When asked whether or not he could take a team like Saint Francis lightly, Eric Wolford gave reasons why he could not.  Saint Francis is coming to Youngstown State this weekend for a rare midseason non-conference game and they bring plenty of offense to town.  The Penguins got a huge win last week at Southern Illinois, posting a quality 35-23 win over a good team.  Wolford knows that his Penguins have to stay focused and sees some daylight.

“Last week was a step in the right direction,” said Wolford.  “Southern Illinois has a very good football team and won this conference a couple of years ago.  I felt coming into this season that they were the second or third best team in the conference, so I am very pleased to get that win.”

The win came on the road, a first for Wolford.  It was also his first come-from-behind win, small landmarks in a bigger path of goals.  With playoff chances looming with every game, YSU cannot afford another loss, at home or on the road.

“We will prepare for Saint Francis like they are the best team we play”, remarked Josh Lee (below), one of last weeks heroes. “We have to prepare and can never underestimate an opponent.”

The Penguins defense will have their hands full against the Red Flash offense.  Kyle Harbridge has been outstanding at RB this year.  The gutty running back put up 189 yards on 23 carries last week and has 955 yards on 150 carries this season.  That is an average of about 132 yards per game.

“We rely on the run game and when it is working, we click on all cylinders.  My line does a fantastic job and we look to establish the run early in games.  It is the same approach every week, get it going early… early and often, hopefully”, said Harbridge via telephone.  “We want to play 60 full minutes to beat YSU, they are an FCS top power type team and we hope it is going to be a fight until the end.”

The Red Flash also have QB John Kelly.  Kelly is 79-173 for 942 yards and six touchdowns.  This team can score, they have just been outscored in most of their games so far this season.

One of the things that concerned Wolford in last week’s win was the kickoff coverage.  It seemed like Southern Illinois started every drive close to midfield.

“Guys didn’t do what they were supposed to do”, said Wolford.  “Those problems should be fixed and some changes will be made, but I think the coverage will be fine this week.”

Wolford praised several of his young players for their effort but says the celebration ends Sunday and there is still a lot of work to do to reach the goal of making the playoffs.

“We can play with anyone.  We could win or we could lose.  We can’t look at the schedule and circle the games we think we will win and the games we think we will probably lose.  We finally feel as though we have some depth at every position.  We are maturing and with that will come better execution.  This season isn’t over yet, I’ll tell you guys when it is over.”

The Penguins will be without David Rogers and Carson Sharbaugh will get the start at tight end on offense.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.