Youngstown State entered the game ranked for the first time in a couple of years.  First-year Coach Eric Wolford said before the Penguins meeting with Missouri State that this game would be no cake walk.  “They don’t care that we are ranked, nor do they care that we are 3-1. All they care about is that they can beat Youngstown State.”  In the end, the Penguins came out on the short end of the stick and were handed a 35-25 setback.  The Penguins opened strong racing out to a 17-0 lead, but Missouri State roared back countering with 27 unanswered points to grab control.  It is also hard to win when you compile 106 yards in penalties.

Youngstown State got out of the gate early as Jamaine Cook (above) burst through the right side of the line for a 71-yard touchdown. On the play, Senior guard Eric Rodemoyer (next photo down) pulled and buried Missouri State’s DE to spring Cook for the long run. Stephen Blose knocked in the extra point to put the Penguins ahead 7-0.

Blose increased the lead to 10-0 when he connected on a 24-yard field goal.  On the drive, the Penguins were deep in Missouri State territory when Jordan Thompson mishandled the exchange from quarterback Kurt Hess.  Thompson fell on his own fumble to retain possession, but the chance for a touchdown instead of a FG was decreased.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Penguins caught a big break when Jamarious Boatwright fell on a free ball deep in Bears territory at the 25-yard line.  With 3:10 remaining in the opening quarter, Cook scored from five yards out to give YSU a 17-0 cushion.  Missouri State responded before the half when Cody Kirby hooked up with Cadarriu Dotson from 30 yards away to cut the YSU lead to 17-7 with 13:43 left in the half.

In the second half, the Penguins came unglued and played very undisciplined football.  With a 17-7 lead and the ball on their own two yard line following a punt, Hess and Thompson again had exchange problems, this time in their own end zone, and this time resulting in a Bears touchdown.  Howard Scarborough pounced on the loose ball in the paint to make it a 17-14 game.

On the next drive, Hess was picked off by Bears LB Adam Beauchamp who returned the pick 40 yards to give the Bears a 21-17 lead. Jordan Chiles, who had a rough day missing three field goal attempts for the Bears, knocked in all of his PAT’s on the day.  Suddenly, Youngstown State’s Offense was shooting itself in the foot.  Two defensive touchdowns should not be indicative of the performance of YSU’s Defense.

After Missouri State made it 28-17 on Chris Douglas’ 22-yard scoring run, YSU found some rhythm on offense.  Hess connected with Sophomore Juilian Harrell for gains of 11, 24, and 12 yards.  Those gains set up a 2-yard Thompson touchdown to make the score 28-23.  Coach Wolford opted to go for two points to draw the Penguins into a three rather than four point deficit.  The decision was a good one as Hess popped in for a successful conversion to make the score 28-25.

Starting the next drive on their own 38, the Bears marched the field in nine plays with the end result a Jemain Saffold 43-yard touchdown reception on a third-and-twelve.  Chiles kick was good to make the score Missouri State 35, Youngstown State 25.

The Penguins got the ball back when Chiles missed his third field goal of the game with 2:46 left in the game.  After moving the ball about 30 yards, YSU ran out of downs and Missouri State was able to kneel on the ball to run out the clock.  The Bears improved to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Sophomore Juilian Harrell lead the Penguins receivers with five catches for 65 yards.  For Harrell, a transfer from Miami (OH), it was his best game of the season.  Jamaine Cook racked up 167 yards on 26 attempts with a pair of touchdowns.  Kurt Hess was 13-33 for 165 yards but was picked off twice.  Freshman Donald D’Alesio had 11 tackles and John Sasson 9 to lead the Penguins defensively.

For Missouri State, a much more experienced team, QB Cody Kirby connected on 24 of 39 for 298 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Chris Douglas recorded 11 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown.  Jermaine Saffold hauled in nine balls for 114 yards and a score.  The Missouri State offense only had a couple of truly effective drives, but the Bears (based in Springfield, MO, home of Brad Pitt) came up with the big plays and used their prevailing veteran status to punch the ticket when they needed to most.

The statistic that was the hardest to comprehend were the penalties.  The Penguins compiled nine penalties for 106 yards. Many of the penalties were of the undisciplined variety, things such as late hits and personal fouls.  Many of the nine penalties were also 15 yards or more.

After the game, Coach Wolford commented on his predominantly young team’s mental mistakes and penalties.  “It’s hard to win games in the conference on the road, especially when about 30 of our guys have never played a conference game on the road before.  I have to watch the film and I’m sure I’ll be sick. We have to get those kind of mistakes corrected or we are not going to win many conference games.”  Wolford also put the blame on himself and the coaching staff, deflecting the heat from any of the players, yet another reason to like him.

With the loss, the Penguins dropped to 3-2 and 1-1 in the conference.  YSU will return home to face North Dakota State and kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.  The Penguins are 3-0 at home and look to keep the momentum at The Ice Castle intact.