Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

On Senior Day, the weather and general atmosphere on the sidelines was warm. It was nice to see the Senior Penguins with their parents before kickoff as they were recognized for their outstanding efforts as Youngstown State athletes.  Coach Heacock stressed all week that it was about this Senior class to succeed in this game, to find ways to involve them into the gameplan in a positive fashion.  They all seemed to contribute.  Pictured are two of the Seniors, Aaron Pitts (left) and Mychal Savage (right).

In what looked to be an even match on paper, Youngstown State and Illinois State were not playing for a championship or a postseason berth, but rather for pride.  The Penguins dug into the cupboard of forgotten plays and tried some new wrinkles on offense. Some of the results were good, others needed to stay in the cupboard. The result was a 30-18 Youngstown State victory.

Youngstown State took their opening possession on their own 14-yard line. The Penguins marched 45 yards in 12 plays to allow Stephen Blose a 45-yard FG attempt. Blose was successful on the attempt, and at the 4:37 mark, YSU held a 3-0 lead.

Coach Heacock rolled the dice and tried an onside kick that the Penguins recovered and the Penguin offense went back to work. Brandon Summers hooked up with Donald Jones for a 30-yard completion, but the Penguin drive stalled and Senior Ben Nowicki buried the Redbirds on their own 5.

The first quarter would come to an end with Youngstown State ahead 3-0 and driving. The Penguins stalled around the Illinois State 19 and were forced to take another Blose field goal to increase their lead to 6-0.

YSU tried a second consecutive onside kick that the Redbirds recovered. The Illinois State offense cashed in on the good field position as Zach Kutch connected from 41 yards out to cut the Penguin lead to 6-3 with 11:11 remaining in the first half.

A scenario the Penguins have become accustomed to this year came back to haunt them. The Redbirds Bert Whigham came up the middle almost untouched and blocked Nowicki’s punt. The ball rolled right into the end zone but the converging Redbirds were unable to come up with the recovery for a touchdown and YSU was lucky to give up a two-point safety. Weird score as YSU still lead 6-5.

The free kick following the safety further exposed the kryptonic special teams play of Youngstown State as Illinois State’s Ben Erickson returned the kick all the way to the YSU 40. Four plays later, with 8:03 left in the half, Cliffton Gordon scampered four yards to paydirt and just like that YSU was behind 12-6.

Southern Illinois caught the onside kick fever and tried their own, unsuccessfully. When the YSU drive appeared to stall and Blose kicked a field goal of 22 yards, a penalty of roughing the snapper set the Penguins up on the three. On the next play Kevin Smith got into the end zone for a 3-yard score and Blose knocked in the extra point to give YSU the lead back at 13-12.

Zach Kutch connected on a career-long 49-yard field goal to give the Redbirds a 15-13 lead with just over a minute left in the first half.

Blose tried to give YSU the lead back on a 42-yard attempt to end the opening half. The kick was blocked and the special teams hamster race continued. Halftime at the Ice Castle, Redbirds 15, Penguins 13.

Youngstown State finally got a big play. Dominique Barnes hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Summers. Youngstown State held a 20-15 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Redbirds effective kicker, Zach Kutch was again clutch, this time from 42 yards. The field goal shaved the Youngstown State lead to two points as they clung to a 20-18 lead.

Not to be outdone, Stephen Blose connected from 37 yards away to vault YSU to a 23-18 lead. For Blose, his third field goal capped his most productive day on the season.

At the 9:32 mark of the fourth quarter, Donald Jones caught a Brandon Summers pass from 8 yards away. YSU moved the ball 56 yards in 2:35 in increasing their lead to 30-18. Summers was 2-2 on the drive for 25 yards and a 3-yard run.

The Redbirds had a little left in the tank, but YSU was able to keep them out of scoring range and kept the score where it was to seal the victory.  Final score, YSU 30, Illinois State 18.  With the win, the Penguins improved to 5-5 and 3-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  Illinois State fell to 5-5 and 4-3 in the conference.

YSU was paced by Brandon Summers who finished the game one yard short of a career-high with 346 passing yards on 25-38 passing.  Kevin Smith (pictured) had his third one hundred yard game of the season and finished with 136 all-purpose yards.  The deadly duo on the sides clicked again as Donald Jones caught 7 balls for 105 yards and Dominique Barnes hauled in 8 for 122 with each scoring a touchdown.  Aaron Pitts chipped in with 68 receiving yards on three catches.

The Redbirds Freshman Quarterback, Matt Brown, finished the game 32-49 for 328 yards.  Cliffton Gordon carried 18 times for 58 yards, and TE Cody White had a career-high day with 6 receptions and 76 yards.

After the game, Coach Heacock again praised this Senior class.  “It was a special day for them.  We had a nice breakfast with the parents and loved ones this morning.  They came out and played hard and it was great to see so many of them play their hearts out.  Of all the Senior plays today, none was bigger then Ben Nowicki preventing Illinois State from scoring a touchdown on the blocked punt.”

The Youngstown State Women’s Basketball Team opens a fresh season.  For Coach Cindy Martin, it is a chance to show people that this year’s team can overcome a brutal shortage of bodies and succeed.  The Lady Penguins have not had a winning season since the 1999-2000 campaign in which they earned an NCAA Tournament berth.  Since that appearance, YSU has had 20 losses in a year four times including last season’s 3-27 mark.

Only six players on the current roster have any Division I playing experience and only eight players are able to dress.  The numbers game may create some problems for Coach Martin at some point this season.  In the case that a player were to injure herself or foul out, the other players understand they may be playing 45 minutes a contest.

Martin is a hard-working coach and the “things can only get better” or the “woe is me” labels are tags she probably would not welcome.  “I’m excited for a fresh start.  Our execution on offense has been really good and we have come a long way developing our fastbreak.  Elon and High Point are good teams to start with and it would be great to start out 2-0.  They are both good teams and we feel like we will have a chance to be in both of those games.”

Kenya Middlebrooks (left) and Rachael Manuel (right) discussed the expectations and where improvement will be most obvious this season.  Middlebrooks replied, “We push each other very hard every day.  We are a close team that is really communicating well.  There will be improvements defensively and with our rebounding.”

Manuel, one of only two Seniors, commented on the conditioning when a team has to play so many minutes, “We will be playing alot of minutes together, and we are obviously a close group.  We are in really great shape and can handle the minutes.”

Martin is one I would never doubt.  She is a fiery leader with alot of character and it seems to be rubbing off on the players.  If she can manage to get a couple of her players who are injured back, this team has every chance in the world to go .500 this season. 

Coach Martin also announced  Monica Touvelle of Boardman, Jill Herman, and Heidi Schlegel have signed National Letters of Intent to attend YSU.  The trio consists of two guards and a post player.

YSU will host Kent State in the first game of a doubleheader at Beeghly Center on Wednesday with the men’s teams playing the second.  Tipoff is at 5:15 at Beeghly Center.

One of the brightest spots in covering YSU football this season was the chance to speak with Brian Mellott.  Mellott is very intelligent, in fact, he graduated in August.  He is loyal to Coach Heacock and the YSU system and feels he has come out a better person.  Brian is one of just twelve Seniors who will be playing one last time in front of the Youngstown State faithful.

Paneech: Coming out of Austintown Fitch, you went to Ohio University.  You redshirted in 2005 and transferred to YSU.  Why the transfer?

Mellott: It just wasn’t for me down there.  I never really felt comfortable and got hurt on the very first day of camp.  I had surgery and was out of the loop.  I never felt like I was really part of anything there [Ohio University].  These guys [YSU] were winning back home.  There are friends and family here and that is how it all kind of worked out.

Paneech: When you got to YSU, you were a defensive lineman and now you are an offensive guard.  How did that happen?

Mellott: We lost an All-American Center, Ryan Jewell, during my Redshirt Freshman year.  They [coaching staff] were looking for a guy to try it.  They approached me about playing center, which I was at first, unsure about.  It ultimately came down to playing and I got that chance, took it, and never turned back.

Paneech: You have flirted with an overall GPA of 4.0.  What do you attribute your academic success to?

Mellott: Just showing up in class every day and paying attention.  My parents stressed to me when I was young to take advantage of all of the opportunities you will get.  I have got to be here anyways, so I may as well take advantage of it.  I realized that I was ahead of schedule and realized I might be able to get more use out of my scholarship by continuing.

Paneech: When did you graduate and what are you doing with your days now?

Mellott: I graduated right around the time of the second jersey scrimmage, sometime in August.  I have about 11 hours of the 32 that I need in for my MBA.  I will finish it up in July.  These days I am able to get some rest, I sleep a little bit longer.  I prepare for the week, watch films, and receive treatments if I need them.  After football practice, I go straight to class four nights a week.

Paneech: How much salvation can this team get out of winning these last two games?

Mellott: Well, that’s all that is left now.  It’s all about pride and how you want to go out.

Paneech: This group of Seniors is really unified.  I don’t see any fingerpointing, bickering, or hear any excuses for the somewhat average record.  How frustrated are you to know that this team has still not played a complete game?

Mellott: I couldn’t sit here and try to put it into words.  When you sit back and look at some of those games, you just wonder what could have been.  It will not help us beat Illinois State.  We will have time in two weeks to reflect and do that.  Our goal now is to play four solid quarters so we can look back and say, hey, we went out with a bang.

Paneech: Looking back at four years here as a player, which team was the most fun to be a part of?

Mellott: It was definitely 2006, just because of the winning.  I kind of got spoiled by that situation.  They had 27 Seniors that season.  We worked hard every year I was here.  That team [2006] had alot of guys who were making plays.  I was lucky to be along for the ride.  I wasn’t expected to play in any of those games, but I traveled with the team, it was almost like a vacation every week.  I got to watch and see alot of things and I got in here and there, but the whole playoff thing was an amazing experience.

Paneech: There is alot of references at the press conferences about the 2008 team and the internal problems that existed.  How bad did it get last season?

Mellott: I wouldn’t even say you could pinpoint one thing.  We lost Mychal Savage real quick and people don’t realize, maybe next year they will, that his presence carries alot of weight around here.  His presence on the field makes guys more accountable.  I think losing a guy like that hurt alot.  Then you have guys quitting, and that divides the team somewhat.  As young as the team is this year, we were even younger last year.  When you have alot of young guys, the focus shifts, the losses snowball, and it just is not a good situation.

Paneech: When does a press conference, where so many negative questions get asked, become an annoyance?

Mellott: It was annoying at the first one I did, where the negative questions started popping out.  The other two were not as bad.  When I walked into the press conferences, I told myself that I would not sidestep any questions.  I don’t think it is annoying, and I understand that it is the jobs that you guys have to ask the hard questions sometimes.  As a Senior, it is my job and provide a solid answer that not only the reporters can understand, but also the fans.

Paneech: Being a local guy, how would you convince athletes to attend YSU instead of going somewhere bigger?

Mellott:  I made that mistake when I went to OU.  If you are being recruited by a big school, 9 times out of 10, you are going to go.  The things that are making schools popular these days are: Do you have a sponsor, how many games are on TV, is there an indoor practice facility, and the material things drive the signings.  I wasn’t at OU long, and I am not bashing them by any means, but I just never felt right being there.  It’s a genuine family-type atmosphere here, and that is hard for a guy coming out of high school to appreciate or understand.

Paneech: Much has been said lately about Coach Heacock and maybe it being time to go.  Do you think he will be asked to come back?

Mellott: I pray he will be asked to come back.  I don’t see how you can take a guy like that and not be able to show him off as an asset to your team.  People around here don’t realize how lucky we are to have a guy like that.  He puts time and effort in that you couldn’t ask for.  He has two kids and a wife who miss him at home.  The winning has not been around the last couple of years.  This season he took a more hands-on approach by taking over the defense, and from last year to this year, you would be crazy to not give him the credit.  I don’t think that it is fair and that they would be cutting themselves short to get rid of him.  I dont think it is called for and there are always going to be peaks and valleys, but that is your guy, so you have to stick with him.  It bothers me that I am a part of the reason that he is in this situation.

One Word Answers

Favorite Board Game: Monopoly.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream: Cookie dough.

Best Show On Television: (long pause and a laugh)  SportsCenter.

Favorite Holiday: New Years Eve.

Best Musician Out There: Tim McGraw.

Worst Habit: Saying “Uh and Um” too much in interviews.

Favorite NFL Team: Dallas Cowboys.

Favorite NFL Player: Jason Witten , Jay Ratliff.

Best Area Pizza: Wedgewood.

One Word To Describe The Season: Frustrating.

One Word To Describe Tax Season: (hardest question I asked) Exciting.

Dream Car: Escalade truck.

Youngstown State University Coach Jerry Slocum thinks his Penguins will face their toughest test of the year at Xavier on Friday.  “Xavier is the best team we will face all year.  They are better than Pitt and Butler.  They have a potential NBA Lottery Pick in Jordan Crawford who is a transfer from Indiana, and they are very big inside.”

Experience should help the Penguins improve on last year’s 11-19 record.    Youngstown State is returning 10 letterwinners and four starters from 2008-09.  Slocum said this difference between last year and this year going into the opener are night and day.  “This year at practice, when a player makes a mistake, they point it out before you can even correct it.  It is much more productive to start with so many things in tact already.  It is much better trying to prepare this team when coaching from a positive perspective.” 

This will be the fourth time that YSU has played Xavier, but the first in the past 60 years,  with the Penguins losing all three previous meetings.  Xavier was a Sweet 16  team in last year’s NCAA Tournament and have seemed to somehow gotten better.  The game will be televised on FOX Sports Ohio and Robb Scmidt will be calling the action on AM-570. Tipoff is set for 7:30.

The Penguins will return home to host Hiram on Sunday.  The Hiram contest starts at 4:05.  Quite a contrast in opponents, but Slocum sees the variance as a non-issue, but rather ‘our first two games’, downplaying Xavier as a big test and Hiram as a potential laugher.

DeAndre Mays, who was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team last season averaging 10.7 points and 3.5 assists per game, said the Penguins want to prove things this year.  “Practice has been loud.  All the guys are taking the Xavier game seriously, we want to prove things this season.  Last year, communication was a problem, this year we are communicating better and with our experience, the hard work should pay off.”  Slocum clarified the ‘practice has been loud’ comment made by Mays as a positive.  Slocum stated then when practice is quiet, the team is off of its’ rhythm and having a bad day, but when things get loud, the team is doing the right things, and practice has been loud.

And the Penguin band played on.  The above photo was taken at last week’s Youngstown State Homecoming Game.  The band really sounds good and they do a nice job playing and moving around.  The amount of time that these folks spend practicing is very underappreciated by football fans sometimes.  Go buy a hot dog at the two minute warning and show some respect to these students who are literally playing their hearts out every week.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• PSAMP shares another moment from the wide world of unlicensed Pittsburgh Steelers sports memorabilia.  Take a look at Ben Robosberger.
• The Cage Doctors inform us that Youngstown’s own Ed O’Neill, of Al Bundy fame,  is a trained black belt.
• Sports Untapped takes a look at the betting power rankings in the NFL for Week #10.
• NESW Sports launches a new feature called 8 random videos with my buddy David Chalk moderating.  This week videos focus on the Cavs spanking practices, the Bucs orange throwbacks, and the night Jaromir Jagr almost killed Sean Avery.
• Josh Q. Public notes the quick impact of a returning Troy Polamalu to a Steelers defense that always has a big play or two up their sleeve.
• Not Qualified To Comment finds Chicago sportswriter Rick Morrissey literally eating a column he wrote in 2007 (with salsa) that said Joakim Noah would never amount to a useful NBA player.
• No Guts, No Glory warns that you better learn who Bill Martin is or you will be roughed up.  (Martin is the Michigan Athletic Director).

This week is a special week for 12 individuals who will be playing in their final home game ever at YSU.  Saturday’s game pits Youngstown State University (4-5, 2-4) against Illinois State University (5-4, 4-2) in the home finale for the Penguins.  It also marks Senior Day, a celebration of the hard work put in by the leaders.  Parents and friends will come out to see YSU Seniors give it one last go at The Ice Castle.

The twelve YSU Seniors are a pretty unique group.  Not once this entire season have I heard a Senior on this team make excuses or point fingers of blame toward underclassmen, coaches, or each other.   They have won and lost as they should, a unified team.   I can see why these twelve are so special and respected by those learning from them.  Paneech.com congratulates this very unique and tight-knit group of young men for striving to be leaders on and off the field.

The 12 Seniors:

• Kevin Smith, Brandon Summers, Draye Ersery, Dana Brown, Lenny Wicks, Jabari Scott, Ben Nowicki, Brian Mellott, Donald Jones, Aaron Pitts, Crispin Fernandez, and Mychal Savage. Congratulations Seniors! Not for the wins and losses, but for never quitting, playing hard, and most importantly setting an example for the future.

So Saturday marks the end for some.  Illinois State is no free lunch either.  The Redbirds have continued to improve all year and run a wide open offense that YSU has not been used to seeing much of this season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Redbirds saying, “They have alot of things in the arsenal.  They play with alot of emotion and seem to just get better every week.  We have to play a great game to win this week.”

Heacock seems to genuinely like this group of Seniors.  “There is no more important of a week than Senior Week.  It’s all about these 12 seniors this week.  There is nothing like it, and it is a game they will never forget being a part of, their last game at home.  We, as coaches, want to find ways to get them all on the field.  We used to start all of the Seniors, some out of position, but we had more than 24 a few years back, so that tradition doesn’t exist anymore.”

To hear Senior Brian Mellott talk about Heacock proved that the respect is mutual.  “Coach Heacock is here 18 hours a day battling for his life right now.  He handles things with class and dignity.  I’m not badmouthing anyone, but when some guys got here, the transformation they underwent as people under Coach Heacock was very obvious.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the early forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a high of 58 degrees.  The game will also be televised on tape-delay on MyYTV with Chad Krispinsky and Chris Burch.

Penguin Notes

• Last year, Illinois State won a wild one, 54-44, at Hancock Stadium.
• The series is tied 9-9 and is seperated only by one point (446-445) in favor of the Redbirds.
• Illinois State Coach Brock Spack makes his initial appearance against Youngstown State.
• The last time YSU had a 60+ yards passing touchdown was last season against Illinois State when Brandon Summers hit Donald Jones for a score.  It was also the last time YSU went over the 500-yard mark for a game.

Eric Rodemoyer has been the best offensive lineman that YSU has had in awhile.  He has played in seven of YSU’s eight games this season.  In those seven games, he has been named the Jim Zdelar Offensive Lineman of The Week six times.  The only time he did not win that award was last week when he was named the offensive player of the game, and you can’t win both.  Rodemoyer is dominant, and he credits his success to hard work and dedication.  The 6’2, 280 lb.,  Junior wants the 12 Seniors to go out on a good note. 

 Here are the highlights of my conversation with Eric Rodemoyer:

Paneech:  Talk about the transition of playing for small Kennedy (PA) to signing with West Virginia.

Rodemoyer:  Kennedy Catholic is a small school, Single-A, which is the smallest there is in Pennsylvania.  The biggest difference was going from playing smaller Single-A kids at Kennedy to facing Division-I athletes at West Virginia.

Paneech:  What did and didn’t work for you as a Mountaineer and how did you like playing for Rich Rodriguez?

Rodemoyer:  I loved playing for Coach Rodriguez at West Virginia.  I’m a Rodriguez guy and the thing that worked for me was that I went in there [WVU] working really hard and I was coachable, which was what worked best for me.  The hardest thing was just adjusting to Division-I football.  You had to up your game and have perfect technique at that level.  In high school, I was bigger and would just dominate guys.  Now you go against guys that are just as big and just as athletic. 

Paneech:  Do you like playing much closer to hom?

Rodemoyer:  I love being closer to home.  Me and my mom are real close and that’s one of the biggest reasons I chose Youngstown State. 

Paneech:  Explain how you can win offensive lineman of the week for six consecutive weeks and offensive player of the game last week.  Is the rest of the offensive line struggling or are you just playing that good right now?

Rodemoyer:  I think everyone is working really hard.  I just come in every day and work hard and watch films.  I come in with the attitude that I want to play my best football and whether I win lineman of the week or offensive player of the week doesn’t matter.  I am just worried about coming in, working hard, and winning football games.

Paneech:  How hard is it to stay motivated when you can’t go to the playoffs or win the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship?

Rodemoyer:  Now we are just playing for these Seniors and playing for pride.  I think if that isn’t enough to play for, then you shouldn’t be playing football.

Paneech:  Have you declared a major yet or are you still trying to figure out what you want to end up majoring in at YSU?

Rodemoyer:  I’m in the School of Business and I am going to get my degree in Management with a minor in Marketing.

Paneech:  How disappointed are you with the results on the field this year?

Rodemoyer:  I think you just have to keep working hard.  As long as everyone is working as hard as they can and studying as much film as they can, you can’t be mad, you just have to keep playing your hardest and victories will come.

Paneech:  Next season, will you be ready to take on a Senior leadership role?

Rodemoyer:  Without a doubt.  I think that is one of the things I am looking forward to in this coming off season.  There are six Junior linemen and I think we all have to step it up and be Senior leaders, but I am going to try to stand up and be the number one leader if I can.

Paneech:  Walk me through a day in the life of Eric Rodemoyer from start to finish.

Rodemoyer:  I get up around 8 and eat breakfast, walk to Kilcawley for breakfast check then I go to class at 9:30.  I come back from class at 10:45, eat a little bit, come over here to the stadium and watch about an hour-and-a-half of films.  I then go to my next class at 12:30 until 1:45, then I walk up to the stadium for practice and get out of here at about 6.  Then I go home and eat dinner and start on my homework.

Paneech:  At Monday’s press conference, Dana Balash of WFMJ was asking everyone who spoke what kind of grade they would give this team on the season.  To steal Dana’s question, what grade would you give this team?

Rodemoyer:  We’re 4 and 4, that’s about five hundred, so I think in a classroom that’s a C.

One Word Answers

Favorite Flavor Of Chicken Wings:  I don’t eat chicken wings.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Best Show on TV:  SportsCenter.

Yearly, How Many Times Do You Go See A Doctor:  Never.

Biggets Phobia:  Spiders.

Favorite Kind of Music:  Rap.

Favorite NFL Team:  Steelers.

Favorite NFL Player:  Hines Ward.

Kim Kardashian or Pamela Anderson:  Pamela Anderson.

American Idol or Survivor:  Survivor.

Worst Habit:  Biting my nails, but I quit recently.

Best Friend:  Rob Fernback.

“Everyone wants ‘THE’ answer, if it was that simple, teams would never lose.  I have been in this business a long time and I don’t believe that there is ever an answer to ‘THE’ problem”, was what Coach Jon Heacock had to say when asked why the seemingly talented team he coaches can’t register wins or finish games in a favorable manner.  Last week, Youngstown State (4-4, 2-3) dropped a hard-fought contest which was again decided by a couple of mistakes.  The loss came at the hands of #9-ranked South Dakota State.  This week, the train of hard stops continues as YSU travels to Cedar Falls to face a very good Northern Iowa (5-3, 3-2) team.

If Northern Iowa sounds familiar to the casual fan, it is because they almost beat Iowa University in the opener for both schools this season, but ultimately lost by one point to the still-perfect Hawkeyes.  The Panthers then rattled off 5 straight wins before consecutive losses to Southern Illinois and South Dakota State.  Northern Iowa is now fighting for its own postseason privelages and YSU is in the unfamiliar role of spoiler.

Northern Iowa is paced by the play of Pat Grace at QB.  Grace is a 6-2, 240 pound Senior with plenty of big game experience.  Grace completes about 63% of his passes and has 17 TD’s through the air this season.  The Panthers also feature a pair of speedy receivers, D.P. Eyman and D.J. Hord, who have combined for 1,000 receiving yards on the season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Panther attack saying, “They throw it down the field.  We will have to defend the run and keep the deep ball to a minimum because they [Northern Iowa] don’t need any help.”

YSU QB Brandon Summers expressed how Youngstown State feels about not going to the playoffs by saying, “We’re disappointed and we’re heartbroken.  We want to win the last three games because it’s not how you start but how you finish that is important.”

When asked what kind of grade he would give his team for the year, Heacock responded, “You didn’t get an ‘A’ so you didn’t pass the test.  The playoffs were the goal this season, and we are not going to be in the playoffs and that is unacceptable.”

Senior WR Aaron Pitts (pictured, #83, left) said says YSU owes the Panthers a little.  “We don’t give up.  We have got to be ready for Northern Iowa.  We lost to them by one point in each of the last two years.  We want to go in there and get it done.”  Pitts was making a reference to last year’s 21-20 loss and 2007’s 14-13  loss at Nothern Iowa. 

Penguins Notes

• Northern Iowa has won 15 of the last 18 games against YSU.
• The last time Youngstown State won at Northern Iowa was 1999 and they are 3-11 all-time at Cedar Falls.
• YSU Freshman Taylor Hill posted a career-high 12 tackles in the loss to South Dakota State.
• UNI Coach Mark Farley is 80-31 and has never lost to Youngstown State (8-0).

The game kicks off at 5:05 and will be aired on AM-570 with Bob Hannon, Dick Hartzell, and Robb Schmidt on the sidelines.  The air team hits the dial at 4:30, so be sure to tune in.  The weather has no bearing this week because the game will be played at the infamous UNI Dome.

Congratulations are in order to the 2009 Youngstown State University Homecoming King and Queen.  Krista Cunningham and Carrington Moore were announced as the new heirs to the throne at halftime of the Youngstown State – South Dakota State game on Saturday.  May your rule be filled with joy!

Youngstown State University will not be participating in the 2009 Postseason Playoffs.  That is the unfortunate reality following a 17-3 setback to #9 South Dakota State at Stambaugh Stadium.  The Jackrabbits were consistent and opportunistic in defeating a very tough YSU team in a physical game.  Defense and turnovers were the keys to victory for the Jackrabbits (7-1, 6-0) who got the big breaks at just the right times in turning back the Penguins (4-4, 2-3).

South Dakota State took the opening drive and marched all the way to the YSU 2-yard line before a penalty backed them up to the 7. After a couple of plays, the normally reliable Jackrabbit Kicker, Peter Reifenrath, hooked a 25-yard attempt and no scoring was recorded.

YSU took over on their own 20 and got to the South Dakota State 27 before having to settle on a 48-yard FG from Stephen Blose to take a 3-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first period. On the drive, Brandon Summers looked sharp and YSU featured a one-back offensive look with FB Dana Brown exclusively on the field for the entire drive. The first quarter would end with the 3-0 YSU lead.

Senior QB Ryan Crawford  marched the Jackrabbits deep into YSU territory. Good coverage prevented a couple of shots to the end zone and SDSU would have to settle for a Reifenrath field goal of 25-yards to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:33 left in the first half.

After an exchange of possessions, the half ended deadlocked with a 3-3 defensive battle taking place at The Ice Castle on Halloween.

A 5-yard Kyle Minett run put the Jackrabbits in front, 10-3, to capitalize on a Brandon Summers interception on the Penguins first play of the second half.  The turnover gave South Dakota State a ton of momentum coming out of the intermission.

Dailyn Campbell (6-1, Soph.) opened the next drive for YSU at quarterback. Summers had been hampered by an injury he suffered in last week’s loss at Southern Illinois.  Campbell used his speed and elusiveness to create positive rushing yards on a nice drive but the Penguins came up empty on a missed field goal leaving the score at 10-3. The next few drives saw Campbell and Summers being used at different times. After three quarters, the Jackrabbits clung to their 10-3 lead.

It was Minett again scoring at the 4:51 mark of the fourth quarter to extend the Jackrabbit lead to 17-3. The South Dakota State drive took almost five minutes off of the clock as they marched 66 yards in 9 plays.  The pattern that was becoming more obvious during this drive was that the Jackrabbits were not a big-play team, but rather a methodical and well-oiled machine able to get at least four yards per touch with anything extra being a bonus.  The SDSU tight ends and receivers seemed to shift and / or motion on every single offensive play.

The Penguins were able to move the ball 60 yards in less than a minute-and-a-half, but again came away empty turning the ball over on downs as Summers was sacked helped in part by a low snap.

The Penguins defense forced a quick three-and-out while burning their timeouts to get the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game. A sideline interference penalty turned a second-and-one to go into a second-and-seventeen to go, that is just the kind of day it ended up being for Youngstown State. South Dakota State would intercept Summers on fourth-and-twenty to seal the victory in a hard-fought 17-3 win.

For the victorious Jackrabbits, Ryan Crawford was 19 of 28 for 178 yards and 4 rushes for 22 more yards.  Kyle Minett had 22 carries for 87 yards and 2 catches for 32 yards.  Colin Cochart hauled in 6 Crawford passes for 51 yards.  Statistically, the Jackrabbits dominated the contest.  They had more first downs (17-14), more rushing yards (131-73), won the time of possession battle (32:36-27:24), and controlled the turnover battle (2-0).  When you are defeated in those four categories it is tough to win a game.

Youngstown State was paced by Dailyn Campbell (who only played sparingly in the second half) with 32 rushing yards on 7 attempts.  Brandon Summers finished the game going 19-29 for 181 yards and two interceptions.  Donald Jones and Dominique Barnes both caught six balls each to pace the Penguins receiving corps.

After the game, a very exhausted and frustrated Jon Heacock addressed the obvious problems that resulted in a loss.  “The playoffs are shot.  We will continue to practice and prepare like champions.”

Heacock also explained why Dailyn Campbell replaced Summers in the third quarter.  “It’s a tough decision for me to take a Senior out of a game.  In that situation, I was more inclined to give Brandon [Summers] a rest out of concern for an injury he has been battling from last week’s game.  I owe it to these Seniors who have stuck it out this long to always see that they get their chances.” 

Junior Andre Elliott said the Jackrabbits didn’t do anything surprising to win.  “They did everything we expected them to do.  Their offense doesn’t get big plays, they just move the ball.  We will continue to play hard because we want to send our Seniors out on a winning note.” 

The Penguins go back on the road next week traveling to Northern Iowa, their third ranked opponent in a row, for a 5:30 kickoff.