Archive for the ‘YSU Football’ Category

Congratulations are in order to the 2009 Youngstown State University Homecoming King and Queen.  Krista Cunningham and Carrington Moore were announced as the new heirs to the throne at halftime of the Youngstown State – South Dakota State game on Saturday.  May your rule be filled with joy!

Youngstown State University will not be participating in the 2009 Postseason Playoffs.  That is the unfortunate reality following a 17-3 setback to #9 South Dakota State at Stambaugh Stadium.  The Jackrabbits were consistent and opportunistic in defeating a very tough YSU team in a physical game.  Defense and turnovers were the keys to victory for the Jackrabbits (7-1, 6-0) who got the big breaks at just the right times in turning back the Penguins (4-4, 2-3).

South Dakota State took the opening drive and marched all the way to the YSU 2-yard line before a penalty backed them up to the 7. After a couple of plays, the normally reliable Jackrabbit Kicker, Peter Reifenrath, hooked a 25-yard attempt and no scoring was recorded.

YSU took over on their own 20 and got to the South Dakota State 27 before having to settle on a 48-yard FG from Stephen Blose to take a 3-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first period. On the drive, Brandon Summers looked sharp and YSU featured a one-back offensive look with FB Dana Brown exclusively on the field for the entire drive. The first quarter would end with the 3-0 YSU lead.

Senior QB Ryan Crawford  marched the Jackrabbits deep into YSU territory. Good coverage prevented a couple of shots to the end zone and SDSU would have to settle for a Reifenrath field goal of 25-yards to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:33 left in the first half.

After an exchange of possessions, the half ended deadlocked with a 3-3 defensive battle taking place at The Ice Castle on Halloween.

A 5-yard Kyle Minett run put the Jackrabbits in front, 10-3, to capitalize on a Brandon Summers interception on the Penguins first play of the second half.  The turnover gave South Dakota State a ton of momentum coming out of the intermission.

Dailyn Campbell (6-1, Soph.) opened the next drive for YSU at quarterback. Summers had been hampered by an injury he suffered in last week’s loss at Southern Illinois.  Campbell used his speed and elusiveness to create positive rushing yards on a nice drive but the Penguins came up empty on a missed field goal leaving the score at 10-3. The next few drives saw Campbell and Summers being used at different times. After three quarters, the Jackrabbits clung to their 10-3 lead.

It was Minett again scoring at the 4:51 mark of the fourth quarter to extend the Jackrabbit lead to 17-3. The South Dakota State drive took almost five minutes off of the clock as they marched 66 yards in 9 plays.  The pattern that was becoming more obvious during this drive was that the Jackrabbits were not a big-play team, but rather a methodical and well-oiled machine able to get at least four yards per touch with anything extra being a bonus.  The SDSU tight ends and receivers seemed to shift and / or motion on every single offensive play.

The Penguins were able to move the ball 60 yards in less than a minute-and-a-half, but again came away empty turning the ball over on downs as Summers was sacked helped in part by a low snap.

The Penguins defense forced a quick three-and-out while burning their timeouts to get the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game. A sideline interference penalty turned a second-and-one to go into a second-and-seventeen to go, that is just the kind of day it ended up being for Youngstown State. South Dakota State would intercept Summers on fourth-and-twenty to seal the victory in a hard-fought 17-3 win.

For the victorious Jackrabbits, Ryan Crawford was 19 of 28 for 178 yards and 4 rushes for 22 more yards.  Kyle Minett had 22 carries for 87 yards and 2 catches for 32 yards.  Colin Cochart hauled in 6 Crawford passes for 51 yards.  Statistically, the Jackrabbits dominated the contest.  They had more first downs (17-14), more rushing yards (131-73), won the time of possession battle (32:36-27:24), and controlled the turnover battle (2-0).  When you are defeated in those four categories it is tough to win a game.

Youngstown State was paced by Dailyn Campbell (who only played sparingly in the second half) with 32 rushing yards on 7 attempts.  Brandon Summers finished the game going 19-29 for 181 yards and two interceptions.  Donald Jones and Dominique Barnes both caught six balls each to pace the Penguins receiving corps.

After the game, a very exhausted and frustrated Jon Heacock addressed the obvious problems that resulted in a loss.  “The playoffs are shot.  We will continue to practice and prepare like champions.”

Heacock also explained why Dailyn Campbell replaced Summers in the third quarter.  “It’s a tough decision for me to take a Senior out of a game.  In that situation, I was more inclined to give Brandon [Summers] a rest out of concern for an injury he has been battling from last week’s game.  I owe it to these Seniors who have stuck it out this long to always see that they get their chances.” 

Junior Andre Elliott said the Jackrabbits didn’t do anything surprising to win.  “They did everything we expected them to do.  Their offense doesn’t get big plays, they just move the ball.  We will continue to play hard because we want to send our Seniors out on a winning note.” 

The Penguins go back on the road next week traveling to Northern Iowa, their third ranked opponent in a row, for a 5:30 kickoff.

There are alot of quality skill-position players on this years Youngstown State University Football Team.  The Senior who gets overlooked too many times is Dana Brown.  Brown is a fundamentally solid running back who contributes in every way possible to help the Penguins win games.  Brown is a quiet and reserved individual but is loud and explosive on the field of play.  I got to catch up with Dana and here are the highlights of that interview:

Paneech:  Walk me through a typical day during football season.

Brown: Get up, we have breakfast check ten minutes before your first class, go to my classes, try to get lunch in between classes and having to get to practice at 2:10 for special teams meeting.  Then we do team meeting and then position meetings before we hit the field.

Paneech:  How hard was it to resist going to smaller schools where you went to high school closer to Clairton, PA? 

Brown:  I wanted to get away from home, well, not too far.  I ended up going real far when I went to Iowa, but I wanted to be away so there was no temptation to go home and get into trouble.  It was good to transfer to Youngstown State because I am alot closer to home.

Paneech:  Talk about the days at Iowa.  They are winning, undefeated, this season.  Due you root for the Hawkeyes, or are there hard feelings?

Brown:  I know alot of those guys, I still talk to some of them and consider them good friends.  I wish them the best and there are no hard feelings.  I like it here [Youngstown] because it is alot closer than Iowa was to the lifestyle that Pittsburgh has.  I like this team, the environment, and the family-type atmosphere that we have here.

Paneech:  This week you guys play South Dakota State.  Tell me what it would mean to pull off the upset.

Brown:  As you know, in the Missouri Valley Conference every game is tough.  Every conference game you play can go either way, you can win or lose.  We are going into this game wanting to execute and win the turnover margin.  We are coming into every game with a chip on our shoulders.  Obviously, we are doing better than we did last year but we want to keep the ball rolling.

Paneech:  With the tandem of running backs YSU is using (last week 4 RB’s got action), how are the carries split up and is there animosity between the group about who should get the bulk?

Brown:  We all expect to get our number called.  There is no selfishness, but we have to be ready when our number is called.  When we get on a roll and get the rhythm going with a back, coach will stick with the rhythm and use what is working best.

Paneech:  Have you decided on a major yet?

Brown:  I picked multi-media, technology, and web-based management.  Our world is slowly evolving into an age where technology takes over.  With that major, I have alot of different options I can go into. 

Paneech:  Tell me something about Dana Brown that I can’t read anywhere else.

Brown:  I’m a Christian, and I recently gave my life to the Lord.  I live the right way and I try to encourage my friends to live right also.  As a Senior, I have to be a good role model for the younger guys. 

Paneech:  What did you do on the bye weekend?

Brown:  That weekend was more of a rest period than anything else.  That doesn’t mean kicking back and not doing anything at all, it was an easier week.  At practice, we worked on the mental more than anything and we didn’t want to bang each other up too much.  At the same time, we wanted to get some work in.  We watched Ohio State play on Saturday.  Alot of teams that lost games that weekend also lost the turnover margin, so that is our goal.

One Word Answers

Favorite Cereal:  Frosted Flakes.

Best Running Back In The NFL:  Adrian Peterson.

Best Show On TV:  The Game on TNT.

Favorite Holiday:  Thanksgiving.

Best Movie Ever Made:  Pursuit of Happiness.

2009 Super Bowl Champs:  (laughs)  Pittsburgh Steelers, of course.

Kobe or LeBron:  Kobe.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  Cookies and Cream. 

Best Cartoon Character:  Sponge Bob.

Besides Lettuce, What Goes In The Salad:  Croutons, cheese, and Ranch dressing.

Nicest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For You:  I’m still waiting on it (laughs).

Youngstown State University needs to work on their costume a bit for this weekend.  The Penguins will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Halloween.  Coach Jon Heacock has unfairly taken alot of criticism for the costume not being at its full potential yet, but promises to work on making the proper alterations needed for Halloween success.

The Penguins (4-3, 2-2) are coming off of a 27-8 loss at Southern Illinois.  The South Dakota State game marks this years Homecoming and YSU Hall of Fame Induction.  The Jackrabbits are undefeated in conference play and stand at 6-1 overall.   

You probably read the first paragraph of this game preview and said,  What?  A writer defending Coach Heacock?  I am.  Let me tell you why.  The coach of a football team does not miss a tackle, he puts a player in position to make a tackle.  If the player misses the tackle it should not fall back on the coaches.  A coach does not snap on punts or field goals, he does not fumble, throw interceptions or miss blocks, players do.  All a coach can do is prepare a team for what they can expect to see by breaking down hours of film, installing a gameplan, and teaching that gameplan in a very short period of time.

Last week against Southern Illinois, I went to the weekly Monday press conference and listened to Heacock outline his plan to the media: 

•  Objective #1 was to stop All-American RB Deji Karim.  Check.  Karim had an average game by his standards and finished well below his season averages.
• Objective #2 was to pressure Saluki QB Chris Dieker.  Check.  Dieker leaves the game with a shoulder injury but felt pressure while he was in there.
• Objective #3 was to attack the defense, get after the linebackers (two of them were also All-Americans), and move the ball without turning it over.  Check.  YSU had success moving the ball and put themselves in a position to score more than once in a first half where they came away with zero points.

Ultimately, a standup coach takes the blame in a loss.  That same coach also deflects the praise back to the players in victory.  Heacock follows this trend, he is a standup guy.  At this weeks press conference, I mentioned that it seems this YSU team is snakebitten.  It is not an insult, just a feeling.  Bad luck is something you can’t coach against.  Two special teams plays cost the Penguins 10 total points.  Heacock remarked, “We practiced punt team more than anything else during the bye week.  Apparantly, we did not work on it enough.  You can’t have a punt blocked or a 2-yard pass go for 86 yards.  In three-and-a-half minutes we went from being in a dogfight to being down 14 points.”

Lay off of him already. 

Moving forward, things will not get any easier for YSU.  Another Top-10 ranked school is on the agenda for this week.  South Dakota State (6-1, 5-0) is ranked #9 and coming off of a huge road win last week at Northern Iowa.  The Jackrabbits are a very physical team.  They do not give up many points and Heacock called them the best defensive team in the conference.  Redshirt-Freshman Thomas O’Brien was 26-37 against Northern Iowa for 285 yards and a pair of TDs.  He was not sacked, a credit to the Jackrabbits O-Line.  Kyle Minett rushed for 105 yards and caught four passes for 39 more.  YSU will have to stuff the run and get pressure on O’Brien to be successful on defense this weekend.

Alignment has been an ongiong problem for the YSU defense.  When asked how the defense can still have alignment issues 7 weeks in, DL Mychal Savage (pictured) responded.  “They change the things that we see, so we have to change what we do.”  Makes sense to me.  The things a coach sees on film are not the guaranteed cliffnotes to a victory.  Teams DO change the things they do on both sides of the ball every week. 

Kickoff is set for 4:07 and the weather looks decent with mostly cloudy skies and 55 degrees.

Penguin Notes

• YSU is 4-4 all-time in Halloween games, 47-19-1 on Homecoming (19-8 at The Ice Castle), and 5-5 all-time against South Dakota State. 
• South Dakota State won last years meeting 40-7.
• Donald Jones 11 catches against Southern Illinois again tied a school record.  Jones tied the record earlier in the season.
• Senior Aaron Pitts had his best game ever against Southern Illinois with 102 yards on 7 receptions.
• Junior Na’eem Outler also had his career best effort with nine tackles against Southern Illinois.

Special teams errors and a Freshman QB proved to be the difference in Southern Illinois 27-8 victory over Youngstown State University (4-3, 2-2).  The Penguins outworked the Salukis (6-1, 5-0)  in the first half yet found themselves in a 14-point hole at the break.  A couple of bad snaps on special teams and one bad play on defense worked into a 17-point swing in favor of Southern and YSU could never get back into the game. 

Youngstown State came out fired up and stuffed the Salukis high-powered offense in three plays.  The Penguins then took possession on their own 20 following a punt and moved the ball all the way to the Southern Illinois 25-yard line before failing to convert on third and fourth down and less than a yard to go.

Southern Illinois took over at their own 25 and drove to the YSU 33.  Chris Dieker was sacked by Andre Elliott setting up a 3rd-and-11 and the Salukis got called for a penalty on the next play.  The third down play was unsuccessful and YSU forced a punt which Saluki Punter Scott Ravanesi rolled to the 6-yard line.  After picking up a first down on a Brandon Summers to Donald Jones passing play, the Penguins had the ball out past the 20-yard line where the first quarter would come to a close locked in a scoreless tie.

Southern Illinois blocked a YSU punt after a high snap and pounced on the loose ball at the YSU 2.  On a second-and-goal from inside the one, Saluki FB Jon Goode powered his way into the end zone to put Southern Illinois in front 7-0.  Starting QB Chris Dieker did not come out for the drive as Southern Illinois sent true freshman Paul McIntosh out.  It was later learned that Dieker had a broken collarbone and is out indefinitely.

After a Penguin punt and a penalty, Southern Illinois took the ball on their own 10-yard line.  On a third-and-six yards to go from their own 14, the Salukis struck big.  McIntosh found Joe Allaria for an 86-yard touchdown, and just when it seemed the momentum was swinging the Penguins way, they found themselves down 14-0.  McIntosh filled in brilliantly for the injured Dieker and finished the game with 133 passing yards and 12 rushes for 81 yards.

The Penguins then got a good kickoff return from Dominique Barnes out to their own 44, but a penalty brought the ball back to the 11-yard line.  Behind six Summers completions and the emergence of Freshman Jermaine Cook’s running, the Penguins moved the ball all the way to the Southern Illinois 12-yard line.  The offense went numb in the red zone again.  Stephen Blose came out to attempt a 25-yard field goal, but the snap was poor and the kick never had a chance.  At the half, it was all YSU (at least it seemed that way), yet they trailed 14-0.

Southern Illinois scored again in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Deji Karim.  The Salukis started the drive at the YSU 45 after a poor punt by Ben Nowicki.  The TD by Karim, the weapon Coach Heacock said the Penguins needed to neutralize most, was one of his few shining moments in the game as the YSU defense did well containing him all day.

Southern kicker Kyle Dougherty added a pair of field goals  of 44 and 45 yards to complete the Southern Illinois scoring.

YSU got on the board when Summers found Senior Aaron Pitts for a 56-yard hookup.  Pitts had a tremendous game for the Penguins finishing with 7 catches for 102 yards.  The TD made the score 24-8 with a successful two-point conversion.  Donald Jones again tied the school record with 11 catches in a game, the second time he has done so this season.  Jones finished the contest with 11 grabs for 96 yards.

Brandon Summers (pictured) finished the game with 45 passing attempts, a career-high.  He completed 30 of those attempts for 296 yards.  He also finished the game with a touchdown and two fourth-quarter interceptions.  Unfortunately, Summers was also sacked 4 times and finished the game with -41 yards rushing.

The Penguins need to win their final four games to have any shot at all at the postseason.  The task will not be easy as they host South Dakota State (6-1, 5-0), a 24-14 winner at Northern Iowa,  next weekend.  The Penguins then head to the evil dome that is home to Northern Iowa to face another great team.  I’m sure that Coach Heacock will tune up the special teams problems that hurt YSU in the loss to Southern Illinois knowing that you cannot give good teams like this extra reasons to win football games.

Youngstown State University will remain in a must-win position for the rest of the regular season.  This week, the Penguins have a tough task in traveling to Carbondale, Ill. to face the Salukis of Southern Illinois.  The Salukis started the year with a nailbiter loss at Marshall (31-28) but have been perfect since in compiling a 5-1 record.  Last week Southern Illinois got a huge road win against then #2 ranked Northern Iowa.  After that win the Salukis have climbed to #3 in the polls.

Youngstown State Coach Jon Heacock knows that Southern Illinois is a tall order.  “They have a very good and tough team of veterans.  They play very disciplined football and don’t beat themselves.  They do a great job of protecting the ball.  Deji Karim is the best running back we will see all year, and that includes Dion Lewis of Pitt.”

Deji Karim is averaging almost 160 yards per game on the ground for a fantastic run offense powered by a mostly senior offensive line.  One of the strengths of the Saluki offense that Heacock pointed out was that if a team chooses to stuff the box and try to take away the run, that QB Chris Dieker will step up and beat you.

The Southern Illinois Defense is led by Sr. All-American LB Brandin Jordan.  Despite missing a game this season, Jordan still leads the Salukis in tackles with 39 in just five games.  Korey Lindsey (Jr., CB) and Mike McElroy (Jr., FS) have combined for 9 interceptions in six games.  The Salukis have 13 starters that are Seniors.  Youngstown State only has 12 Seniors on the team.

For YSU, the bye week yielded an extra seven days of preparation, as well as, a chance for the team to heal up those small, nagging injuries.  To look at the season so far with a 4-2 overall record is nice on paper until you look at who the next three games are against.  This week @ Southern Illinois.  Next week – Home against South Dakota State, and November 7 @ Northern Iowa.  You could go from being 4-2 to being 4-5 if you play poorly.  The Youngstown State team I saw in the first half of the Western Illinois game last week would beat any of the above three mentioned future-games.  However, the team I saw in the second half would struggle to win against anybody.  If Coach Heacock has indeed de-emphasized the things that did not work this season and enhanced the things that did work, YSU should be a dangerous team the rest of this season.

YSU CB Brandian Ross said at Monday’s weekly press conference that there is no extra pressure on YSU to win.  “We can’t afford to lose, we don’t want to lose.  If you are a true competitor it doesn’t get any better than this.  You want to play the best of the best every week and thats what we are getting ready to do.  We don’t look at it as pressure to win.  We want to play football.”

Brian Mellott, a Penguins Senior offensive lineman, wants to use last years 33-0 beating at the hands of the Salukis as motivation.  “Last year they came in here and beat us.  It was embarrassing, not only for the football team and university, but also for the whole town.  We are in a great position with our last five games against five great teams.  We will find out alot about Youngstown State Football 2009.”

For Youngstown State to be successful, they are going to have to turn in a great performance against the most complete team they have faced since Pitt.  Brandon Summers has to have a sound game and not try to force passes against a defense that knows how to keep momentum for halves, not drives.  Kevin Smith and the young offensive line need to move the ball to assist the potency of a strong passing game.  The entire defense must line up ready to carry out assignments and responsibilities.  The easy ones, at least in my eyes, are done.  These last five games are going to all be challenges starting at the top of the mountain with Southern Illinois.

Kickoff is set for Saturday at 4:00 EST at McAndrew Stadium.  The weather forecast is calling for perfect Autumn conditions of partly cloudy and 50 degrees.  The game can be heard on AM-570 with Bob Hannon, Dick Hartzell and Dave Sess starting their coverage at 3:30.

Penguin Notes

• YSU holds a 10-9-1 series advantage over Southern Illinois.
• This is YSU’s final visit to McAndrew Stadium as the new Southern Illinois facilities are set to open for the 2010 season.
• Since 1975, YSU is has a 24-3 record after a bye week.
• Saturdays game at Carbondale will be Coach Heacock’s 100th as YSU Head Coach.

As YSU prepares for Southern Illinois on a bye week, I thought it would be appropriate to do a story on a local player.  As it turned out, I got one of my best interviews.  Marc Kanetsky graduated from Hubbard High School with honors of every kind.  There were the athletic honors of breaking records for his passing (5,042 yards and 47 TD’s), being nominated for Trumbull County Athlete of The Year, breaking basketball records in season and career categories for assists, and getting All-Ohio recognition for football twice.  More impressively to me was a 4.0 GPA, being named valedictorian of his class and continuing his academic excellence at YSU.  I recently interviewed Kanetsky and took a liking to his glib persona.  Hubbard deserves praise for producing a prototypical student-athlete.

Paneech:  Besides YSU, who recruited you out of Hubbard?

Kanetsky: I had alot of Ivy League and Patriot League schools like Holy Cross and Colgate because of my grades.  Being undersized hurt with the bigger schools, but I found a good spot here and received a full academic scholarship. 

Paneech:  Being the local guy, do teammates pressure you into being their tour guide?

Kanetsky: Not really.  Most of the older guys know their way around.  Some of the younger freshmen guys I take around when they first get here, but besides that, they usually find their way around and find the party spots before I can let them know where to go.

Paneech: You have carried a 4.0 grade point average for awhile, have you decided on a major yet?

Kanetsky: I am a Biology major and I am thinking about Dentistry after Biology.  One of my brothers graduated from Dental School at Ohio State, and the other one is about to.  I’m leaning towards that, but I still have a couple of years to see what happens with the economy.

Paneech:  If you were in charge of recruiting a student-athlete to play football, how would you convince him that the YSU academics are second to none?

Kanetsky:  I am part of the honors program here.  We have a 99% placement rate into your professional school after you graduate from here.  It’s kind of self-explanatory, if you want to get into school when you are done with the undergrad program here, it will happen.  Get in the honors program, keep your grades straight and work hard.  Get involved with other stuff, that always helps out on a resume.

Paneech:  How hard is it for you to be ready at all times to go into a game if called upon?

Kanetsky: It’s kind of tricky because you always have to be ready.  You sit on the sidelines the whole game and it could be any play.  All week, I sit in the film room to be just as prepared as Brandon [Summers], and I spend equal time going over stuff with the coaches.  Come Saturday, you could get in for an entire half, you could get in on the second play of the game, or you could end up just sitting.  I could just be used to hold on four PAT’s and that will be it.  It’s tough not getting to play, especially coming out of high school where you are the stud athlete, and that is what are used to.  You always have to be prepared, but as far as getting the job, you just have to wait your turn.

Paneech: Did you prosper at Hubbard more under Coach Bayuk or Coach Hoffman ?

Kanetsky:  (laughs) I would say I prospered equally under the two great coaches.  My Sophomore and Junior year (under Bayuk), we had a line that was just unreal.  When those lineman graduated, we only had a couple of experienced guys back so we weren’t able to power it down a team’s throat but rather had to rely on speed.  We definitely threw the ball around more under Hoffman.  Under Bayuk, we were just a well-oiled machine because we could run the ball whenever we wanted to and set up play-action passing which is easy when there are eight guys in the box and only three defenders in coverage.

Paneech:  You played baseball and basketball while at Hubbard.  Do you ever get the urge to go Bo Jackson here?

Kanetsky: No (laughs).  I would have liked to play basketball but I’m too small and I can’t jump.  I’ve got good vision and I play good rec ball.  No aspirations of collegiate ball.  If I wanted to do that I would have played Division-III somewhere where I could have played both.  I still miss basketball, but football is the way to go.

Paneech: How has your experience at YSU changed you as a person so far?

Kanetsky: It has opened me up to different lifestyles.  You get guys coming here from California that have never seen snow.  There are guys from Florida, a guy from Africa here.  All kinds of different guys that you wouldn’t talk to otherwise, and then you join the team and they are your friends that you hang out with on the weekends or going and eating with them after practice.  It’s a great experience, you end up friends with guys you could never see yourself hanging out with in a million years.

Paneech: Walk me through a typical Wednesday during the season.

Kanetsky: I wake up around 7:30, take a shower, and get ready for class.  I go to Spanish class at 8 o’clock for two hours.  Then I go to my American Government class at 10.  Then Organic Chemistry kills me at 11.  I run over here [Stambaugh Stadium] to lift at noon.  I get done lifting at about 12:45 and I run and get something to eat.  I get back here at 1:30 and try to watch a bit of practice film from the day before and then we have meetings at 2:12 followed by practice.  Then whatever after practice, alot of interviews (laughs). 

Paneech:  Do people besides family from Hubbard come to the games to support you?

Kanetsky: I’d like to think so.  I know alot of my friends starting coming when I got moved to number two on the depth chart against Southern Illinois.  I know there alot of people who know my parents and followed me in high school.  I think if I ever get the chance or get in one week and do something positive that more people from Hubbard would come to the games. 

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like playing for Coach Heacock.

Kanetsky: He is a no-nonsense guy.  He’s a great motivator and a great football coach.  He goes out and gives everyone a chance and he doesn’t discriminate against anyone.  He preaches team, family, and faith which is everything you need. 

One Word Answers

Favorite Board Game:   Settlers of Catan.  (I never heard of this game which prompted Marc to laugh.  After researching,  it is a game where you are trying to be the dominant force on the Island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads.)

Best Chicken Wings In The Area:  The Lube.

Favorite TV Show:  Sportscenter.

Browns or Steelers:  Browns.

Who Wins The 2009 World Series:  The Phillies.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  Apple Dumpling.

Best Class Offered At YSU:  Athletic Participation Class where you just get an “A” for being on a team.

Word Friends Use To Describe You:  Quirky.

Best Album / CD Ever Made:  Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell.

Favorite Fruit:  Pineapple.

Rockband or Madden:  Madden, actually NCAA Football.

Nicest Thing Someone Has Ever Done For You:  My mother gave birth to me, that was a good deal.

The title Sports Information Director almost sounds like a gift job, one that a smart laborer might be able to handle.  I never knew how many things were involved in such a job until I sat down with Trevor Parks.  Parks has been at YSU for 9+ years and seems to get better at what he is doing instead of riding on the wave of things he has done.  Parks grew up in Nebraska and still likes to talk about the times he had attending Cornhusker Football games.  I recently talked with Parks about the job, the area, and the future in a very in-depth interview that revealed the best and worst of times he has endured during his tenure.

Paneech: How did you first become involved with Youngstown State?

Parks: In July of 2000, I had the opportunity to interview here.  I came in and met with Ron Strollo, Dan O’Connell and Rick Love.  They showed me around and I liked the campus alot.  They liked me, Coach Tressel liked me, and I knew the history of the program a little, but not fully until I walked through the doors.  I liked everyone here and coach called and offered me the job in August of 2000, and I have been here ever since. 

Paneech: Talk about the duties of a sports information director.

Parks: We handle the athletic department’s website which is a variety of information including press releases, game recaps, and select feature stories.  We handle statistics at all home sporting events, coordinate interviews with media to talk with selected student-athletes and coaches, and create media guides for various sports.  It’s sports information whether it is local, regional, or national to get the word out on what is going on here at YSU.

Paneech:  How much contact do you keep with other SID’s at other colleges?

Parks: Probably not as much as I think all of us would like to just because of our daily schedules.  Our organization is called CoSIDA, which is over 1500 people in our profession.  I have teleconferences with that group where we share our challenges and what we do.  E-Mail has changed things a ton.  I still try to call the SID that we play the week of a game just to touch base and say hi, but 90% of the contact I end up having is through e-mail, which is both good and bad.

Paneech: How often do you talk with Coach Heacock and does any of your work involve him?

Parks: Anywhere from five to ten times a day.  If I have to talk to him, it’s a good setup because he has to walk by our doors to go to practice so if I need him, I can grab him real quick.  It’s changed alot this year since he took over the Defensive Coordinator position.  Before, I could just walk in the door and tell him, hey I need this or that.  Now, I kind of have to work around things.  You don’t want to walk in on the defensive staff when they are putting a weekly gameplan together.  The good thing about him [Heacock] is that his door is always open for us which has been a real positive in working with him.

Paneech: What was the nicest place that YSU ever visited to play a football game?

Parks: Ohio State was gorgeous.  The good and bad about going to the big schools is that they have so many people there.  Sometimes it is nicer to go to a place like Western Illinois where the press box isn’t very big, but you can get anywhere in two minutes.  At Ohio State, it’s going to take you at least ten minutes to get from the press box to the field if you are lucky.  The nicest place I actually remember was McNeese State.  If we ever had to do a redesign here, I would call them up.  Cal-Poly was different, it was kind of a scaffold with a tarp over it but it was unique because the mountains were right there, it was neat.

Paneech:  What was one of the worst places YSU ever went to play a football game?

Parks: I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody.  One of the most interesting places we went for football was Richmond when we went there for the playoffs.  That was the year we were 9-2, and we have this nice place here.  They were 9-2 and we ended up going there.  Their stadium was on like an old horse track or whatever it used to be.  The press box was fogging up during the game and the weather was miserable and we lost 10-3.  It just made you wonder, why aren’t we hosting this at our place?  They won the National Championship last year, so hats off to them.  Another interesting place was Chicago State because it was in not one of the nicer parts of Chicago so you had to be careful about getting there, and you saw doors with chains on them, the toilet paper there was chained down in the men’s stalls.  Those are probably two of the more interesting places we have been.

Paneech: How big of a transition did you undergo in relocating to Youngstown from Nebraska?

Parks: I was at Chattanooga before I got here.  Going from Lincoln to Chattanooga was a culture shock and a half.  The people there were great.  It was my first time away from home and I’m glad I went there before I got here because I’m not sure what it would have been like to go from Nebraska to here.  I got to spread my wings a little at Chattanooga, but I had to adjust to the weather, and it was just a different vibe.  Coming here was like coming home in alot of ways.  The weather here is the same [as Nebraska weather], you get storms, snow and cold, I already was used to driving in Winter weather.  If I ever get bored I can hop on I-80 West and drive straight for 950 miles to get home.

Paneech: Describe a typical day at work from start to finish.

Parks:  There really isn’t a typical day.  You can write down a thousand things on paper and hope to get as many done as you can.  You never know when somebody is going to call and need something.  If we have a basketball game on a Thursday night, you get here at about nine-o’clock in the morning but your not getting out of here until ten p.m., a thirteen hour ordeal.  In the Summer, you get here at about 8:30 a.m. and you are out of here at five, so it’s not too bad.  You need that energy for the Fall and Winter when there are events scheduled.  We work alot of weekends, so you try to get as much done as you can during the week. 

Paneech:  Tell me about the worst day, a nightmare day, that you have had here.

Parks: There have been a few of those.  One was when I almost quit.  We played Valpo in basketball and it was a great thing, and then Coach Robick freaked out after the game about some stuff, I was at my wit’s end and wrote a letter of resignation up.  I had only been working here for like eight months, so it is now one of those deals that you look back and laugh about.  When Shawn [Coin] died, it was by far one of the worst days here.  I walked in that morning with him, I walked down the hallway and he said he wasn’t feeling good, and two hours later he had a heart attack and shortly after that they said he was gone.  When I was dating my wife, I got a call here from her saying that her father wasn’t doing too well.  That situation was tough because he volunteered here [YSU] for years and was really well-liked.  Everyone was hurting when Shawn died, everyone was hurting when Mr. Strollo died.  (* Shawn Coin was a video coordinator at YSU who was 31 when he suffered a fatal heart-attack.  He died on August 18, 2008.  He and his wife Jennifer were expecting their first child in April of 2009.)

Paneech:  Will Youngstown State ever consider a jump to Division 1-A for football?

Parks: You look at what a school like Boise State has done.  We beat them in 1994 and now they are in the Top-5 of the BCS Schools.  The struggles with finances create problems.  The guys from Western Illinois said our facilities were nicer than Northern Illinois, so we obviously have a nice facility.  You also look at jumping from 63 scholarships you can split up to 85 full-boar scholarships.  I think after seeing football here for 10 years, its pretty darn good, but I think we are where we need to be.  It will be interesting to see what happens next year when a new president comes on and what direction things will go.

One Word Answers

Favorite Magazine:  Hockey News.

Best Stock You Ever Owned:  I’ve never dabbled in the stock market.

Pellini or Stoops:  Pellini.

If You Could Add A Color To YSU’s Red And Black, What Would It Be?  I have always liked teal, but I don’t see how it would work.

Favorite YSU Player of All-Time:  Kyle Smith.

The Indians Should Hire ____ To Run The Team:  Mike Florak.

Golf Club I Hit The Best:  8-iron.

One Word To Describe Donald Jones:  Amazing.

Best CD/Album Ever Made:  Michael Jackson’s Thriller.    Milli Vanilli.

Favorite Non-Sports Activity:  Walking the dog with my wife.

Favorite Holiday: 4th of July.

Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh:  Neither.

On a perfect Fall evening, a football game involving two teams in a must-win situation took place in Youngstown.  Youngstown State scored 31 first half points and Western Illinois didn’t score any.  However, Western Illinois scored 21 second half points, and YSU failed to score a point.  Combine the two very different halves and the result is a 31-21 YSU victory. 

Youngstown State wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  Western Illinois booted the opening kickoff out-of-bounds giving YSU the ball on their own 40.  Brandon Summers and the offense efficiently marched 60 yards in 10 plays.  Kevin Smith capped the opening scoring drive with a 1-yard TD to give YSU a 7-0 lead.  This marked the first time all year that YSU scored on their opening possession. 

After stuffing the Leathernecks, the Penguins took over on their own 30 and marched 70 yards in 10 plays and Summers found Donald Jones for a 4-yard touchdown to increase the Penguin lead to 14-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.  Kevin Smith had a key 26-yard run on the drive.

Western Illinois went 3-and-out.  On the last play of the first quarter, Lenny Wicks returned a Leatherneck punt 25 yards to the WIU 38.  At the end of one, it was all YSU, 14-0.

YSU covered 38 yards in 5 plays to increase the lead to 21-0.  It was the Dana Brown show on this particular drive as Brown carried the ball on every  play with the last being a one yard rushing touchdown at 12:33 of the second quarter.

In a continual display of dominance, YSU’s Na’eem Outler sacked WIU quarterback Wil Lunt and Sir Demarco Bledsoe pounced on the ball.  On the very first offensive play, Summers went to the end zone for Donald Jones who made a remarkable effort but was interfered with giving YSU first-and-goal on the Leatherneck 8-yard line.  Two plays later, Summers hooked up with Dominique Barnes for the eight yard score pushing the margin to 28-0 with 10:30 left in the first half.

Stephen Blose connected on a 27-yard field goal with 1:52 left in the half.  The Penguin drive was 54 yards in 9 plays.  It almost seemed as though the Penguins were concentrating more on chewing clock and getting Jabari Scott some carries.  To this point, everything had clicked on offense, all three running backs had some yards, and Summers was 9 for 9 passing.

On the ensuing kickoff, YSU’s Brandian Ross recovered a fumble to give the Penguins the ball on WIU’s 37-yard line.  The Penguins were unable to convert the turnover into any points however, about the only bad series they ran in the first half.  Western Illinois seemed content to just run the clock out and try to get to the locker for a halftime regrouping session.  At the half, this one was all YSU as the Penguins dominated the Leathernecks in every possible statistic for a 31-0 lead at the break.

Western Illionois came out a better team in the second half.  The Leathernecks scored on a 30-yard strike from Lunt to Justin Rideau.  The scoring drive was 9 plays for 77 yards and cut the YSU lead to 31-7 with 10:23 left in the third quarter.

Brandon Summers was intercepted by Stephen Moore and a personal foul gave the ball to WIU at the YSU 38.  On a third-and-22, YSU got flagged for a roughing the passer penalty giving Western Illinois the ball on the YSU 12.  On the very next play, Dre Gibbs coughed up the ball by the YSU goal line and Lenny Wicks recovered for the Penguins to help swing the momentum back to the side it was on the entire first half.

At the end of the third quarter, YSU maintained their 31-7 lead with a strong running attack that chewed the last six minutes of the quarter up.  With the start of the fourth quarter, YSU had the ball on their own 48.  The first play of the fourth quarter, however, proved costly as Summers was chased down from behind and the ball came loose.  Brandon Kreczmer recovered the ball for the Leathernecks at YSU’s 34.

With 12:25 left in the game, Western Illinois got an 11-yard scamper from Gibbs to successfully convert the turnover into points and further cut into the dwindling YSU lead, now 31-14.

The Leathernecks continued marching back as Lito Senatus caught a bullet from Lunt for 12 yards and a touchdown with 7:54 remaining in the game.  The lead was down to 31-21 and Western Illinois was playing as good as YSU did in the first half.  Conversely, YSU was playing as poorly as Western did in the first half. 

After another three-and-out, YSU punted the ball away.  Western Illinois started their next drive on their own 29.  Andre Elliott blitzed and absolutely smashed Lunt as he was releasing a pass which wobbled about half of its intended ditance where David Rach was waiting to intercept the ball back for the Penguins. 

YSU successfully chewed up the rest of the fourth quarter on the shoulders of Senior TB Kevin Smith (pictured) and held off a fierce Leatherneck comeback to preserve what seemed like a blowout but ended up somewhat of a nailbiter.

For YSU, Kevin Smith finished with 113 yards on 28 carries and a TD.  Donald Jones caught 8 passes for 94 yards and one TD.  Brandon Summers finished 12-18 for 134 yards, an interception, and two TD’s.  Stephen Blose had a good day as he kicked four extra points and was 1/1 on field goals.

Western Illinois was headed by Dre Gibbs who finished the game with 162 all-purpose yards (155 rushing, 7 receiving).  QB Wil Lunt was 9-19 for 109 yards, one interception, and two TD’s.  Justin Rideau caught 5 Lunt passes for 79 yards and 2 TD’s.  The statistic that buried the Leathernecks was penalty yards.  WIU accumulated 11 penalties for 108 yards compared to YSU having only five penalties.

After the game, Coach Jon Heacock praised the effort of his opponent.  “I don’t care what the records are.  You better show up and play every minute of every game on Saturday.  Give them [Western Illinois] credit for fighting until the end and playing hard.  We have some time [with the bye week] to pick out the things we can’t do and the things that we can do and become more consistent.”

Senior TB Kevin Smith, who has a couple of fumbles this season commented on grinding out the last four minutes of the game.  “It felt good.  I had a couple of drops and it felt good that the coaches had the confidence in me to give me the ball and run down the clock.”

Lenny Wicks talked about whether or not he was ready for the bye week.  “Yes, we have some time to rest and get alot of practice in to get ready for Southern Illinois because that’s a big game.”

YSU travels to Southern Illinois for an October 24th game.  With the extra week of preparation, Coach Heacock will have the team ready for that big game. 

At a school notorius for running the ball, an exceptional receiver rarely makes headway.  Donald Jones is the first exception to the norm at Youngstown State that I can recall since Jimmy “The Flea” Ferranti played at YSU about 30 years ago.  Jones is being watched by NFL scouts at every game.  He has been electrifying all season long and his work ethic is unmatched.  I would credit his off the field preparation for his Saturday success.  In a 17-7 loss Saturday, he tied the record at YSU for most catches in a game with 11.  Showing his true colors at the postgame press conference, Jones said the record was not very enjoyable because the team did not win.  Probably as humble and unselfish of a guy that there is, I sat and talked with Jones about his present, past, and potential future.

Paneech: Being one of 12 seniors, how important is it for you to lead by example?

Jones: It’s real important to lead by example as both a senior and a captain, but really, we need the whole team to lead by example.  Hopefully, everybody from freshmen to seniors step up because we need leaders at every position and in every group.

Paneech: I was sitting next to a Philadelphia Eagles scout who was here looking at you Saturday.  Do you know when they are coming and how does it effect your performance?

Jones: I guess I kind of hope that a scout is at every game.  I try not to pay attention to it.  I have to go out and perform if they are there or not to help this team win.

Paneech: Talk about how special this offense can be with all of the veterans at skill positions.

Jones: This offense can be very special with all of the veterans that we have.  We have to just go out there and make it happen on Saturdays.  We did not get the job done last weekend, but we need to change that this coming weekend.

Paneech: Walk me through gameday, from the time you wake up until you go to sleep.

Jones: I usually wake up real early on the day of a game even though I can’t sleep the night before.  Then I take a shower and go to walk-throughs we have if it’s a night game.  We then have our team meal.  After that I go to the stadium and the first thing I do is pray, then start warming up.  After that, I listen to a little music and then we hit the field for the game.  What I do after the game usually depends on the result.  If my family comes in, I hang out with them, win or lose.  If they are not here, I usually like to go home and just watch more college games on TV.

Paneech: Why communications as a major?

Jones: I like the speech classes.  I want to be a coach when I get done playing so it is good practice of learning how to talk in front of people. 

Paneech: Having been here for a few years, do you still get homesick?

Jones: Not really.  Even when I was at my other shool [Lackawana CC], I was only two hours away from home, and I never really went back just so I would be prepared for when I went further away.  I never really got homesick.

Paneech: Can Donald Jones play in the NFL?

Jones: We hope so.

Paneech:  Tell me about #81, and how you ended up with it, are you a T.O. fan?

Jones: It has nothing to do with T.O. (laughs).  I’m a Giants fan, so I would never do anything that T.O. does.  That was just the number they gave me, I always wanted to wear #10 which is what I wore in high school.  Ten was my favorite number but they handed me 81 so I stuck with it.

Paneech:  What other schools recruited you out of Plainfield (NJ) High School ?

Jones: Almost every school on the East Coast.  I committed to Wisconsin which did not go through because my grades weren’t good enough.  I ended up going to Lackawana CC Junior College.  Coming out of JuCo, I ended up selecting Ole’ Miss, but the coaching staff was fired so I selected Youngstown State.

Paneech:  Was the move to junior college the right move for you in the long run?

Jones: I’m real happy I made the move to Lackawana [Junior College].  The coach over there changed my whole mindset and ways of thinking for the better.  I got my grades up while I was there and I feel that if I would have went to a big school that I may have ended up there anyway.

Paneech: When you played high school baseball, what position did you play and what kind of batting average did you have?

Jones: I played centerfield and shortstop and I don’t remember my batting average.  I had like six home runs during my senior year. 

Paneech:  Talk about the toughness of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Jones: It’s a real tough conference.  Every team that we play is tough and it seems like when these other teams play Youngstown State, they play extra-tough.

One Word Answers

Favorite NFL Team:  New York Giants.

Favorite NFL Player:  Anquan Boldin.

Favorite Sport To Play Besides Football:  Baseball.

Favorite Sport To Watch Besides Football:  Basketball.

Favorite Toppings On A Pizza:  Pepperoni.

Best Show On TV:  Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Best Way To Spend A Day Off:  Sleep.

Funniest Movie Ever Made:  Bad Boys 2.

Best Fast Food Restaurant:  McDonalds.

Worst Class Ever Taken Here At YSU:  Writing Class.

Favorite Musician of All-Time:  Luther Vandross.

Best Thing About Youngstown:  The fans!