Archive for November, 2009

Friday night I attended the Youngstown Phantoms USHL hockey game at The Covelli Centre.  Saturday, I made it to the Styx / REO Speedwagon / Night Ranger concert.  As I waited for Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon to finish a 20 or so minute rant on Vietnam and what it was like going to college at Illinois University, I looked around and started to take in the transformation process that had to take place in a 19-hour span. 

Tommy Shaw of Styx is good at what he does.  However, I don’t think Tommy Shaw can skate or take a hit from Richard Young off of the boards.  The first thing that had to be done was making the ice surface something sturdier for people to walk on for floor seating.  I looked down and noticed wood.  I was not sure if the wood I was standing on was on top of the hockey ice or whether they melted the ice and I was just standing on a normal floor.  After asking an employee of the arena, I learned that it was wood overlayed on the ice.  Once I learned this, I kicked at the wood a bit to see if it was loose in any way, which it was not. 

Assembling a stage and hanging the lights are not easy tasks.  This concert had plenty of lights hanging from the ceiling and it was no five minute project.  I am aware that bands hire crews to hang lights and assemble the stage, but they can’t do it on ice.  The stage itself would have basically covered the blue line to behind the goal, perhaps a little bigger.  Keep in mind, this stuff has to come apart and be put together at every stop. 

The doors for the concert opened at 6, and I am sure each band had to do a soundcheck which meant that all of this carpentry and wiring had to be done by 4 pm.  That means everything was done in 16 hours.  Seats had to be put down on the floor, coolers had to be restocked, bathrooms had to be cleaned, floors had to be swept, and people just had to be tired. 

It was quite a week at the Covelli Centre.  Last Sunday, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brought all of their toys for two shows.  Wednesday, Daughtry was here.  Thursday and Friday were hockey games, and read the above three paragraphs for an inkling of things that converted the center into a concert hall.

I tip my hat to the crew at the Covelli Centre and applaud their hard work in the past week.  It is not often that Youngstowners have had such an array of events to choose from in one building.  Congratulations to Eric Ryan, Ken Bigley, Bridget Wolsonovich, Jon Jacubec, and the rest of the people who have buried themselves in work to see this place be successful.  

Youngstowners, mark Sunday, November 29 in your datebooks.  Extreme International Ice Racing is coming to The Covelli Centre.  The average ticket price is about $18.00 and from what I heard (and I am in no way into this sort of thing) it is a must-see event.  I plan on giving it a shot.  Usually when Eric Ryan and Ken Bigley hype something for Youngstown and I never heard of it, I try the unknown and usually leave satisfied.  The racing starts at 5:30, so be sure to grab a ticket and head downtown to see it.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• In Game Now has information that Chad Ochocinco has sent the Ravens gift baskets which include deodorant so that they won’t sweat too much.
• Stacheketball says LeBron James really could have used some extra padding.
• Not Qualified To Comment is a Chicago blog.  Their story after the Cavs lost to the Bulls was that the Bulls began to discover their identity.  It is obvious that Cleveland is still searching for an identity of their own.
• Sports Rubbish informs you the reader that you can buy 5,000 leftover 2008 Beijing Olympic condoms.
• That NBA Lottery Pick says the ESPN trade machine has approved a trade involving Carlos Boozer for a can of tuna. 
• Babes Love Baseball points out Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young award, and he was probably stoned on weed all year.
• Sports Untapped tips their cap to the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees with their article titled right through the very heart of it.
• Fansided has a Wendy’s training video that ups your street creds up a couple of notches.
• Predominantly Orange lists 10 reasons why it is better to be a Broncos fan instead of a Steelers fan.
• Club Seat Sports say that dirty-tactic New Mexico State Soccer star Elizabeth Lambert is their kind of girl.

Kids play with toy guns and are taught to disregard greetings from strangers at an early age.  Life is working backwards on Delonte West.  Real guns and a bipolar disorder are now things that stand in the way of a player coming off of his best season ever. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are having chemistry issues right now.  The team is competitive but already losers in three of their games.  The arrival of Shaq and Anthony Parker, the departure of Ben Wallace, the pressure on LeBron James to win a ring,  and of course the unpredictable behavior of Delonte West.

West is coming off of his best season as a pro basketball player.  However, one recalls him going off on a ref during a preseason game last season which forced the team to seek help for West.  West agreed to medical attention and was treated for the erratic behavior.  Officials are saying an emotional disturbance is what triggered Delonte’s latest run at bad behavior.

Last year, West had a problem with paranoia, always thinking that people were against him.  He was often late arriving on days of games and the Cavs were almost forced to hide the information from the media because of the diagnosis fearing West would become worse as a result of negative perception.

Riding a motorcycle is something that West is not allowed to do under his current contract.  Riding a motorcycle with a host of loaded weapons is probably not included in the contract limitations, but common sense would tell you that must be a bad thing.  West also faced marijuana possession charges in Maryland when the Cavs worked out a new contract.

Message to Danny Ferry and the gang:  It is nice that you guys bent over backwards to help Delonte overcome his personal issues.  A second chance is something every human deserves.  However, Mr. West is now on his fifth chance, this time the negative publicity is on him, and you can no longer shield his goofy behavior.  Check his guitar case next time he brings it to practice, what’s inside could kill you or someone else who does not deserve to die.

Message to Delonte West:  Hey bud, I know you are going through some tough times.  Anyone who makes more than a million dollars a year has my sympathy.  Do you think you might like to hunt?  My buddy here has some farm land you could scour and I got his ok on it.  Please start taking your meds and listening to the shrinks advice this time.  You are not only endangering yourself, but also the chances of a very good basketball team succeeding this season.  If it gets to be too much, walk away.  Take a break and get your act together.  Go find a guy under a bridge who will provide you with so many answers without you having to ask a single question.

It is still early enough in the young NBA season for Cleveland to decide what to do with Delonte West.  Ignoring the problems or shielding him is obviously not the answer anymore.

The Youngstown Phantoms built up a four-goal lead over the first period and a half of hockey.  Des Moines fought and clawed their way back, but it was too little, too late.  When the zeroes hit the board and the final buzzard sounded, the crowd at The Covelli Centre breathed a sigh of relief as the hometown Phantoms were victorious, 5-4, to run a franchise-high winning streak to four.

Youngstown wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Brian Dowd netted his third goal of the year at the 1:29 mark.  The goal was scored on a power-play and Dowd was assisted by Brett Gensler putting the Phantoms in front early.  The Phantoms would end the night 2 for 6 on power-play chances.

Less than a minute later, at the 2:18 mark, Des Moines got an unassisted goal from Ryan Walters, his fifth on the season, to tie the contest at 1-1. 

The Phantoms pulled back in front on a Nick Czinder goal, his fourth, to reclaim the lead 7:14 into the game.  Andres Sustr racked up his sixth assist of the year on Czinder’s goal.

Almost eight minutes later, Taylor Holstrom connected on an unassisted power-play goal to increase the Youngstown margin to 3-1.  The two power-play goals scored against the Buccaneers were a rarity.  Going into this game, Des Moines had only surrendered seven power-play goals on the entire season.

The first period would come to an end with the Phantoms ahead 3-1, but the fireworks went off at the 18:04 mark as Richard Young and the Buccaneers Brandon Carlson dropped the gloves.  Young  took a couple of punches with little-to-no effect before flooring Carlson.  The two players received 5 minute fighting penalties and Young received an extra 10 minutes for misconduct.  Young would also serve a penalty in the third for too many men on the ice for a grand total of 17 penalty minutes on the night.  

The Phantoms started the second period in a rush when Adam Berkle connected for his fourth of the year.  Berkle was assisted by Stuart Higgins on his fourth of the year just :39 into the new stanza putting Youngstown in front by the score of 4-1.

At the 8:37 point of the second, Gensler scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season on an unassisted chance from close range.  The goal by Gensler, the #1 Star of The Game, put the Phantoms up 5-1 in what was shaping up to be a blowout.

Goals by Taylor Wolfe and Dan O’Donoghue later in the second period cut the Phantoms lead to 5-3 heading into intermission.  The insurmountable 4-goal lead was cut in half.  Statistically, Youngstown had somewhat of a mental edge at this point as Des Moines carried an 0-5 record if they were behind going into the final period.

With just over ten minutes left in the game, Des Moines Defenseman H.T. Lenz snuck one by Jordan Tibbett to cut the lead to 5-4 in favor of Youngstown. 

After a few rushes and a couple of great stops by Tibbett, the Phantoms played the last two-and-a-half minutes with at least a one-man advantage and successfully worked the clock down to secure the victory.  With the 5-4 triumph, the Phantoms climbed to 6-4-1 and won back-to-back home games in sweeping the Buccaneers.

Jordan Tibbett picked up both the Thursday and Friday victories between the pipes for the Phantoms.  Tibbett was praiseworthy of his defense after the game.  “We have done a great job of communicating and I’m seeing most of the shots while they are picking up the rebounds.  I can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Coach Bob Mainhardt seemed relieved at the two home wins.  “It’s been a long time coming.  We have worked hard so it is nice to get a reward.  We know we have more work to do to get better.  We let teams stick in games that we shouldn’t so we have some room for improvement, but right now, we are pretty happy.”

The Phantoms return to action on Wednesday against Green Bay at home.  The puck hits the ice at 7:15 and Youngstown hockey fans are encouraged to give this team a chance and take in a game. 

Youngstown finally put one in the win column at home and improved to 5-4-1 at home and 2-1 against Des Moines on the year. Richard Young wore the hero ribbon with a game-winner and the Phantoms held off a very game Buccaneer team that came to play in posting a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

The Phantoms dug themselves a familiar hole to crawl into as they surrendered a lead for the sixth straight game. Des Moines got on the board at the 14:20 mark when Mike Fink scored his first goal of the year. Fink was assisted by Ryan Walters and Yasin Cisse.

With just five seconds left in the first period, Chris Stafne increased the Buccaneer lead to 2-0 on his first goal of the season. Picking up assists on the Stafne goal were Jack Berger and Mitch Cain. The first period would come to a close with Des Moines in front 2-0.

Whatever Coach Bob Mainhardt said to his team during the intermission worked well. The Phantoms came out hitting and played much harder than they did in the first period. Jefferson Dahl lit the lamp at the 7:00 mark to cut the lead to 2-1. Dahl was assisted by Andrew Lamont and Joe Zarbo.

The barrage continued at the 11:39 as Ryan Jasinski netted his second goal of the year, assisted by Scott Mayfield, to tie the contest at two goals apiece.

Nick Czinder connected on an unassisted chance at the 15:26 mark to give the Phantoms a 3-2 lead, which is how the period would come to a close. The Phantoms had 17 shots on goal in the period after mustering only five in the earlier stanza.

In the third period, Daniel Heath connected on a power-play chance to tie the contest back up at three goals apiece. It was the first power-play goal of the evening for either team.

Richard Young came up big with his second goal of the year to give the Phantoms a 4-3 lead. Young was assisted by Brett Gensler and Ben Paulides on the go-ahead score at 16:45 of the third period.

After the game, Richard Young, the #1 star of the game said he was thrilled to help this team win. “It was a big goal and I was happy to just help the team. “ Young also commented on the productive line he is now a part of. “We’ve got a goal scorer [Gensler], we have a playmaker [Dowd], and we have a grinder [Young]. Coach threw us together for a couple of practices then in a game, and we just clicked.”

Coach Mainhardt was happy to record the first-ever home victory. “It feels great. There is no doubt that the first one is the toughest to get. We’re glad to get that out of the way and hopefully we can get on a little roll here.”

About the difference in play between the first and second periods, Mainhardt remarked, “We had some choice words for the guys in the locker room and they responded well.”

The Phantoms Jordan Tibbett got the win between the pipes by stopping 26 Buccaneer shots in evening his record on the season to 3-3-0.  Youngstown recorded 35 shots on goal with almost half (17) coming in the second period.

The Phantoms lock up with the Buccaneers again tonight at The Covelli Centre. The puck drops at 7:05 and the promotion everybody loves, dollar beer night, will co-feature YSU ID discount admission night. The team looks poised to make a nice run, come and check out a Phantoms 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.

The Youngstown Phantoms travel in a bus.  Anyone who has traveled by bus knows that it can get boring beyond belief.  I’m not talking about a deal where you pay $20 and go to Mountaineer and get $15 of it back to gamble with either.  North Dakota is a longer ride than Mountaineer Casino, much longer.  The Phantoms enjoyed the ride home probably much better than the ride to Fargo as they swept a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.

In the Friday game, Matt Mahalak (pictured) stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced and Brett Gensler broke a 1-1 tie in the third period with his second goal of the game.  Defenseman Scott Mayfield capped the scoring for Youngstown when he cleared the puck off the glass and it went into the empty net.  Fargo was on a power-play and pulled their netminder for a two-man advantage that backfired as Mayfield delivered the dagger.

On Saturday, Youngstown got a standout performance from Tom Serratore who registered an assist and two goals all in the third period.  Brett Gensler added two more goals, bringing his two game roadtrip total to four.  Gensler has been the most consistent scorer for the Phantoms all season.  Jordan Tibbett picked up the win in goal and stopped 26 shots.

With the two wins, Youngstown has improved to 4-1-1 on the road and 4-4-1 overall.  They will do their damndest to win a game at home this weekend as they welcome in Des Moines for Thursday and Friday games.  Luke Eibler injured his shoulder on the road and will miss about a month for the Phantoms.

At the Thursday game, kids wearing Halloween costumes will be admitted for free with a paying adult.  It is also Mascot Mania night where mascots from various organizations will be entertaining the crowd during intermissions.  Confirmed to appear are Sparky, Chomper (Browns), Zippy (Akron), Pete the Penguin (YSU), and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scrappy (Mahoning Valley Scrappers).

The Friday game is YSU night.  Anyone with a valid YSU ID will be admitted free of charge.  Friday is also $1 beer night.  So YSU fans who are planning on having a $1 beer better bring two forms of ID (just my opinion).   The puck drops at 7:05 both nights.  Come by the press area and say hi, I’ll see you there.

“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.