe every team has a chance to win the CYO championship.”

CYO volleyball ready to launch season

FORT WAYNE — Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) volleyball teams are in full swing this fall and ready to kick off league play the weekend following Labor Day.

In the annual Barney Shultz Classic preseason tournament hosted by St. Joseph, Decatur, on Saturday, Aug. 30, several CYO teams fared well. Among the top finishers were St. Vincent 8 and St. Joseph-Hessen Cassel.

Back for their fourth year in a row, St. Vincent coaches Debbie Rednour and Denise Lyons were pleased with their team’s performance.

“The girls have worked hard in the off-season and it was well displayed in our passing, assists and kills at the tournament. We have many options on our team and if one player is having an off-game, we have another that can step up and show poise and determination to get the job done,” explained Rednour.

The Panthers return 10 players from their 2014 CYO championship roster when they got by a tough team from St. Joseph, Decatur, 19-25, 25-20, 15-6, to preserve their perfect 13-0 record a year ago. At the preseason tournament, St. Vincent went 1-1 with the Squires from Hessen Cassel and a solid Wyneken Lutheran team.

“It was great to have such good competition to start the season and we are thankful to Decatur for hosting such a quality venue. Although we fell short of winning our pool by one point, our girls showed determination to win the next match against a talented St. Charles team,” summarized Lyons.

The Panthers begin CYO weekend action on Saturday, Sept. 12. They will take a break on Sept. 26 when they head to New Castle, where they have been invited to an invitational facing talent from both Muncie and Indianapolis.

Name corrected in fall sports preview

The golf listing for the Bishop Luers High School fall sports preview in the Aug. 16, 2015 issue of Today’s Catholic should have read: “The Knights welcome back senior Madi Jennings to the links who has not played since her freshman season. Jennings medaled for the team in two summer tournaments.” The article misidentified her as Jenkins.

We apologize for the error.