Archive for September, 2012

When the YSU Penguins take the field for their Saturday contest against Albany, they will be attempting to go to 3-0 for the first time in seven years.  Albany is coming to Youngstown, also undefeated, at 2-0, and has similar aspirations of winning.  The Great Danes were a playoff team last season and are the preseason pick to win the Northeast Conference.

“They have had the same coach for a very long time”, said Eric Wolford.  “They are a fundamentally sound football team that is very good at running the football, I think they are averaging 250 yards a game.  We cannot, and will not, look past them.  They are a playoff team, they are coming here undefeated, and they must be doing something right to have all of that success.”

Albany, which has posted wins over Colgate (40-23) and Robert Morris (35-10) believe they have a punchers chance in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Drew Smith, a senior running back, is one of the main components of the Great Danes offense and has tasted the fruits of hard work over the past couple of seasons.

“We can win this game”, said Smith via telephone.  “Youngstown State is a very good team, but we are better than Pitt and Valpo.  We have to execute, come out early, and hit them in the mouth, let them know we are here to play football.”

Smith was very complimentary of Youngstown State and cited all of the tradition but says his team is looking at this chance as their Super Bowl.

“For us, it is one of the biggest games in our history.  These are the big boys on our schedule.  We are trying to gain respect.  YSU is a great program with a good history and four National Championships.  We do have a chip on our shoulders to prove we are a good team and want to win.”

It was like watching my grandmother play Yahtzee with seven dice instead of five.  It was so out of hand by the half that the pee-wee continuous clock theory may have been a viable option.  To put it mildly, it was a total mismatch.  Youngstown State scored early and often in pounding Valparaiso, 59-0, to open the home portion of their schedule.

“It was good to see our kids come out focused after last week “, said Coach Wolford.  “We brought in Reverend Louis Macklin.  He said we are on assignment.  On assignment for the community, the program, and the university.  The assignment is to go 1-0 every week.”

YSU got on the scoreboard at the 13-minute mark of the first quarter when Kurt Hess connected with Christian Bryan for a 12-yard touchdown (next photo down).  The Penguins drive covered 65 yards in just five plays.  Hess connected with Kintrell Disher for nine and 20 yard completions on the drive.

Ali Cheaib blocked a punt on the ensuing Valpo possession.  The block was recovered by Ricardo Dixon at the Crusaders 11-yard line.  Hess then found Will Shaw for an 11-yard strike to put the Penguins ahead 14-0.

Next Valpo possession, the revamped YSU defense roared again when Travis Williams forced a fumble that Jeremy Edwards would scoop up and run seven yards with, to make it 21-0.

In the second quarter, Eric Wolford and staff started getting into the depth chart a bit giving the ones time with the twos.  Torrian Pace rambled in from three yards out to make it 28-0.

“It is always encouraging to see the twos get time with the ones”, commented Wolford.  “We want the twos to be able to blend in with the ones.  We have to continue to be creative.”

Pace talked about playing in these types of games.  “It was a very good day for us offensively.  The O-Line played great.  Overall, we executed and did what we needed to do.  It was a good home opener, but we are taking it one week at a time.  Our approach was to go into this game as if we were playing Pitt.  Every week it has to be like that.”

Jamaine Cook, who saw a short work day with eight carries for 51 yards would plunge in from two yards out with 12:54 remaining in the first half to make it 35-0.

Demond Hymes would be the third YSU running back to hit the stat sheet in the second quarter when he scored from a yard out, increasing the Penguins lead to 42-0.

Pace would again score before halftime on a 14-yard scurry to make it a 49-0 game.

Hess had another productive game, or in this case, a productive first half.  The junior signal-caller was 7-10 for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

David Brown kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 52-0.  It was obvious that Wolford took his foot off of the gas in the second half.  In the third quarter, Valpo made it across the 50 for the first time in the game.

The Penguins would score one last time to make it a 59-0 when Hymes would cap off a 2:32 yard drive with a 3-yard scamper.

Edwards, a defensive leader, commented on the defense posting it’s first shutout since 2009, a 28-0 win at Indiana State.

“It is a 24-hour rule, but we are a confident group and we will be ready for next week.  I wasn’t aware of the shutout being that long ago.”

Patrick Angle got some time at QB for the Penguins.  Angle started the second half and was 5-7 for 45 yards before yielding to Dante Nania for the last couple of Penguins drives.

To put the game into perspective, Valpo collects about $70,000.00 for coming to Youngstown State.  It is a tier-two money beating.  Youngstown State collected $400k last week on the visit to Pittsburgh, so the shoe was completely on the other foot this week.

YSU will have a similar contest next week when they face Albany.  The attitude will be business as usual and the Penguins will not take anyone lightly.  Wolford will surely get more reps for both, the offense and the defense, as a big challenge looms the following week when Northern Iowa comes to Youngstown to open Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

Late word that Jake Giuriceo‘s scheduled ten-round championship match in Minnesota has been cancelled.  Giuriceo was to face Jason Litzau on September 29, for the interim WBA/NABC Lightweight Championship.

“When Floyd Mayweather Sr. pulled out of the card yesterday, it kind of set things in motion”, remarked Joe Corvino, Giuriceo’s manager.  “Billy Lyell was set to fight on the same card and it was shaping up to be a really good night of boxing, but as we all know, this is sometimes a weird sport to figure out.”

Giuriceo is training with Frank Duarte in California.  The Bull will stay put and keep training in hopes of Corvino patching another deal for him somewhere else.

The best option may be a Roy Jones Jr. card at Mountaineer on September 29.  Jones asked Giuriceo to be on the card when it was being originated.  Corvino and Jones talked about the opportunity that Giuriceo had to face Litzau in Minnesota on the same night.  Jones reportedly said that it was a better opportunity for Giuriceo and that he would take that fight too.

** Photo Courtesy of Ron Stevens

 

Going into Saturday’s home opener, the Youngstown State Penguins have proven plenty in just a week.  Valparaiso, self-admittedly, is a football program that has struggled to get the program where it needs to be winning just one game last season.

The game is a mismatch on paper, but do not tell Eric Wolford that.

“We are going to run our offense and our defense to keep things running smoothly”, remarked Wolford when asked how much would be enough to pull the starters.  “Once we have seen what we need to, we will use some of our depth if we are afforded that opportunity.  They are a football team just like we are and anything can happen.”

6’3″ , 300 lb. Valpo noseman, Bruce Collins, relishes the chance to play in these type of games. With that kind of size, it is fun to tell you that Collins had a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown last season.

“We know that YSU is a good team, we learned that first-hand last season and they are probably ten times better this year if they beat Pitt”, remarked Collins.  “We want to come out and play hard and show that we have heart.”

Collins, referring to last season’s 77-13 blowout loss to the Penguins showed optimism for the Crusader football program.

“This program has really struggled for the past three seasons and we feel like we are getting ready to turn the corner.”

Wolford was emphatic about his desires to pack the Ice Castle.

“It is our home opener and we are coming off of a big win.  People know that this is the place to be now.  We want to pack the tailgate lots, pack the stadium, and represent this great community.”

The Youngstown State volleyball team got three aces in the fifth set and a match-high 17 kills from Missy Hundelt to beat Binghamton 27-25, 21-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-13 on Friday in the opening  match of the Akron Zips Invitational.

After being out-aced 10-4 through the first three sets, the Penguins had just one receiving error in the final two sets while posting four aces. In the fifth, Casey D’Ambrose had one at match point, Chelsea Guerrieri’s ace gave YSU a 13-11 lead, and Hundelt’s gave the Guins a 9-5 advantage.

The win was YSU’s seventh in a row, and the Penguins have now matched their win total from the previous two seasons combined. YSU is now 7-2, and Binghamton is 1-7.

Youngstown State overcame a 5-0 deficit in the first with a 7-1 run, and the Penguins eventually took a 19-13 lead on a blocking error. Binghamton scored seven of the next eight points to tie the set at 20, and the Bearcats later scored three straight points to go up 25-24. Hundelt’s kill tied the set at 25, and the Penguins scored the next two points on a Shannon Watson kill and an error by Partaleva.

Binghamton trailed 16-13 in the second before closing the set on a 12-5 run, and the Bearcats won the fourth set 25-20.

Youngstown State will try to push its winning streak to eight this evening when it plays SIU-Edwardsville at 5 p.m.

Jake Giuriceo has been training in California under the watchful eye of Frank Duarte for his upcoming fight on September 29 in Minnesota.  Giuriceo will Jason Litzau, who holds a record of 29-3 with 22 KO’s.  The fight is scheduled for ten rounds and is for the WBA/NABA Lightweight Championship.

“Litzau is a good boxer, a tall fighter at 5’10”, and has been on ESPN”, said Giuriceo.  “He can punch, but he does have a tendency to leave himself open sometimes.  It would be a great boost to my career if I can get the win against him.”

The normal procedure before a Giuriceo fight over the last five or so has been a trip to California for a couple of months and then a return to Keith Burnside in a unique dual training system.

“It is a longer camp than usual”, said Giuriceo.  “We are going ten weeks and Frankie and I worked very hard the first three weeks on the things we have never really had the time to do.  One of my better aspects is conditioning, so I am happy to have a ten-rounder.”

Giuriceo (16-1) lost a unanimous decision in Columbus to journeyman Michael Clark  his last time out.  He did not go to California to train for that fight, but said that Duarte offers him insight that Burnside does not, just as Burnside gives Giuriceo things that maybe Duarte cannot.

*Photo Courtesy of Ron Stevens

As the Mahoning Valley Scrappers season comes to a close, a couple of players were moved to Lake County for the playoff push.  Joe Wendle (above) and Tyler Naquin will join Charlie Valerio, who was promoted last week.

Wendle was probably the most consistent Scrapper at the plate this season.  In 61 games, he compiled a .327 batting average and had four home runs.  Wendle also showed defensive versatility being jockeyed between second and third base all season.

Naquin had recently played in three games, his first action since hurting his back and being sidelined since August 2nd.  The Indians #1 Draft Pick of 2012 showed off a great arm while manning CF and developed good plate discipline before the injury forced him out of action for a month.

With the final series being played at State College, an interesting note was that the Pirates short season affiliate had Starling Marte on a rehab assignment before he rejoins Pittsburgh later this week.

 

For the first time in school history, a pair of Youngstown State women’s soccer players have swept the Horizon League weekly awards, the league announced on Tuesday. Junior forward Rachel Morrison was named the league’s offensive player of the week while Ali Viola earned defensive player of the week.

At 4-0-0, Youngstown State is off to the best start in the program’s history. The Penguins knocked off Buffalo, 1-0, before a 4-0 rout of Canisius on Friday.

Morrison scored twice against Canisius, becoming the first YSU player in nearly a year to score more than a single goal in a match. With three goals on the year, Morrison is one of four Horizon League players tied atop the ledger.

Viola did not allow a goal in 180 minutes of play, collecting her second and third shutouts of the year. Against Buffalo, Viola was instrumental in the Penguin win, making nine saves in the match, the second-highest single-game total in the Horizon League this year.  On the week, Viola made 12 saves while moving into third all-time in YSU history for shutouts with five.

The Penguins will travel to Kent State for a match on Friday, Sept. 7 before returning home to host Niagara on Sunday, Sept. 9. The Horizon League Network will have live coverage of the match, beginning at 4 p.m. ET

Youngstown State University’s Andre Stubbs has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of the Week.  Stubbs had a terrific all-around effort agains Pitt in YSU’s 31-17 win.

In his first game since a season-ending injury in 2011, Stubbs rushed for 71 yards on six carries, caught four passes for 61 yards and had two kickoffs for 40 yards. He caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and ran for a 13-yard score in the fourth. He finished with 172 all-purpose yards on the evening. The win against Pitt marked the league’s first-ever victory against a Big East Conference foe.

“We don’t recruit players based on size”, said YSU Coach Eric Wolford.  “We would rather go by the films and see what the guys can do on the field.”

The 5’6″ redshirt freshman from Maple Heights, Ohio, packs a lot of power in that small frame.

Kurt Hess joked at the post game press conference that when the Penguins run an empty backfield set that Stubbs is hard to see, but quickly noted that he usually gets to where he can be seen.  This week, he was pretty visible in the Panthers end zone, twice.

The Youngstown State Athletic Department, in honor of Labor Day, is offering the fans of the Mahoning Valley a special FREE ticket offer on Monday, Sept. 3 only. For every reserved or general admission game ticket purchased on Monday each fan will receive a FREE ticket of equal value. The ticket office at Stambaugh Stadium will have special hours from Noon to 5 p.m. on Monday.

The Penguins, who grabbed the college football headlines with an impressive 31-17 win over Pittsburgh at Heinz Field last night, play host to the Valparaiso Crusaders this Saturday in the home opener at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff for the contest is 4 p.m.

Season tickets – including reserved, chair back seats and M-24 tailgate passes with a Penguin Club membership – for the six-game home slate, which features three games in September, are also on sale. Beginning on Tuesday, the ticket office will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. leading up to Saturday’s home opener.

“Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions, achievements and hard-work of American workers,” noted Eric Wolford, YSU Head Coach. “To honor the tireless effort of the workers and retirees in this Valley, we are offering this one-day special free ticket offer. Our team worked hard on opening night at Pitt and we want to reward our fans with a chance to fill the Ice Castle this Saturday.”

All fans attending YSU’s opener will receive a 2012 schedule magnet. A very limited number of individual game tailgate passes remain for the M-7 tailgate lot ($15). State Farm will sponsor the annual Kids Day Tailgate activities from 1-4 p.m. in the M-7 lot at the corner of Lincoln and Fifth Avenues.

Fans can call 330-941-1978 for more information or log onto YSUSports.com.