After being picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Youngstown State University had to have September 25 circled on their calendars for a long time.  Not only would that date signify the beginning of conference play, but it would also mark a game with Southern Illinois, defending champs and reigning FCS powerhouse of the past few years.  Coach Eric Wolford and staff proved up to the biggest challenge of the season and rattled off 31 unanswered points to stomp the Salukis, 31-28.

Southern Illinois hit the scoreboard first with 2:16 left in the first quarter when Taylon Hunter returned a blocked punt 38 yards.  The blocked punt came after YSU had punted the play before and downed the ball on the 1-yard line but a penalty forced the Penguins to kick again.  The Salukis are not a team to give second chances to, and this particular instance proved that.

Southern Illinois scored again to push their first quarter lead to 14-0.  Chris Dieker found John Goode in the end zone for an eight yard touchdown strike with just four seconds left in the quarter.

The mark of a good team is how they play in the face of adversity.  Down 14-0, YSU could have packed it in and handled the beating. Coach Eric Wolford transcends a difference not seen here since Jim Tressel as his Penguins would rattle off 31 unanswered points over a quarter-and-a-half.  The Penguins took the ball on their own 19 and marched 81 yards to get on the board.  Kurt Hess put the exclamation point on the drive finding Kevin Watts in the right back side of the end zone.

When Southern Illinois got the ball back, YSU showed a flash of serious momentum on defense.  David Rach (pictured above) knocked the ball from Dieker and Luke Matelan landed on it to give the Penguins the ball on Southern Illinois 18-yard line.  Hess again found Watts from eight yards out to tie the game at 14.

Brandian Ross got into the act with a spectacular pick of Dieker setting the Penguins up on the Saluki 41-yard line.  Hess showed a lot of poise on the drive that would give YSU a 21-14 halftime lead.  Three times on the drive, Hess looked as though he would be sacked for a loss but each time managed to throw the ball for a completion.  Carson Sharbaugh hauled in  a 3-yard heave (below) from Hess to give the Penguins their first lead in the contest.

In the third quarter, YSU gave Southern Illinois a healthy dose of Jamaine Cook.  Cook had consecutive carries of 10,8, 3, and 1 yard with the one-yarder resulting in another YSU touchdown.  The plunge of a yard made the score 28-14 with 5:59 left in the third quarter and the lid came off of the place as all 17,660 red-wearing Penguin fans were cheering wildly.

Stephen Blose hit a 37-yard field goal to increase the Penguin margin to 31-14.  The Penguin defense was outstanding and set the offense up with great field position the entire game.

Southern Illinois scored a touchdown with 1:28 when Dieker ran one in from four yards out to make it 31-21.  Dieker then found Joe Alaria cut the lead to 31-28 with 44 seconds remaining.  Southern Illinois attempted another onside kick but the ball went out of bounds on the hop and YSU ran the clock out for the win.

After the game, Hess talked about the victory.  “Being down 14-0 is not what we expected or wanted, beating the defending champions was a big win for this program.  We worked hard all Summer for this, we are going to celebrate and then get ready for Missouri State next week”.  Hess finished the game 9-15 passing for 94 yards and three touchdowns.  He also had six carries for 24 yards but more importantly, he did a great job managing the clock and making some clutch plays under pressure.

Jamaine Cook was the leader on the ground for the Penguins (3-1, 1-0) with 26 carries for 115 yards.  Cook commented on the win.  “I think this win sent the message to everyone that this is not the old Youngstown, this is a new Youngstown, and we’re back.  The offensive line did a tremendous job and they are getting better every week.”

Coach Eric Wolford was in a great mood after the game and had praise for everyone involved with his program.  “It’s a big win, I tried to downplay the game.  We worked fundamentals hard this week.  We gave them the 14 points at the beginning.  They are a good football team but I didn’t sense any panic on the sidelines.  You really find out what kind of person you are when you face adversity in your life.  I have a lot of confidence in our football team and we all believe in each other, we have a really tight family.  I told the team that we have been one of the teams doing the hunting, now we have officially become the hunted.  We are ten scholarships under everyone else using 53, this win is a tribute to this coaching staff.”

Southern Illinois  (1-3, 0-1) was paced by Dieker’s 24-42 passing for 258 yards.  Dieker flipped a pair of touchdowns in the loss.