NewhouseSports SMC: October 2017

Monday, October 23, 2017

Photos from the Dominion Charity Classic

Too many turnovers for Syracuse

Story by Monica Ortiz

Photos by Peyton Zeigler

Miami Gardens, Fla. -- Despite a late game surge, Syracuse fell to No. 8 Miami Hurricanes on a sloppy field at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

After beating the defending national champion Clemson Tigers eight days earlier Syracuse (4-4, 2-2 ACC) faced another top-ten opponent; this time on the road and came up just short, losing 27-19.

The SU defense and place kicker Cole Murphy kept Syracuse in the game as Orange quarterback Eric Dungey threw four interceptions and was consistently pummeled by the Miami defense.

"The defense played a great game; offensively we have to help them out," Dungey said. "But Miami is a great team. Bruises will heal but I just want to win."

The Difference

The Orange offense struggled to keep the ball in the first half. In addition to Dungey's four interceptions Miami forced two punts. Dungey kept it from potentially becoming worse as, after the first interception he ripped the ball away from the Miami defender Demetrius Johnson, allowing Syracuse to keep the ball with a new set of downs. But that ended in a punt and Miami drove from its own 25-yard line to the Syracuse one before the Orange defense stuffed the Hurricanes, forcing them to take a chip shot field goal and a 3-0 lead.

That's how it stood as the first quarter ended but Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) was driving and finished it off with a 10-yard pass from Malik Rosier, Jr. to tight end Chris Herndon and a 10-0 lead.

Dungey was picked off again and while the defense held Miami to a 39-yard field goal with 10:41 left in the second quarter Miami was up 13-0.

Syracuse drove but when Steve Ishmael was injured as he tried hold on to a pass in the end zone, the Orange turned to Murphy, who delivered a 22-yard field goal giving Syracuse a glimpse of hope, trailing 13-3 at the half.

Third quarter

Syracuse stopped Miami's opening possession and drove to the Hurricane's 22-yard line, but passes to Irv Phillips and Steve Ishamel went incomplete and on fourth and five Murphy hit a 40-yard field goal, making it 13-6.

After an exchange of punts, the 'Canes struck again after Braxton Berrios returned Sterling Hofrichter punt to the UM 47. Two-plays later, Rosier hit Jeff Thomas for a 48-yard touchdown and after the extra point Miami led 20-6.

Syracuse responded with its only touchdown with a six-play, 65-yard drive featuring runs by Dungey of 28 and 14 yards, and capped by a 15-yard burst by Moe Neal into the end zone. Murphy's kick was good and it was 20-13 in favor of Miami.

Fourth quarter: a one-point game

The Syracuse defense stopped Miami and the Orange drove for another Murphy field goal, this one from 45 yards. Miami led 20-16.

The Miami drive stalled after two first downs and Syracuse got the ball back and drove again. This time the 'Canes stopped the Orange at the UM 35 and Murphy came back on to the muddy, sloppy field again, this time to try one from 53 yards out. And hit.

And then

Miami immediately answered with a touchdown on a nine-play, 85-yard drive, but it was still a one-possession game at 27-19.

On the next drive for the Orange, Dungey connected to Devin Butler for 22 yards, giving Syracuse a first down. But on the last SU series, a fourth-down pass to Irv Phillips along the right sideline was ruled incomplete and was short of the first down marker anyway. That put Miami in victory formation to run out the clock.

“We found another way to make it really exciting," said Miami head coach Mark Richt, whose team stayed unbeaten after a third consecutive close game. "Part of the reason was Syracuse is a really good football team. We’ve seen what they can do, especially last week with Clemson, but everybody that’s played them this year has been just talking about them and how much harder they’re playing now and with a purpose now.

"Not that they didn’t last year, but they’re a better team from what people say, from a year ago. It’s a tribute to what Coach [Dino] Babers is doing over there."

“Obviously, [they are] a fabulous football team," Babers said of the Hurricanes. "We had our difficulties shaking some people off in man‐to‐man coverage. Four turnovers in the first half, giving them great field position and putting our defense in a bad situation. Came back and played a better second half of football, but when you’re playing a team like this you got to score touchdowns, not kick field goals if you’re going to beat a team that’s ranked in the top 10.”

Orange Defense

Despite four turnovers by the Orange's offense the defense held the Hurricanes to 27 points, only allowing Miami to score a touchdown off one of those turnovers.

"I think the defense played well," said senior linebacker Paris Bennett, who had ten tackles for Syracuse. "We have a lot to improve on, but four turnovers and holding them to only 27, that's big,"

What impressed Bennett was Cole Murphy.

"That's my guy. I've never doubted Cole. I always felt he was a great kicker. They were big and they were outside. I was counting on him. We were all counting on him to capitalize."

Making the field goals count

Murphy connected on four out of four field goals tries, 22 yards being the shortest. The next three were more than 40 yards, with the longest at 53 in the fourth quarter, putting Syracuse within a point of Miami. Overall Murphy made 12 out of the 19 points for Syracuse.

What's next

Syracuse has a bye week coming up, but the Orange will face Florida State in Tallahassee on Nov. 4. Syracuse is now third in the ACC Atlantic behind Clemson and N.C. State with a league record of 2-2.

HBO Boxing After Dark brings Hard Hitting Action to Central New York

HBO Boxing After Dark at Turning Stone (c) Jose Cuevas 2017

Photos and Story by Jose Cuevas

Verona, N.Y. -- HBO Boxing after Dark returned to the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Central New York on Saturday October 21.

There were several fights on the card including one fight that was televised to the live crowd from across the pond in Belfast Ireland.

There were a total of nine fights in the card.

Results

Here is the fight card with the result of each bout:

Preliminary Bouts:
Michael Dutchover (5-0, 4 KOs) in a six-round bout defeated Anthony De Jesus (2-3, 2 KOs) via TKO
Superfeatherweights in a six-round bout. Ruben Villa (7-0, 4 KOs) defeated German Meraz (54-44-1 34 KOs) via unanimous decision

Super Lightweights in a six-round bout Luis Feliciano (3-0) defeated Istvan Dernanecz (10-6, 7 KOs) via TKO in the second round.

Middleweights in a four-round bout Alex Rincon (2-0, 2 KOs) defeated Steven Andrade (3-2, 2 KOs) via TKO in the second round.
Light Heavyweights in a ten-round bout D'Mitrius Ballard (17-0, 12 KOs) defeated Jaime Solorio (9-3-2, 6 KOs) via unanimous decision
Lightweights in a ten-round bout Lamont Roach (14-0, 5 KOs) defeated Luis Hinojosa (20-12, 17 KOs) via TKO (doctor stoppage due to injury) in the first round
Middleweights in a twelve-round bout Demetrius Andrade (24-0, 16 KOs) defeated Alantez Fox (23-0-1, 11 KOs) via unanimous decision
Super Featherweights in a twelve-round bout Alberto Machado (18-0, 15 KOs) defeated Jezreel Corrales (22-1, 8 KOs) for the WBA Super Featherweight Title via KO in the eighth round

*Jezreel Corrales was stripped of the WBA belt after being four pounds over the 130 pound limit.

Notable Fights

Ruben Villa versus German Meraz

With a record of (54-44-1) Meraz is what many consider a journeyman; he's a tough guy who will probably never reach the highest echelon of boxing. However, Meraz celebrated an accomplishment on Saturday that not many fighters can claim. Saturday was his 100th professional bout. Villa won a comfortable unanimous decision against Meraz, but the accomplishment is still an impressive one.

D'Mitrius Ballard versus Jaime Solorio

In Boxing it is customary for prospects to face journeymen in their first couple of pro fights. This is to see if they are the real deal and to prepare them for bigger fights that come down the road. D'Mitrius "Big Meech" Ballard was the prospect heading into this fight and Solorio was the rugged journeyman to test him. And did he test him.

Ballard was on his back foot through many of the rounds as Solorio would not stop coming forward. Ballard countered Solorio's aggression with effective counterpunches and potshots.

The formula remained the same for Ballard, but Solorio made it very tough for him, consistently pushing Ballard to the ropes and landing some solid hard punches.

What separates journeymen from elite fighters is their technique. That is what got Ballard through this fight. He waited patiently to counter and land effective punches. He read Solorio's fight patterns and exploited them when he saw an opening. The fight was not easy as Solorio would not quit and gave Ballard all he had. Ultimately Ballard won via unanimous decision.

Lamont Roach Jr. versus Luis Hinojosa

Roach Jr.'s trainer recently died and he dedicated the fight to him and went out looking for a decisive and memorable victory. It was memorable not for a titillating knockout, but a bizarre injury to Hinojosa's foot.

“A win is a win, but honestly I wanted this fight to end with him on the floor with a body punch or feeling his head swirl because I clipped him in the chin,” Roach, Jr. said after the fight. “This week, my team has gone from hell and back after losing my cousin, trainer, and mentor, Coach Roach. This win is a symbolism of the victories that await us because of the hard work put in by him.”

Demetrius Andrade versus Alantez Fox

The undefeated Andrade, who came to the ring wearing a wolf mask, was making his Middleweight debut after campaigning at the Junior Middleweight division. His first test was Alantez Fox who at Middleweight has an unusually tall frame of 6'4".

The two exchanged heavy blows from round one. Andrade was consistently landing the harder and cleaner punches on Fox. You could see sweat fly from the ferocity of the punches.

In the seventh round Fox landed a straight right hand that sent Andrade down. Andrade used his footwork to regain his composure and finish the round strong.

Andrade had a fire lit under him and attacked Fox with more ferocity as the fight went into the final stretch.

Fox continued to come forward and try and pressure Andrade, but Andrade's footwork and counters were too much for Fox.

Andrade was declared the victor by unanimous decision.

Jezreel Corrales versus Alberto Machado

Corrales was stripped of his WBA crown earlier due to him failing to make weight. Some wondered whether the weight advantage would help him against the tough and gritty Machado. The Turning Stone Resort and Casino was loud for the main event as many Puerto Ricans came to support Machado in his quest for his first world title.

Corrales came out swinging as is is style. Machado took his punches well, but from round one it was destined to be a slugfest as both men kept coming forward.

Corrales drew first blood as he landed a flush left hook on Machado's chin. The punch short-circuited his nervous system and took him down to the mat.

Machado came back and used his footwork to buy some time until he fully regained his composure. The fight then quickly turned into a wrestling match as Corrales took down Machado with a tackle.

The two began exchanging insults with one another in the ring. They plainly did not like each other one bit and were more determined to knock the other fighter out. Machado began timing Corrales' aggression and started his comeback. In the eighth round lightning struck as Machado landed a thunderous right hook on Coralles' temple.

Your winner by KO in the 8th round and new WBA Super Featherweight Champion, Alberto Machado.

"I won the world title for my family and Puerto Rico," Machado said in the post fight interview.