Posts Tagged ‘Adaris Bellamy’

When Youngstown State opens Missouri Valley Football Conference play against Illinois State this Saturday, both teams will learn how good they have gotten over the past year.  YSU played a game they were given no chance to win nationally, then they played a team that people expected them to blow out.  Illinois State is somewhere between Michigan State and Valparaiso.  The Redbirds have recruited 15 FBS transfers and head coach Brock Spack thinks that this could be the season his birds fly to the front of the pack.

Eric Wolford respects Spack’s program, calling it ‘on the rise’, and knows that the task at hand on Saturday will be a great test for his youthful Penguins.  “Their defense is tremendous.  They are only giving up about seven yards per game on the ground, and I don’t care if it is Michigan State, Illinois State, or any state for that matter, that is a good defense.  It starts with Eric Brunner who can dominate a game and we have to be able to move the football against that unit to win this game.”

Brunner put together a great effort against Morehead State in a 52-21 win last weekend.  The preseason all-conference defensive tackle had a pair of sacks and seven tackles.  The Youngstown State offensive line has to get off to a quick start and be able to create space for the backs to sneak through.  The three-headed tailback monster that is Jamaine Cook, Adaris Bellamy, and Jordan Thompson, will need to piece together a great collective effort because every yard gained on the ground this weekend will be hard-earned.

“Offensively, Illinois State is very talented and explosive”, remarked Wolford.  “They have a big, veteran offensive line, they have a tremendous quarterback named Matt Brown who has experience.  They have a solid running game and we can’t afford to take any plays off this week, they are much-improved over last season and it is going to be a very good test for us.”

The Penguins will also have to concentrate on stopping Redbirds TB Ashton Leggett. The senior running back has 207 yards on 36 carries with a pair of touchdowns.  The good news for YSU’s run defense is that no other Redbird RB has more than six carries through the first two games.  Another key to the Illinois State offense is that the tendency when they throw has been to hit wide receivers almost exclusively.  The tight ends seem to block and the running backs don’t get targeted much.

If Youngstown State can pick up the quality conference win this weekend, they will surely be ranked in next week’s FCS Poll.  The Penguins received votes this week, but not enough to crack the Top-25.  A win over a talented program like Illinois State will also break a seven game conference losing streak.  Last season, Youngstown State had the Redbirds on the ropes, but ultimately fell 41-39 in one of many heartbreaking last-minute losses.

The game is scheduled to kickoff at 4 p.m. and early reports from the YSU athletic offices are that there are already close to 22,000 tickets sold for the game.  The 2011 Penguins have the community buzzing about the old days, about the future, about Penguins football, and about winning.

“We have a precedence here at Youngstown State”, says Wolford.  “Winning championships.  In order to win championships, you have to win your conference games, and for us, that starts this week.”

YSU’s freshman sensation and speed demon, Andre Stubbs, knows says he knows what this game will mean.  “We have had a good week and if we stay positive, we should come out with a win.”

On Saturday, Youngstown State University broke a lot of things.  The first thing they broke was Valparaiso, racking up a lopsided 77-13 victory.  They also broke school records for the most points scored in a quarter (35), most points in a half (63), and longest punt return (96 yards).  The game was so lopsided that running a continuous clock should have been an option for the second half.  The other thing broken was YSU’s eight-game losing streak.  Amazingly, YSU broke the record for points in a game, with 70, in the third quarter.  It was Lionel vs Fisher Price, Ali vs Cooney, and Mercedes vs Yugo.

Eric Wolford commented on the win.  “We showed a lot of maturity.  Last season after Penn State, there was a letdown.  This season after losing to Michigan State, we showed great maturity with no letdown and played a pretty good football game.  Next week we start conference play and I don’t want to get caught up because we scored 77 points this week.  We will continue to mature as this young team picks up experience each week.”

The Penguins scored on every possession in the first half and held a 63-6 lead at the break.  Marc Kanetsky took over at quarterback in the second quarter.  It was a game that the whole depth chart was used in intervals at some point.

YSU scored 35 points in the first quarter.  Jamaine Cook scored two touchdowns (1, 31) and Jordan Thompson punched in a pair (9, 10).  The other touchdown was an electrifying 96-yard punt return by Josh Lee breaking a 45 year-old school record of 92 yards.

In the second quarter, the Penguins kept scoring.  Adaris Bellamy, the best-kept secret on the team, had a couple of rushing touchdowns from 34 and 13 yards out. Kurt Hess hit David Rogers for a 16-yard TD.  He also found Andre Barboza from 24 yards out.  The Penguins avearged 11.1 yards per play in the first half and the word dominant would be an understatement.

Bellamy and Cook both cracked the 100-yard mark in the first half.  Cook had 126 yards and Bellamy tacked on 101, both in the first half.  It was the first time two YSU backs had 100 yards each since 2008 when Jabari Scott and Cameron Keys did it.  The Penguins amassed 476 yards in the opening half.  They would finish the game with 657 yards, another new school record.

In the second half, Coach Wolford emptied the cupboard and YSU mounted an opening drive that would result in a Torrian Pace 17-yard run.  Pace was the fourth running back to score a touchdown.  The drive was 14 plays covering 84 yards without a single pass attempt by Kanetsky.  70-6 YSU.  The 70 points set  a school record for most points scored in a game.

Parnell Taylor scored YSU’s last touchdown to make it 77-6.  The score, a two-yard plunge, was the first in the YSU career of Taylor.  Patrick Angle got some time engineering a 14 play-86 yard drive to round out the scoring for the Penguins.  Valpo punched one in late to close out the scoring at 77-13.

Adaris Bellamy led the way on the ground for the Penguins with 180 yards on 23 carries (7.8 yards per carry).  Afterwards Bellamy talked about the successful effort of the team.  “We came out ready to play just like we did last week against Michigan State, it doesn’t matter who we are playing.  Our goal is to go undefeated every week, break records every week, and get this program back to the way people are used to seeing, this kind of Penguin football.”

Christian Bryan had five grabs for 78 yards to lead the receivers.  Kurt Hess was 12 of 13 for 204 yards, 2 TD’s and no turnovers.  The only incompletion Hess had was a drop.  For Valpo, Eric Hoffman threw 30 passes, completed 14 and had 112 yards passing.  He was sacked three times.  Kevin Becker hauled in three for 38 yards for the Crusaders.  Dale Cook had seven carries for 39 yards for Valpo.

Davion Rogers had some impressive plays, both on defense, and one exceptional effort on special teams.  Rogers ran over a potential blocker in the Valpo punt return wall and then proceeded to floor another would-be blocker two steps later before burying the return man.  You can’t ask for much more than that from a special teams player.  “We [defensive unit] take great pride knowing that we push the offense in practice and make them better each week”, commented Rogers.  ”  It had been 352 days since we won here.  We have some great players and we are going to take many huge steps this year.”

Mercifully, YSU turned the ball over on downs deep in Valpo territory ending their string of eleven straight touchdowns.

Give Wolford a gold star for showing a lot of class and calling off the dogs the entire second half.  Make no mistake about it, YSU could have put up a C-note today.  Wolford and Shane Montgomery did not call for a single pass and kept running the ball to keep the clock moving.

“I talked with their coach [Carlson] after the game”, said Wolford.  “He was very complimentary of our program and I told him that I was impressed that his guys kept playing hard.  They are in a very similar situation that we were in, trying to turn a program around with 48 new guys.”

YSU opens conference play next week at 4 p.m. when Illinois State rolls into town.

** Bottom Photo, courtesy of Ron Stevens.

Last year at this time, Kurt Hess was adapting.  The changes he was dealing with were a transition from high school to college, playing in a new system for a new coach, and learning what his teammates could and could not handle.  Hess was named the starting quarterback before the season started and played mature beyond his years.  He has earned the respect of his coaches, teammates, and fans, and will continue to work hard to improve.

Paneech: You have a year under your belt and know the system, are the expectations higher this season?

Hess: I got a lot of good experience last season and have a great working relationship with Coach Wolford and Coach Montgomery.  We work well together and we bounce ideas off of each other.  We kind of know what to expect now and need to refine things.  Coach Montgomery will sit in the film room with me and analyze different aspects and mechanics and question why I did or didn’t do something.  As much as they have helped me, you should see some results this year.

Paneech: During the Spring, there were problems with receivers dropping the ball.  Additionally, last year this team was about 50/50 on a run pass ratio.  Can we expect more running this season?

Hess: I don’t believe we will be one-dimensional.  We have a good enough running game that we probably could be one-dimensional, but our receivers are working really hard to get better.  We come in a couple of times a week and do some seven-on-seven drills and we usually throw every night to get the timing right.  With the new guys, there is a lot of raw talent.  I am developing more confidence with them and I can see a big improvement from the Spring already.  We are building chemistry and trust, and that is so important.  It is what Dominique [Barnes] and I had last season.

Paneech: What have you been doing in the offseason?

Hess: I try to find friends who have a pool, I really like swimming in the Summer.  I haven’t been to a Scrappers game yet, but I have made it to Cleveland to see the Indians.  I like going to Boardman and hitting the mall.  I am starting to get into my education classes and am really focusing on how to be a better role model and teacher for the kids.

Paneech: Last season you were immediately thrown into the fire at Penn State, and you guys played respectably.  This year it is off to Michigan State, what should we expect?

Hess: We need to have a good showing at Michigan State, and I think we will.  Last year it was a new era coming in at Youngstown State with a new coach.  We were thinking about at least scoring a touchdown and putting a few points on the board.  This year, we want to put more points on the board than they [Michigan State] do.  I think that is what we need to, and are going to do.

Paneech: One of the biggest areas of turnover was offensive line.  Eric Rodemoyers don’t grow on trees.  Do you feel like you might be scrambling a bit more this season?

Hess: We brought in some pretty big guys who have been working really hard and have increased their strength.  We have some veterans in D. J. Main and Andrew Radakovich who have been here for three or four years.  I still feel secure and have an automatic sense of trust for these guys.  Scrambling is part of the game, and although I don’t anticipate doing too much of it, I consider myself somewhat slippery.

Paneech: With all of the new arrivals, have the veteran members of the team set up events to get the rookies feeling like they are a part of everything?

Hess: It’s not really any one gathering or one function.  We go out to Quaker Steak And Lube on Tuesday nights for the all-you-can-eat wings and we make sure that the new linemen go and get fed.  We play some pool basketball and had a swimming workout last week.  We all live pretty close together, so we are always playing NCAA or watching a movie.  There is a lot of contact and they are getting familiar with all of us.  We recruited a lot of raw talent, and you need that to compete in this conference.  I have not seen any of the new guys get lazy or cut a corner on anything yet.

Paneech: What, if any, bad habits have you formed over the past year that you need to fix?

Hess: One area I need to get better at is being a better practice player.  There are a lot of times when practice is not going how we would like it to go, and someone needs to get a first down or make some plays.  As a quarterback, and a leader, I need to be the person who can step up and make those things happen.  Practice will run much better if I make the effort to execute better.  I need to be the guy in a game that can make a big play on a 3rd and 12, or have to be able to scramble.  Last year there were guys bailing me out.  Barnes did, [Adaris] Bellamy did, Jamaine [Cook] did, it goes on and on.  Coming back as a veteran, I need to make more plays.

Paneech: Does Coach Montgomery, as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, feel like you have a grasp on the offense?

Hess: Coach Montgomery is comfortable with me that I think he may give me more freedom than I had last season.  We are very comfortable with each other.  I trust his calls, as he trusts mine.  There will be things that change from week-to-week, but we do communicate well and we are both big Cincinnati Reds fans.

Paneech: The Reds are in trouble.

Hess: All we need is a solid month.

Paneech:  Scott Rolen is all banged up and your pitching is weak.  [Edinson] Volquez and [Johnny] Cueto are horrible, I don’t see it.  Not this year.  They will need to reincarnate Eric Davis and Barry Larkin to have a shot with that staff.

Hess: (laughs) No, you are wrong.

Paneech: Any tattoo shops around here that are going to get Wolf in trouble?  What is your take on the Ohio State fallout?

Hess: I think it is a tough situation.  There were things that did not fall into the NCAA guidelines and Coach Tressel may have been put in a bad situation.  In my opinion, he has always been a players coach and always took care of his players like they were his own kids.  It may go on other places, but that kind of stuff, like the tattoos, isn’t really an issue here, it doesn’t exist.  We have a great staff and advisors who communicate well with Coach Wolford.  We sign papers that say we are not going to do this, this, and this.  As far as I am concerned, nobody here has done anything.

Kevin Watts is under pressure these days.  He can hear his receivers coach, Andre Coleman, in his sleep.  Rather than squirm from the subject, Watts was quick to inform me that he respects Coleman and that any criticism he offers, regardless of volume, infliction, or frequency – he grows from it.  Unique athletes at the college level are those who can admit such a thing.  Watts is only a sophomore going into the 2011 season, but his attitude speaks volumes about how mature he has become in just one year.  This young man has so much potential that the university named the new indoor practice facility after him.  Well, that may be far fetched, but he is developing every day in a positive way.

Paneech: What got you into playing football?

Watts: I started playing at five years old.  I had an uncle who played at Ohio State as well as an uncle who played at Akron.  My dad was the pee wee coach, so it is in my blood.  My first year, my father put me at offensive end, I wanted to fight him every day.  After that, I played quarterback in middle school and switched to slot at Middletown High School here in Ohio.  We scored 68 points in a game, we upset Colerain, we upset Cincinnati Moeller.  It’s a smaller school, but we did pretty good there.

Paneech:  Coach Coleman and Coach Wolford are having a hard time figuring out why the receivers are dropping balls this Spring.  Do you hear these guys in your sleep?

Watts: (laughs)  Coach Coleman is a good coach who is very passionate about what we do.  He sees so much potential with this group and when we don’t do everything we can, he knows we can do more and step it up.  He is always on us, but I feel myself getting better as a result.

Paneech: How close are you with your fellow Penguins having only known them for a year or so.

Watts: We are definitely a pretty close group.  Dominique Barnes helped me out a lot last year and was in a similar situation by playing when he was a freshman.  He likes his records (laughs), but he has been a great person to look up to.  I would feel fortunate to get my name somewhere up there, or even close to what he did while he played.

Paneech: What are you studying here at YSU?

Watts: I am working toward a Special Education Major.  Everything is going really good right now and I am in the field working with kids at local schools.  That’s a lot of fun right now, I enjoy it.  The toughest class I took here was a Classical Music course.  It was rough to listen to that music like Bach and Beethoven all of the time.

Paneech: I am proud of the football team’s activity level on Twitter.  How did all of that start and what drives you guys to Tweet so much?

Watts: Twitter was something I installed on my phone when I got here last year.  When I got it, I noticed that nearly the whole team was on there Tweeting.  We mess around with each other and pick with each other on there.  For us, it is more fun than playing video games.  I follow Chad Johnson and like what he Tweets.  Dominique Barnes is the most famous person who follows me (laughs).  I would like to meet Donald Jones on there.  He is a guy I definitely want to meet that might be able to give me some pointers.

Paneech: It’s now 6:00.  How will you spend the rest of your evening?

Watts: I’ll grab a shower when we finish and then grab something to eat.  After that, I will go to the dorms, call my parents and talk with my family for a little bit.  After that, I do my homework and get ready for my classes the next day.  When all that gets done, I get on Twitter for a little bit!

Paneech: Are you happy with your choice to attend Youngstown State University?

Watts: Yes, I am very happy here.  This football staff is a bunch of winners who are up front with everybody on this team.  They tell us exactly what we need to do to get better.  I love this staff.  Coach Wolford, Coach Montgomery, and Coach Coleman all get their points across when you are not doing what you are supposed to and they will work with you to make it right.  This is really a great staff.

Paneech: Who is your best friend on the team.

Watts: I’m close with Jordan Thompson and Josh Garner.  We are from the same area so we ride home together and travel back together.  The Florida guys…  [Adaris] Bellamy is my boy, he’s a funny guy.  Him, Jelani [Berassa], all of those guys from Florida talk and act different.  Boat [Jamarious Boatwright] always comes up with these clever nicknames for himself.

One Word Answers

What Do You Order at McDonalds: Two McDoubles, Medium Fry, Large Hi-C.

Favorite TV Show: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Song On Your ipod People Wouldn’t Believe: Incomplete by Sisqo.

Biggest Phobia: Losing My Parents.

Worst Habit: Biting My Nails.

NFL Receiver You Want To Play Like: Percy Harvin   – he does it all.

Favorite Drink: Red Gatorade.

Favorite Snack: Fruit Snacks thanks to my little nephew.  He gives me one when he has a bag, now I love them.

Toppings on A Pizza: Extra Cheese and Sausage.

Pen or Pencil: Pen.

Favorite Movie: Ali.

Total Yards Prediction For The Season: If I am returning punts, I will have to say at least a thousand yards total.

Remember when you were a kid and believed that March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb?  Inclement weather has dominated Spring 2011 thus far and Groundhog Day is turning into a bigger commercial farce than Sweetest Day.  The good news is that despite sloppy playing conditions, the 39th Annual Red-White game happened, and the play was anything but sloppy.

Both offense and defense took turns shining on both sides of the ball.  The White team raced out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a 24-14 victory.  Sophomore running back Allen Jones ran for 159 yards, but the real story is the White defense holding the Red offense, which is the first-team starting offense, to just 14 points.

Before the game started, Coach Eric Wolford ran over to the home sideline and started a comical rant.  Looking at me, he said, “It’s beautiful out here today, good day to get some sun.  I’m gonna work on my tan, should have brought my lotion.  Did you bring any I can use?”

The White team reached into their bag of tricks on the very first play of the game.  Torrian Pace took a pitch on an apparent sweep right.  Pace, doing a good job showing a run, threw the ball downfield to Pat White.  White had to come out of the end zone to catch the ball at the one as it was slightly under thrown.  On the next play, Pace tallied on a one-yard touchdown to put the White ahead, 7-0.

Patrick Angle hooked up with White (above) in the corner of the end zone on a ten yard corner route to put the White team ahead, 14-0.  A dropped pass in the end zone would force the White group to settle on a David Brown 25-yard field goal to jump the lead to 17-0.

Jamaine Cook put his Red team on the board when he powered in from two yards out for six points to cut the margin to 17-7.  Earlier in the drive, Cook ran 22 yards on a 4th-and-1.  Kurt Hess also contributed on the drive as he would find Andre Barboza on a 4th-and-6 for 22 more yards to get to the White’s two yard line.

With just under four minutes to go in the first half, Cook broke what looked to be a long run but was stripped of the ball by Josh Lee and Donald D’Alesio recovered the loose football to secure the 10-point lead to halftime.

On the second offensive play of the second half for the White team, Jones raced 94 yards to pay dirt, which would be the only points of the second half for the White.  The Red would later got the ball back and went into two-minute mode in a second half that featured a continuous clock.  Hess had a nice drive connecting with Barboza twice and David Rogers once before hitting Adaris Bellamy on a swing pass that would go 23 yards for a touchdown to cut the White lead to 24-14.

Hess (above) finished the game 11-19 for 139 yards and a touchdown.  His big target of the day was Barboza who hauled in four Hess aerials for 69 yards.  For the White, Pat White was the top receiver with five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Kyle Sirl had eight tackles, three for a loss, for the Red.  Sirl and Ethan Stark recorded a pair of sacks each.  Obinna Ekweremuba had seven tackles to lead the White team, with two of those stops resulting in yardage losses.

The honorary coaches stayed dry as they were sitting upstairs in the enclosed press boxes.  Chatting with Eric Ryan, Tim Ryan, and Harry Meshel before the game started was enjoyable.

Last year, with very favorable weather, the Red-White game was Wolford’s coming out party.  There was a good crowd and a festive atmosphere.  This year, the luster may not have been as bright, but there were still people in the stands.  Conversely, the level of football played last season at this time, was a group of guys trying to grasp a system.  This year, it was mostly returning players who knew the system trying not to get hurt on a sloppy field.  Should be a great season and Wolford has things where they need to be at this point, the conclusion of Spring Football.

To caption the picture at the risk of sounding quirky, action kicked off for the Youngstown State University football team Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium. These scrimmages are hard to gauge where a team truly is.  If the offense scores a ton of points, the defense looks really bad.  If the offense struggles, then it was a great defensive performance, but a lousy job on offense.

The Penguins had some series with the first team units facing off, or as Coach Eric Wolford would say,  the ones against the ones.  The worry coming into scrimmage play was the wide receiver position where drops have been a problem since Spring ball started.

“We need someone to step up as we continue dropping the ball.  The receivers will have to catch 20 balls for every one they drop to get used to a ball thrown harder than what they were used to in high school”, vowed Wolford.  “David Rogers, however, is having a great camp.  He has really stepped it up and looked good so far at tight end.”

The other problem that the Penguins are facing is depth.  There were a good chunk of players not suited up due to injuries.  Many are starters, mostly on defense.

“Hopefully Monday, we are going to get some guys back.  Will [Shaw] and Deonta [Tate] should be ready to go.  John Sasson should be ok, I think he tweaked his hamstring out there in the middle of the scrimmage today.  We will also get Deionte Williams and Donald D’Alesio back in to get some repetitions at practice”, remarked Wolford.

Allen Jones had a couple of nice runs for the offense including a big 65-yard jaunt.  Kurt Hess hooked up with Juilian Harrell for a couple of scores and Hess even showed his mobility on a 20-yard run for another score.  Najee Tyler connected with Pat White for a 20-yard score (above).  Tyler was picked off  in the scrimmage by free safety Justin Austin.  Adaris Bellamy scored a two-yard touchdown to round out the offensive production.

Defensively, it was nice to see Taylor Hill back on the field making plays for the defense.  Hill stuffed Torrian Pace on a third-and-one play forcing a field goal from David Brown. Brown missed a field goal earlier in the scrimmage to which Wolford stated, “He has never kicked on a field with a crown, he needs to get used to not kicking on a flat field.”

Spring practice resumed Monday and a second scrimmage will take place this coming Saturday leading up to the Red-White Game on Saturday, April 16.  Tickets and tailgate passes are on sale for the big Spring game.  Tailgate passes are available on a presale basis only and can be purchased by calling the YSU Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.  Only 200 passes are being sold and over 100 are gone, so act quickly to tailgate from 8 a.m. to noon.  The game starts at 12:05 and game tickets can be purchased for $5 apiece.  All tickets are general admission on the home side of the Ice Castle.

Youngstown State University and Indiana State University entered Saturday’s game with no shot at a playoff berth or a conference championship.  This game was simply a way to play out the string and look to next year, a test of pride.  For the Senior Class, this was it, the last game and last chance to shine as a Penguin.  The young Penguins proved truth to the old adage that you cannot play to the level of your competition for 59 minutes every week.  In a game that YSU should have won on paper, playing to the level of their competition again hurt the home team, as the Penguins fell, 30-24.

The Penguins jumped out to the early 7-0 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the contest.  Adaris Bellamy capped off a six-play drive with a one-yard scamper.  The lead was short-lived as Indiana State responded.  Ronnie Fouch found Alex Jones for a 68-yard score, and just like that (two plays), the Sycamores had a chance to tie the game.  The Penguins were whistled for a penalty on the extra point enticing ISU to go for a two-point try.  The attempt was successful as Darrius Gates converted on the run to give the Sycamores an 8-7 lead.

Indiana State would extend their lead to 15-7 with 6:45 to go in the opening period as Fouch kept the hot hand and found Bryant Kent for a 50-yard hookup.  The Sycamore drive covered 66 yards in 3:25.  The Penguins would respond when Jamaine Cook found the end zone on a 5-yard rush.  The Stephen Blose extra point was good and the Penguins only trailed by one.

With 7:27 left in the half, YSU claimed the lead when Stephen Blose nailed a 19-yard field goal to cap off a 10 play 46 yard drive . Fouch and Bryant again connected, this time on a scoring strike covering 11 yards.  Indiana State showed some poise controlling the ball for 5:34 on a drive that took 11 plays and covered 67 yards.

Youngstown State got the ball back with a 1:45 left in the first half.  Kurt Hess tried hard to maneuver the Penguins into at least field goal range but was picked off by C.J. Cook (below).  The Penguins were able to keep the Sycamores off of the scoreboard and the half came to a close with the Sycamores ahead of the Penguins, 23-17.  Fouch had a great first half for Indiana State completing 11-15 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

On their first possession of the second half, the Sycamores pushed their lead to 30-17.  Jones was the recipient of an 8-yard pass from Fouch capping off a 4 four play, 52 yard drive.

The Penguins showed some resolve as they marched 81 yards in 13 plays to cut the lead to 30-24.  Bellamy jaunted in for his second 1-yard touchdown run of the day and Dominique Barnes had a few touches within the drive to keep things rolling.  Brandian Ross came up big with an interception to give YSU the ball back on their own 47-yard line.  The Penguins would not convert the turnover into any points.

The Penguins defense held tough and the offense got the ball back on their own 12 with 8:56 left in the game.  On the drive, Dominique Barnes threw a pass on a reverse finding Ely Ducatel for a sizable gain.  The Paneech.com player of the year was doing a little bit of everything in this one.  On a fourth-and-four, YSU went for it, but came up empty giving the Sycamores the ball back with 5:20 to go in the game.

YSU would get one last crack gaining possession at their own 21-yard line with 2:19 left in the game and no timeouts left.  Hess and Barnes hooked up for a couple of key completions covering about thirty yards.  From the Indiana State 31, and facing a fourth down and 14 to go, Hess scrambled for a first down.   With nine seconds left in the game, YSU had the ball down to the Indiana State 11-yard line. On the first shot, Hess looked for Barnes, but it was broken up in the end zone.  On the final play of the game, Hess, threw to the middle again, but overshot Barnes and Indiana State held on for a 30-24 win.

For YSU, Hess finished the game 12-27 for 191 yards and was picked off four times.  Dominique Barnes had 10 catches for 132 yards and one pass for 50 yards.  Bellamy and Cook combined for 39 carries for 155 yards.  For Indiana State, Fouch was 16-23 for 290 yards and four touchdowns.  Gates had 16 carries for 75 yards and a pair of scores for the Sycamores.

After the game, a dejected Eric Wolford addressed the media.  “As bad as we played we had an opportunity, that part is exciting.  We have to find a way to make a play when your number is called.  Give respect to Indiana State, they have developed their players and a pretty good quarterback.  Those kids (seniors) are heartbroken.  They will be successful and able to handle adversity, I can guarantee you they learned those lessons this year.  We are in it together.  We have some work to do.  We just don’t match up well and have to get caught up with the rest of the league.”

Dominique Barnes talked about the end of his career.  “I think the future is bright.  Youngstown will make noise next year in the conference.  I take my hat off to Wolford and his staff, they have things headed in the right direction.  I cannot be happy about the result of this game or this season, there is a lot of emotion going through me right now.”  Barnes and the other seniors deserve praise for smoothly escorting in the Wolford era and having to undergo so many changes.

The Penguins finish the year at 3-8, and 1-7 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The point was made earlier on this very website that YSU had lost their last nine games against Northern Iowa.  The argumentative point was also made that Coach Eric Wolford had never lost to the Panthers.  Something had to give and a streak would be broken. Unfortunately for YSU, Wolford did end up losing to Northern Iowa, 34-30, on Homecoming Saturday.

Youngstown State got on the board to take the lead with 11:18 to go in the opening period when Kurt Hess found seldom used Andre Barboza for a 33-yard touchdown.  The drive marked what had now become a Penguin stereotype of jumping out to early leads and yielding late touchdowns.

Northern Iowa scored on the last play of the first quarter.  Billy Hallgren kicked a 20-yard field goal.  The Panthers appeared to have scored a touchdown, but it was nullified by a penalty.  Hallgren’s kick made the score 7-3.

With 14:14 left in the first half, Dominique Barnes did his thing, making yet another big play for Youngstown State.  Hess hit Barnes with a nice pass and Barnes ran about 40 yards down the YSU sideline for a 71-yard TD to increase the Penguins lead to 14-3.

Schuylar Oordt shrunk the YSU lead to 14-10 when he caught a 39-yard touchdown pass for the Panthers.  Tirrell Rennie, known more for his running than passing at QB, threw a nice ball to Oordt who ran a post and didn’t have a Penguin very close to him.

The Penguins threatened again as time was running out in the first half.  Will Shaw picked off a Rennie pass two yards deep in his own end zone and took off the other way.  Shaw made it all the way to the Northern Iowa ten.  After a couple of plays, the Penguins lined up for a third down FG attempt.  Marc Kanetsky, the holder for Stephen Blose, picked the ball up and barely missed a tight end on the fake. With one second left in the half, Blose connected from 27 to give the Penguins a 17-10 lead.

The second half was a true battle of field position and long drives.  Northern Iowa tied the game with 5:32 left in the third quarter. Rennie showed why he is such a threat as a runner for most of the drive.  The score came on Rennie’s 29-yard run to tie the game at 17-17.

The Panthers nabbed the lead with 14:20 left in the game when Hallgren booted a 32-yard field goal.  Northern Iowa capped off a nine play, 53 yard drive with the field goal to hold their first lead of the afternoon.

Youngstown State would respond when they pieced together a nice drive.  With 8:39 left in the game, Adaris Bellamy scored a touchdown on a two-yard run.  The drive that gave the Penguins a 23-20 lead took 13 plays and covered 81 yards.  Stephen Blose missed the extra point to the right to keep the Panthers just a field goal behind.

The Panthers took the lead back when Jarred Herring scored on an 11-yard run.  The touchdown capped off a seven play, 58 yard drive and made the score 27-23 in favor of visiting Northern Iowa.

With 2:27 left in the game, Jamaine Cook broke off a 39-yard run for a touchdown.  With the run, Cook became the third person to gain 100 plus yards against a tough Panther defense.  The run also gave Cook 1,000 yards for his career so far as a Penguin.

Carlos Anderson took the kickoff 58 yards to the Penguin 19 yard line.  On the very next play, Rennie scored on a 19-yard run with 2:08 left to play and the trend of Youngstown State blowing late leads looked to be in the process of happening yet again.  The quick turn of events made the score 34-30 in favor of the Panthers.

Youngstown State (3-6, 1-5) had a chance, but they ran out of downs and the end result was a 34-30 win for Northern Iowa in another heartbreaking loss.  Kurt Hess, after the game, talked about the mindset of what happens to the Penguins through a game.  “We were confident in our defense stopping them.  We also thought that if they scored that we could answer.  We will live with it for 24 hours, come Monday we need to prepare to play another game and put this behind us.”

Coach Wolford talked about the loss and maybe playing to the level of the competition being a good and a bad thing.  “We have guys who continue to massage this thing.  We have to contain the football, it’s a concept of knowing where the help is.  Make sure the ball doesn’t get outside you.  I can handle getting beat, but cant handle giving games away.  I am confident that we are very close.  I’m not going to make excuses for where we are at, but I will tell you that we are close.”

Hess finished the game 14-22 for 218 yards.  Barnes caught 4 balls for 89 yards, and Cook had 26 rushes for 127 yards and a touchdown. Cook also caught three passes for 26 yards.

Northern Iowa (5-3, 4-1) was led by Rennie who was 8-16 for 152 yards and 28 carries for 194 yards on the ground.  He had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown for the Panthers.

Youngstown State University (3-5, 1-4) is not going to throw away the rest of their season to focus on the future.  This team has been in transition since Eric Wolford was hired.  Guys have quit, transferred in, transferred out, redshirted, adapted, walked on, and have all played a part in the rebirth of football at Youngstown State.  The seniors who had to accept changes are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  This team is so much better than the record indicates.

Northern Iowa comes to town ranked 19th with only one loss in league play, and in sole possession of first place.  The Panthers are 4-3 overall and have remained a consistent winner for years.  In fact, Northern Iowa vs Youngstown State has had a consistent theme for the past nine seasons, a Panther win in every contest since 2000.  Throw in the fact that  YSU has lost four straight Homecoming games, and the writing should be on the wall.

Here are some things to consider before throwing this game into the loss column for the Penguins.  Eric Wolford has never lost to Northern Iowa or Mark Farley. Three of the nine consecutive losses have been by two points or less.  The last time they met in Youngstown, a blocked extra point late in the game preserved a 21-20 win.  Last season, the Panthers pretty much had their way and handed the Penguins a 28-7 setback.

Youngstown State’s Defense needs to put forth a great effort to have a shot at a win this week.  Losing Andre Elliott has really hurt a secondary not expected to have problems this season.  Brandian Ross has been bouncing everywhere but teams have learned over the past few weeks to keep it away from him and pick on the young guys.  Will Shaw, Randy Louis, and Donald D’Alesio are contributing but also getting picked on at crucial spots of games.  Louis is now out indefinitely with shoulder problems.

Secondary Coach Ron Stoops talked about the defensive lapses.  “Andre Elliott is hurt and we went into the first game with Nick [Gooden] and Shaw rotating.  Really, its not been the personnel, there is a pass rush, linebackers, underneath coverage and all kind of factors to consider.  We are not getting beat deep, more underneath and not tackling well as a defense.  Bottom line is that we do have some youth in the secondary and inexperience can also be a part of it.”

Offensively, the Penguins are scoring.  Senior Dominique Barnes set a record for catching a pass in 31 consecutive games and has more personal awards within reach.  Barnes is a team guy and personal records remain secondary.  The young “quad of doom” (Kurt Hess, Adaris Bellamy, Jamaine Cook, and Jordan Thompson) have produced as a group all year.  Not at all what you would expect from a sophomore and three freshmen.  Eric Rodemoyer has also been a force on the line.

Northern Iowa could care less about it being the 70th year of YSU Football, the WATTS, or Homecoming. Their mission is to keep winning to make the postseason playoffs again.  The Panthers are led by QB Tirrell Rennie who likes to run.  Rennie had four rushing touchdowns last weekend against Illinois State and leads his team with 754 yards on 129 carries.  The Panthers also boast a very strong run defense that has only given up 100 yards twice this season.  They are a methodical and well-coached team.

Homecoming Festivities incude a pre-game parade to start jus before 11 a.m. and proceed to the stadium.  The court will be announced at halftime and a new king and queen will be crowned.  Kickoff for the game is 1 p.m. and the radio telecast can be heard on AM-570.  The game will also be shown on myTV at 10 p.m.

Youngstown State University currently stands at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  However, this predominantly young group of Penguins could well be 6-1 and undefeated in the conference.  There are about ten total minutes of game time (all in the second half) that have doomed YSU this season.  South Dakota State (2-4, 2-2) will host the Penguins for a 3 p.m. kickoff this Saturday. 

The two teams seem to be headed in different directions, find their strengths in different halves, and YSU Coach Eric Wolford calls the 2010 Jackrabbits, “the best team I have seen on film this season.”  SDSU had a rocky start to the season with four consecutive losses.  One of those losses was to Nebraska.  Since the 0-4 start the Jackrabbits have racked up victories against Southern Illinois (in Carbondale) by a score of 31-10, and the week before beat Western Illinois 33-29.

South Dakota State holds a 6-5 advantage in the head-to-head matchups against YSU.  Last season the teams did battle in Youngstown with the Jackrabbits pulling off the win, 17-3.  South Dakota State also lashed the Penguins 40-7 in 2008 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Brookings, SD.  The Penguins are 0-3 on the road this season but have not had trouble scoring.  Last week in the loss at Western Illinois, Youngstown State tied the school record with 32 first downs and put up more than 500 yards of total offense for the second time this season.

In order for Youngstown State to have a shot at winning this road game, they must stop Kyle Minett (above).  Minett entered the 2010 season with 3,069 career rushing yards.  Last season he rushed for 1,304 yards and scored 16 TD’s.  Sophomore Thomas O’Brien has 12 starts under his belt.  South Dakota State is undefeated when O’Brien does not get picked off (5-0).  Tyrel Kool has been the favorite target of O’Brien through the air.  Expect Minett to get about 30 carries.  If Youngstown State’s run defense can shut him down, the Jackrabbits may be forced to pass. 

Defensively, Corey Jeske and Derek Domino are the two biggest impact players.  Domino is a 6-3, 225 lb. linebacker that gets downhill fast for someone his size.  Jeske is a 6-0 strong safety who finished the Western Illinois game with 17 tackles.

Offensively, Youngstown State needs to stick to their gameplan, it has been working all season.  In the conference games the Penguins have averaged over 30 points per game but have lost three of them.  The rotation of running backs that was three seems to be down to two.  Jamaine Cook leads the team in rushing with 781 yards on 133 carries.  Adaris Bellamy is coming off of a three touchdown performance.  Dominique Barnes needs one catch to become the Youngstown State all-time leader for consecutive games with a catch (31).  Teams know Barnes will get the ball sooner or later and when he does, anything can happen. 

The achiles heel for YSU has been finishing.  It can’t all be put on the defense because the offense has ended the last couple of games failing conversions.  However, Rick Kravitz has had some really bad luck the last three weeks.  Blitzing and getting burned, sitting back a bit and getting run through, and failing to stop virtually anyone with less than two minutes to go in a game, the Penguins need to treat closing situations with kid gloves.  This defense is loaded with talent.  Brandian Ross is one of the best to ever play in the defensive backfield and Torrance Nicholson showed last week why he is a co-captain.  The rest of the defense has played, well, unpredictably.  Consistency will come sooner than later and I expect the defense to really finish strong this season.

Penguin Coach Eric Wolford has reason to remain optimistic.  “We had a good week of practice, we are enthusiastic and flying around, even having fun.  We sure don’t practice like a 3-4 team and these kids still believe.  I think football is fun, you should enjoy being around your kids and at the same time you must be able to push them, and that is what we emphasize.  We can still finish third, maybe even second in the conference and we won’t quit.”