Miguel Burgess scampers for a 29-year touchdown run, the first touchdown the team scored at its new home field, Brookfield Alumni Stadium.
When you see football players hanging out with their kids and interacting with people in the stands during a game, you know this is a different kind of game.
Welcome to semi-pro football.
The Youngstown Patricians hosted the Washington (Pa.) Golden Hawks for the Patricians’ first home game at its new home field – Brookfield Alumni Stadium – on June 13. The result – a 21-6 loss – was not what the team could have hoped for, but team President John Galbraith and Head Coach Vinny Anerino came away happy.
“We love it,” Galbraith said. “The facilities here are excellent. It was a great crowd that came out tonight, and we just love playing here.”
Patrician’s President John Galbraith grabs the water carrier to take drinks to his players during a break in the action.
Galbraith is a hands-on president. He filled water bottles and carried them to his players during breaks in the action, and was seen giving blocking advice to a player on the sideline.
“It felt good coming back to Brookfield,” said Anerino, a Brookfield High School grad. “I was excited about that.”
While Anerino didn’t want to go so far as to say he expected the outcome, he noted that the Golden Hawks won the Tri-Point Football League championship last season.
“This is a championship team,” he said of the Golden Hawks.
This version of the Patricians – not counting the historic team that existed from 1911 to 1921 – has only been in existence since 2025, and needs time to build.
“It’s about bringing in bigger numbers and bigger talent,” Anerino said. “It’s one step at a time.”
Patricians’ head coach Vinny Anerino, above, is a Brookfield High graduate.
There were a lot of missteps on June 13 – the Patricians had trouble all day having enough men on the field – but they were never really out of it. Yes, Washington grabbed a 14-0 halftime lead thanks to a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown and a 70-yard pass play. It appeared the Patricians were back in the game when they blocked a field goal and ran it back for what everyone in the stadium thought was a touchdown. However, an official had blown the whistle to stop play way before the Pats crossed the goal line.
“A lot of these refs coach high school so they’re not familiar with college rules,” Galbraith explained after the game. “It was an inadvertent whistle. They admitted their mistake.”
Admitted their mistake, but the score stood at 14-0.
The Pats got on the board with a 29-yard run by Miguel Burgess, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Kevin James of the Youngstown Patricians brings down the Washinton Golden Hawks quarterback at a June 13 game.
Washington rounded out the scoring with a 53-yard touchdown run, followed by a successful point after.
Anerino was without his offensive coordinator for the day and had to fill in, to obviously disappointing results. Offense is his main concern, he said.
“Our defense keeps us in a lot of the games,” he said.
As their record stood at 2-2, “I’ll live with that for now,” Anerino said.
The Pats split their next two game and stand at 3-3 going into their next game, which will be played at 4 p.m. July 25 at Brookfield Alumni Stadium.
For information: youngstownpat.org or at the Patricians’ Facebook page.
