Archive for November, 2012

The 2012 football season that started with such a bang is fizzing away.  After a 4-0 start, and then an 0-4 stretch, the Youngstown State University Penguins have gone from the headlines to the bread lines in just a month.  There is no magical answer as to why, but a logical guess would be turnovers, failing to defend any passing game, and special teams weekly blunders.

Coach Eric Wolford knows that this stretch has been taxing on the psyche of his players and assistant coaches.  Turnovers are not something that can be schemed against. Period. Any team that turns the ball over as much as YSU has in the last three games (11) will not win, and sometimes not even get close to winning.

Okay.  So what happens now?  The Penguins could very easily pack up the tent and post the ‘wait until next year’ taunts, ala Cleveland sports teams since 1949, or the Penguins can continue to try to win games.

Keep in mind, at 4-3 going into last week, this team was ranked #22.  If the Penguins can defeat South Dakota this week and Western Illinois next week, they may very well end up right back in the polls at 6-4.  If that does happen, the home finale against Indiana State will have plenty of importance in determining whether or not the Penguins will play the following week.

In true Penguin fashion, however, these games must be won one week at a time.  Kurt Hess has struggled.  Jamaine Cook has had limited production in two of the last four games because the Penguins have trailed, meaning the pass game becomes the dominant choice on offense.  In obvious passing situations, teams can sit back and use numbers to conjure turnovers.  They can also send more than what can be blocked to hurry or sack Hess.

Defensively, consistency is the biggest issue.  South Dakota’s Tyler Starr, a sophomore linebacker, thinks his team is struggling with the same issues on the defensive side of the ball.

“It comes down to discipline and execution”, said Starr.  “People can get carried away during a game and miss an assignment or take a play off here or there.  Suddenly what was a 7-7 game becomes a 21-7 game, and you are trying to figure out what just happened.”

When asked who is a bigger threat to his defense, Hess or Cook (pass or run), Starr gave an honest and candid answer.

“They are both great players.  We have to concentrate on shutting down the run game early and force them to pass.”

The meeting against South Dakota will be the first ever.  USD is in its first year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  It will also mark the 71st Homecoming game in school history.  Since relocating to Stambaugh Stadium, the Penguins are 20-10 in Homecoming games.

The game has the potential of being a blowout for the home team, or a disastrous next chapter in a book Penguin fans do not want to read.

“It’s not hard to see that turnovers have made the difference in these last few games”, said Wolford.  “We preach how important it is to take care of the ball, and we have failed to do that.”

The Homecoming Parade will start at Noon and the game will kickoff at 2 pm.

The Youngstown Phantoms were tricked a few times but ended up with a majority of the treats against the Indiana Ice.  Youngstown broke a seven-game losing streak and won their first contest since October 6 with a 6-5 triumph on a special Halloween game.

In the first period, Indiana jumped out to a 1-0 lead.  Drew Smolcyski converted a powerplay opportunity into a goal at the 4:51 mark.  Smolcynski’s fifth goal of the season was assisted by Tyler Pham and Robbie Baillargeon.  Phantoms goaltender, Sean Romeo, was beaten on a shot from about ten feet away with slight traffic impairing his vision.

The first period would end with the Phantoms outshooting the Ice, 8-7, but trailing on the scoreboard by a goal.

In the second period, Sam Anas scored his third goal of the season to tie the game.  The game-tying goal was scored 3:15 into the second period.  Anas was assisted by Austin Cangelosi and James Mazza on the goal, the third of the season for Anas.

The Phantoms would grab the lead later in the second period.  Tommy Davis scored his first goal as a Youngstown Phantom.  Eric Sweetman made a nice pass through traffic and Davis was able to redirect the puck enough to beat Dalton Izyk on his stick side to give the Phantoms a 2-1 edge.

The Ice would rally to tie the game on a Woody Hudson goal, but the Phantoms headed into the locker room ahead 3-2 thanks to a JT Stenglein score with just under 30 seconds remaining in the period.  Stenglein notched his sixth goal of the year and was assisted by Luke Stork to vault the Phantoms back into the lead.

In the third, the Ice retaliated quickly.  With 17:33 left in the game, Smolcynski and Baillargeon ran a beautiful give and go with Smolcynski scoring the goal.

The Phantoms, doing all they could to break a seven-game losing streak, scored 1:02 later to reclaim the lead at 4-3.  Stork was the recipient of a gorgeous pass right in front of the goal crease and was able to beat Izyk for a goal.  JJ Piccinich garnered an assist.

The Phantoms then quickly made it a 5-3 lead.  On a powerplay, John Padulo recorded his first goal at the 5:25 mark of the third.  Padulo took a pass from Stenglein  to beat Izyk.  Cangelosi received an assist on the Padulo score.

Indiana would continue the offensive war with 12:13 left in the game when they made it 5-4 in favor of the Phantoms.  Rinat Valiev scored for the Ice to keep the fans on edge as the lead shrunk back to a single goal.

Romeo (above) got beat with 10:23 left on another numbers disadvantage.  The Ice tied the game, 5-5, as the new pest in town, Smolcynski scored again.

The Phantoms went back in front with 9;46 remaining.  Todd Koritzinsky got in on the offensive fireworks,  Koritzinsky took a feed from Stenglein in beating Izyk for his first goal of the season, a recurring theme in the game.