December 11th, 2014 Well, since my last entry many things have happened to the basketball program. Coach Tom Yester resigned as head coach after coaching for over 40 years and over 25 years at MHS. Also the MYBO offseason basketball program has disbanded and Coach Jeff Hoffman will no longer be heading that organization. Coach Hoffman is now helping Mountaineer Middlle School as its Athletic Director. It has been a wonderful experience for the last 20 years working with the Mohigan staff and players seeing the Mohigan basketball program grow to an elite program as it has since MYBO'S inception in 1995. Jeff Hoffman was an innovator in his idea of opening gyms to all players who were hungry and keeping Mohigan team players together rather than traveling on AAU teams and it resulted in the Mohigans going to 11 State tournaments in 15 years. In some of those years they did not make it was usually because a star player was injured. Coach Tom Yester supported this idea and used his extensive experience over the years to coach these teams to many successful seasons. Toms record over the last 20 years has been a very impressive. I wish Coach Hoffman and Coach Yester success in whatever they do. On Coach Yester's side I suspect he will improve on his already good golf game in his retirement and Jeff will keep on helping underpreviledged kids to get into the gym more often. As for me I will be more involved with http://morgantownhistorymuseum.org. I will keep this site online as long as possible so former players can visit it and relive their glory days. I also will post some articles as time permits. God Bless all of you and thanks for the great friendships and great memories.
January 28th, 2014 The Varsity is 5-6 at this writing and in my opinion is showing improvement. It was unbelievable to see them go into 3rd ranked Parkersburg South and watch how dangerous this Mohigan team can be when they are on their game. I look for them to be ready at playoff time to pull an upset or two. There are many things going on within the program that has disrupted their chemistry but I think these young men can come together as a team and overcome the obstacles to them having a good season. As a former player I can tell them that it is an honor and privilege to play High School basketball. Of the 100's of boys that come up through grade school leagues you are are the select few that get to be a part of the team. You have to make sure you give it all you have because it doesn't last long. Being on a team like this builds character and helps you adjust to life after sports and accept things you don't necessarily agree with in the working world. I hope the boys can overcome the difficulties and are blessed with a great finish to their season. I finished most of the updates to the site. The only thing left to do is update the college page and get the cheerleaders names right. There are a lot of makeup games coming up and I have updated them as I hear about the schedule changes. Stay tuned for the changes in the schedule. We are going to have a raffle to benefit MYBO to replenish funds that have have been spent on the new shooting machine and purchasing the MYBO van. It will be for March and is a great way to support the high school teams and MYBO.
December 14, 2013 Great opening win last night for the Mohigans against the Hawks. It will take some time for the the team to settle in with a rotation that the Coaches like though. There is more depth than I have seen for several years and plenty of competition for positions. The region and our section look very competitive. I am currently working on updates to players pages and cheerleaders pages but need to get the picture cd after tomorows pictures are taken. I am also working on the history of MHS basketball and hope to have some great pictures of past teams in a slide show presentation for our 100th year of organized basketball at MHS. Also I am working on the Hometown Team ehibit for next years Smithsonian exhibit at The Morgantown History Museum. If you have any old time sports memorbelia that you would like to donate or loan to this exhibit then please eamail me. Always check for schedule changes due to inclement weather. You can email me for any changes to the pages at Swifty@mohiganbasketball.com .GOOD LUCK THIS YEAR MOHIGANS!
January 20th, 2013 There is going to be an Alumni night on Friday evening January 25th, 2013 when we play University High at home to recognize former players in attendance and to recognize the 100th anniversary of Mohigan Boys Basketball. Also I would like to mention that The Smithsonian Institute is going to bring a traveling exhibit to West Virginia entitled "Hometown Team" The Morgantown History Museum is competing for this exhibit. We need anyone who is is interested in or has knowledge of old time community sporting events that helped shape our lives in Morgantown.This could include all aspects of community life. For example: your local gang playing wiffle ball on the street, the local tavern teams, playground events by the recreation commission, skate boarding, and local school teams. We want to reach out to all of Monongalia County for ideas for this event. We will accept loans or donations of sports items, pictures, etc. for display at the 6 week event. As you can imagine, the Smithsonian display will be a wonderful display about American community sports.
There will be a special brainstorming meeting at the Morgantown History Museum on Tuesday, January 29th, at 6:30 p.m. to try and find ways to attract this exhibit to Morgantown.
December 7, 2012 The individual pages for varsity and JV teams have been uploaded. Team pictures have been taken and I will receive them next week to upload to the site. Always check for schedule changes due to inclement weather. You can email me for any changes to the pages at Swifty@mohiganbasketball.com.
March 10, 2012 I am sitting here in Sharon, Pa watching a PA. AAA girls playoff game between South Fayette High School and #2 ranked Franklin. Sharon High School is a wonderful facility and is hosting the playoff games. I sit here disappointed that our beloved Mohigans will not be going to states this year. I was hoping that they could somehow pull off the victory against Fairmont Senior but it was not to be. This group of Seniors to be should be ready for next season right now. I know I would be if I were these guys. They have such a bright senior year to look forward too. I know in my heart that they learned some valuable lessons this year and I am personally looking forward to seeing them play next season. With a good work ethic and team chemistry this off season they should be formidable next season. I know once again things will change for them next season as far the teams in their section. Next season the teams will be Morgantown, Preston, John Marshall and University in one section while Wheeling Park, Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, and Brooke will be in another. I think the boys have committed to staying together in the off season and create a team bond that could lead them to a state title. Yes that's right a state title. They have all the ingredients to go all the way, which by the way will be the 100th anniversary of Mohigan Basketball which started in 1914 with a game against Grafton.
January 14th, 2012 Many things have transpired since my last entry. MHS is playing good at this point showing an 8-1 record against good competition. So far they have beat state powers Wheeling Park and South Charleston and lost to West Fairmont. If past experience is any indication, Coach Tom Yester will have them playing at peak performance by the end of the season. Right now I am impressed with the chemistry of the team. No Seniors are starting but the four seniors have come into the games ready to contribute to the team winning. Recently Connor Loudin and Christian Allen have come into the games and had good showings. Connor is rebounding well and Christian has hit some threes. Jeff Leftridge and Nicholas Colasante have seen pressure from the best guards in the state and have gained valuable experience on how to break presses. The power guys, Nathan Adrian, Austin Agnew, and Dean Marshall all have had their big nights. The rest of the bench has to be ready to go also in certain situations. Team chemistry is the mark of a good team and that's what wins championships. The schedule has some interesting games coming up including games with Cincinnati Withrow, University High, and Woodrow Wilson in the Big Atlantic and OVAC tournaments. I like the way things are panning out as far as the schedule but I'm sure some coaches in this area are very concerned about some of the talented teams in the northern part of the state that they may have tpo play several times this season. Teams that have to play Wheeling Park and West Fairmont had better be ready for speed and athleticism. These two teams are blessed with both. It is nice now that off season coach and MYB coordinator Jeff Hoffman has his Mohigan radio setup going strong with broadcasts of the games on the internet. As long as you have internet on your computer you can get the broadcasts of the games from WWW.mohiganbasketball.com. I know of no other high school in the state that is doing this. If you take a transistor radio with you to the games you can listen to the broadcasts on 98.5 FM. Next year the sections around the state will change again. Morgantown, Preston, John Marshall and University will be in one section while Wheeling Park, Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, and Brooke will be in another. I recently had the pleasure of riding to the Park vs GW game in Wheeling with Tom Hart, Chester Brooks, Joe Fatt and Jeff Hoffman. What great stories I heard as we were driving and lots of laughing with those loyal Mohigan fans. Tom Hart recently helped Jeff broadcast a game and I was very impressed how good he is. I could listen to his analysis of the game anytime. Tom is a former head baseball coach and principal at MHS, Chester was an assistant principal and assistant baseball coach, and Joe Fatt is a former no hitter pitcher in the city leagues. He will like that one. I saw something from Nathan Adrian in a game recently that I have been waiting for. He got the ball down low with his back to the basket and made a power move over two defenders and scored. The other thing I saw was a pull up jumper in the lane after a fast break. He was a little off balance but as he gets older and stronger and perfects that shot watch out. The JV team and Freshman teams are doing well also. The JV team is 8-1 and the frosh are 11-0. Speaking of JV and Freshman, more photos of these teams will be added this week.
August 17, 2011 This is a very exciting time for me because my high school buddy David Dubbe made the MHS Sports Hall of Fame. He will be inducted into the Hall on September 2nd. Dave and I spent a lot of time together in high school so I know quite a lot about his exploits. Dave was a naturally built athlete. In those days weight lifting wasn't emphasized. But Dave didn't need to build muscles he already had them along with with his red hair and temper to go with it. I attributed Dave's build to ancestry because his family originated from South Dakota where men worked hard throwing hay bails and farming life was hard work. Dave was a very nice guy but you never wanted to get on his bad side because he was tough. I'm glad he was my friend because people thought twice about messing with me or they had to deal with Dave too. We played basketball together at MHS and one time we knocked heads with each other by accident. Guess who came out of it with stitches. Another time I was in the end zone on the river side of the field and MHS was driving toward the winning touchdown against Weirton. Dubbe' was mowing down the Red Raiders all the way down the field. I'm standing there watching Dave hurt people as he ran with determination toward the goal. They got just inside the five and fumbled the ball and the Mohigans lost but it was an amazing show of power that Dave showed me that I realized how tough he was. Once he went back to the huddle in a game and ask Dave Burton who ran the last play and Dave looked at him and said to him with amazement "You did!!!!!" Dave finished out the game not knowing anything about what was going on but still was able to do the right things and MHS won. In baseball Dave was a power hitter and he often hit long home runs. He was fast too and was always dangerous on the base paths. We played together on the basketball team and although he never got as many shots as Rick Fortuna, Jack Lavery, or I did he made his presence known. Our proudest moment as team mates was when we finished our careers at the WVU field house by making the All-tournament team against East Fairmont. I scored 29 points and Dave had 15 and we almost upset top ten East Side. I don't know much about his track performances but did see him throw the discus and break the MHS record for distance which still stands today. Dave was smart in the class room too. His Dad was a professor at WVU and Dave received one of only 2 appointments from the the state of WV to attend Army. While at Army he rushed for 1000 yards in 7 games as a freshman while not knowing he had walking pneumonia. He later came back home and walked on to the WVU football team and then after graduation he coached at Clay Battelle for a short while before moving to Virginia Beach where he lives now. As I look back now it is no wonder Dave lives near the beaches now. The summer after graduation we went to Ocean City, Md. with just enough money to catch a bus to DC. We slept under the board walk and any other unfinished house we could find in Ocean City. We had to hitch hike back home and after several hours of trying to catch a ride and almost giving up for the day a guy stops and picks us up and fortunately for us he lived in Granville just across the river from Morgantown. Congratulations my friend on a well deserved award. If you would have had time to play golf or wrestle in high school you would have made All-State in them too.
March 18, 2011 1:18 p.m. Sitting here at the Morgantown Trinity High School game against Tucker County. Game is running late so time to blog a little. Last night after the GW win over South Charleston the GW fans pointed up to the Mohigans and shouted "Are you ready?" Previous to that the fans had shouted Marco but got no response 3 times from South Charleston fans . Finally our boys shouted Polo so it got a laugh from them. Tonights game should be a really good, hard fought game. The two teams match up prety good. GW has a really athletic center and good outside shooters. Of course the Mohigans are a talented group also. These two teams scrimmaged earlier in the season so know each other well. This morning the team ate breakfast and then went to a walk through at the University of Charleston. They will then go back to the motel and watch some games on TV and then go to the pregame meal before heading to the Civic Center. Well gotta go the game has started.
March 17, 2011, 12:52 a.m. I am sitting out here in the hallway on guard duty after replacing Onie Yester and Jeff Hofman who did the earlier shift. We really aren't worried about this group of boys because they are the most well behaved group we have had down here in the last 12 years. They are very polite and focused on this tournament. After winning this morning we went over to Quaker State restaurant to eat then back to the Civic Center to watch Morgantown Trinity Christian's win and Wheeling Parks win. Then it was back to the motel and the coaches went out for some food for the team. Lites out a 11 p.m. and then practice at The University of Charleston at 9 a.m. After practice they want to watch the Woodrow Wilson vs Hedgesville game then out to eat again and watch the Mountaineers game on TV. We can't remember having been able to rest like this in past tournaments but someone said we did one other time. It is a nice reward having a break in between games like this. Tomorrow night we will be able to see the George Washington vs South Charleston game. We will play the winner of that game at 9 p.m. Friday night. That's all for now, goodnight.
March 16, 2011 We are at States again. That's 9 out of the last 12 seasons so this really is the best ever tournament run in almost 100 years of Mohigan basketball. History of MHS Basketball We have not been in the finals since the 1956 team played Jerry West's team East Bank. The closest we have come to winning a title was the 2001-2002 team which lost in the semi's to eventual champion Cabel Midland by 1 point 52-51. I feel this year's team to be one of the best I have seen in the last 10-12 years. It has a legitimate chance of winning it all. The problem is in past years the best teams did not necessarily make the tournament. That has changed now and this years tourney is loaded from top to bottow with good teams. It should be a very entertaining tournament. The thing that stands out in my mind is that the Mohigans have what it takes to succeed. They have speed, heighth, and defense. This morning the team is having a continental breakfast at the motel before leaving the motel at 9 am for the Civic Center. Their game starts at 11:15 am against defending champion Logan. Logan is well known for bringing lots of fans since it is only about an hour away. Well it is getting time to go so I say congratulations to the Mohigans for another great season and the best of luck to them.
February 1, 2011 Things are really heating up in basketball in the state of WV. So is our website and the attention has to our site and our broadcasts have caused some problems with our website that we are trying to fix. We used up all of our bandwidth last month and that caused our website to shutdown 3 days last week and 1 day this week. We are sorry for the interruptions but we hope to have the problems worked out soon. We have been on the web for 12 years now and have accumulated lots of archives and some of them are causing the problem. I will need to go in and compress some of the pictures and videos and broadcasts to correct the problem. Ray Sickles of Cybertize.com is the company that hosts our website and Ray (an MHS alumnis) has been really kind to us over the years in hosting our site. But we have reached the point that we have to clean things up. As Ray said "Think of your site as a big water line that is leaking water and causing problems. The leaks have to be fixed." As far as the Mohigans are concerned this is the start of a big week for the team with many quality opponents to play. I have posted links to many high school basketball polls so you can get different opinions of who are the best teams in WV. My personal favorites are the WV Tailgate Central and Metro News Power polls. They use various formulas to rank teams in WV including strength of schedule and home and away wins and losses. The broadcast of Mohigan games on the internet through our site has allowed many folks across the country to listen to their family's basketball players games. It is steadily growing as we get better and better at it and the word gets out about our site. Big game tonight #1 Preston vs #2 Morgantown. (WV Tailgate Central poll) Listen in at 7:15.
January 4th, 2011 The new season is well under way and it is almost a mirror image of last season so far. Last season we went down south and defeated #2 Logan and this year we went down South and defeated #2 South Charleston. The Mohigans have height again this season but so far are looking for some outside shooters to open up the defenses. I am writing this and listening to the Mohigans play North Marion on MHS' internet radio station. It is so nice to be able to hear Mohigan games with the help of the internet. It is free to broadcast and listen to the games and there are no commercial interruptions. I had hope to help Coach Jeff Hoffman broadcast the game tonight but got a stomach virus so I get to listen at home. The team will be off and running starting next Tuesday. They will play the next 7 games in Morgantown including one at the Coliseum. Check the schedule for details. Morgantowns schedule is very strong this season and they will be tested. The schedule will get even stronger when the Mohigans start playing more Ohio Valley Conference teams.Team pictures have not been taken yet so they are not uploaded to the site yet. Hopefully they will be taken soon. I hope to have cheerleader pictures uploaded soon and to be able to upload more videos via YouTube too. Don't forget that Mohigan games are also broadcast on tape delay by West TV on Comcast channel 3. See our website for the schedule to be released soon.
February 5th, 2010 As I said below I thought this was a talented group of players. They have figured out their roles and are shooting much better. They have upset some very good teams in the last couple of weeks. Their region is very tough though and they will have to play very good come playoff time to advance to states again. I don't doubt now that they can do it. I see Taylor Price coming along real well as I expected. Sam Runner at times is dominating and one of the best combination of shooting guards at MHS in some time Barnett, Parsons, and Meador make this team a candidate for the state title. I have enjoyed broadcasting the games over the internet with Coach Jeff Hoffman. He is very knowledgable of the area players and games. He coached for 28 years so there is nothing he hasn't seen in describing the action. I also have had the pleasure of driving the team to some of the games on a bus so this has been an interesting season for me. I look for Coach Yester to do his usual good job of getting the team ready for a late season run of victories. I recently started giving you a new poll to look at for state rankings that was suggested to me by Hoff. It is www.tailgatecentral.com. It gives you two different looks at rankings based on different criteria and also gives you state team schedules and keeps everything updated too.
December 17th, 2009 Last nights game with Preston was not what I expected in terms of the way the Mohigans played. I knew Preston was good but I didn't know they could be that good. I thought the Mohigans would give them a closer game but they shot terrible. I don't think that will be the case all season but they certainly have a lot of work to do to improve on their performance. Morgantown played an extremely aggressive and physical game combined with their shooting last night and it didn't work. I look for Coach Yester to use the experience to modify his thinking about how he is going to use his personel in the future. This team is a talented team and I saw a lot of fire at times from some players. As they figure out their roles things should get better. It will be ionteresting to see how this team reacts to such a lopsided loss. Previous teams at MHS have experienced losses such as this and have gone on to finish the season as champions. We will see now what kind of work ethic and chemistry these Mohigans put forth. I have most of the player pages and rosters done with just a few changes in heights left to do. The cheerleaders are next and I should get that information anytime.
Final thoughts
2009 A “Wake-up Call” For Mohigans
March 11, 2009
Will the 2009 eye opening finish be an awakening for MHS? That is the question that Coach Hoffman has as I interviewed him the other day. “This group of seniors worked hard, but apparently it wasn’t hard enough,” said a disappointed Hoffman. “We need to rededicate ourselves and understand that just because we wear a Mohigan jersey, we still have to work harder than everyone else.”
Having been in the state tournament 6 of the last 8 years, one would expect a trip for this year’s team would be a fore gone conclusion, but John Marshall had other thoughts and last night they defeated East Fairmont to advance as did Wheeling Park who held of fPreston.
MHS, who will return a talented group next year, will have to work hard to get back. “Preston and Wheeling Park will have everyone back except one player each,” said Hoffman. “We will have two nice sets of classes to fill our roster with, both having been undefeated as sophomores. They will have to work hard in the weight room and play a lot of AAU ball to continue to get better. If they don’t, we will not make it out of our section next year, either.”
The center piece of the team will no doubt be Sam Runner, the slender 6’7 junior who averaged around 12 points per game this past season. Helping him will be Ryan Parsons, who averaged 12 points per game the last half of the season and shot a staggering 40% from three point range on the season. “ Both players will work hard and improve. They will be good leaders for us,” Said Coach Hoffman.
January 12, 2009
The Mohigans have played 6 games so far and have a record of 4-2. The losses have come to two very good teams in Atholoton, MD and Parkersburg South who have a combined record of 13-3. In their game against Parkersburg South though I noticed this glaring statement from Coach Yester “We just shot terribly from 3-point land [4-for-19],” MHS coach Tom Yester said, and not much better from the free-throw line (5-of-13). It is never easy to beat South at their house. Very few MHS teams have. You better be able to shoot the ball well and be ready to run. At the beginning of the year I said they needed a legitimate outside threat and that has not happened yet. Until someone or several players establish themselves as the go to guys on the outside bad shooting nights may plague Morgantown. The team is young in experience but I have no doubt that someone will emerge as the season progresses. Morgantown enters a part of their schedule that has them playing 6 home games in the next 8 games. By playing at home so much it will give them ample time to develop their outside threats. As far as the web site is concerned i have updated the Mohigan albums page with pictures of some of the more recent teams and seniors from those teams. I still have a few more pictures to scan before I will have it completely updated. I still want to try and put some videos on the site and am working hard to get that going. Also I still need to update the Hall of Fame pages for this years class and I need to update some archives from The Dominion Post. So why am I wasting valuable time on this article when I should be working on those tasks. So goodbye and Go Mohigans!!!!!!!
December 12, 2008
The teams have been picked and the Freshman have already played their first game. The varsity has scrimmaged Beckley and George Washington. The preseason rankings should be announced Tuesday. Wow we are getting close to the start of the new season next week. The Mohigans open their season on the 16th at Preston which will be a very tough test for a generally inexperienced team. Coach Yester and his assistants have their work cut out for them this season. It will certainly be a challenge to mold this group into a well oiled, competitive team by seasons end. Coach Yester is a proven master of having his team at peek performance come tournament time. It will be interesting to see the change as the the season goes on. Right now I am working on the players pages and the new freshman team. I will be getting pictures ready by Christmas. The varsity schedule is current but the Freshman schedule still needs updated. The teams had their pictures taken recently but we will not get them until Christmas.
November 14, 2008
As I sit here listening to the Mohigan football team dismantle Nicholas County in the first round of the playoffs I am filled with anticipation for the new basketball season. Tryouts start on Monday for the varsity and JV teams. The freshman had their tryouts this week. So it's time to get busy on the web site. The first thing I will be doing will be to update the schedule page and then do some clean up of the site. Of course I can't put on player pages until after tryouts and new pictures are taken. There will be some new faces in the starting lineup this year because Morgantown graduated 8 seniors including 5 senior starters. It's okay though because the Mohigans have some good talent to fill those shoes. The Mohigans should be taller than last years team but not as fast. As I see it they may have to rely more heavily on their inside game more than in recent years until someone establishes themselves as an outside threat. That has never been a problem in the past. Former players who could shoot the rock from the state playoff teams of the past several years like Aaron Cage and Ryan Lindsay 2000; Justin Kalafat 2001; Bobby Prim, Justin Vidovich, Ronnie Shaver, and Nick Hedges, 2002; Chad Murray 2003; Tyler Benson 2004; Chris Carey and John Oliver 2005; Jeff Lindsay and Marlan Robinson 2006; and Zach Cooke and Anthony Schifano from last year. Who is going to step up this year?
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.
