Posts Tagged ‘Donald jones’

Former Youngstown State University Penguin Donald Jones is making a good impression at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Jones went South to condition for the combine appearances, and thus far, all of the hard work seems to be paying off.  Under the watchful eye of trainer Mike Gough at the Athletic Edge Sports Facility in Bradenton, Florida, Jones has worked tirelessly to get bigger and faster.

Jones ran a 4.47 40-yard dash.  More impressively, he was able to bench 225 pounds 20 times, tying him for first in that category with all other participants.

Jones was officially measured at 6′ and weighed in at 214 pounds.

Earlier this year, Jones participated in the Under Armour Senior Bowl.  He was the first Youngstown State player selected to play in that game since Ron Jaworski was picked in 1972.  Jones’ selection made him only the fifth FBS player named to participate.

In his Senior season, Jones set a record for catches in a season with 77.  Against Missouri State and Southern Illinois, Jones twice tied the YSU all-time record with 11 catches in each game.

You can follow Jones on Twitter, his user name is @DaJones81.

Here is a link to the player profile I ran on Donald Jones during Youngstown State’s most recent football season.

In a season where the expectations were high so high at the start, the ending somewhat lived up to its advertised billing.  Youngstown State rallied from an 11 point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat North Dakota State, 39-35, at the Fargodome.

Youngstown State scored first as Marc Kanetsky, who started the game at quarterback for Brandon Summers due to shoulder soreness, connected with Donald Jones from five yards away staking the Penguins to a 7-0 lead at the 10:59 mark of the opening quarter. 

Pat Paschall, the leading rusher in the Missouri Valley Football Conference coming into the game, tied things up when he went over from one yard out.  Paschall will be an NFL back next year and finished the day with 140 yards on 27 carries.  Hard to believe, but the 140 was below his season average of 150+ per game.  The touchdown came at the 12:33 mark of the second quarter and John Obarski’s extra-point attempt was good for the Bison, 7-7 at the dome.

On their next drive, Youngstown State reclaimed the lead when Summers found Dominique Barnes for a 6-yard touchdown.  Stephen Blose split the uprights for the extra-point with 7:14 left in the first half to give the Penguins a 14-7 lead.

Paschall scored from a yard out for the second time in the game with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half to again knot the contest at 14. 

Youngstown State finally got a big play on special teams as Lenny Wicks returned a blocked field goal attempt 79 yards for a touchdown with just over a minute left in the half.  The Penguins, however, would yield a game-tying touchdown when Bison QB Jose Mohler found Warren Holloway for a 21-yard scoring connection.  At the half, this one was all tied up at 21 apiece.

The Bison struck first in the second half at the 6:08 mark of the third quarter.  Matt Veldman hauled in a 27-yard toss from Mohler.  With the PAT successful, the Penguins were on the wrong end of a 28-21 score.

The Penguins managed to get three points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter as a red-hot Stephen Blose nailed a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-24.

Paschall would give the Bison a seemingly comfortable cushion as he scored his third touchdown on the afternoon, this one a three yarder.  With just under eight minutes, Youngstown State began their unforgettable march to vicory.

The three amigos, Aaron Pitts (#83, left), Dominique Barnes (#29, middle), and Donald Jones (#81, right) have been awesome all year.  Summers has found these three receivers and the offense seemed to be at its best when the ball was headed their way. 

On this particular Saturday, the trio would show their value as they (along with Summers) spearheaded an amazing comeback.  With 5:13 left in the game, Pitts would be the first to step up as he caught a fourth down, four-yard touchdown pass from Summers.  The touchdown made the score 35-30 in favor of North Dakota State.  YSU lined up for the two-point conversion, which was a success when Summers hit another essential cog in the machine, Kevin Smith, for a two-point completion making the score 35-32.

The YSU defense was on fire as they forced the Bison to run three plays and punt.  YSU then started a fantastic drive to really exclamate what could have been.  Summers had several tosses to Jones to move the ball at a rapid rate on both of the last two scoring drives.  Barnes then got to relish in the glory when Summers found him for the go-ahead points with just 22 seconds left in a wild finish.  Blose kicked the extra point to give YSU a four point lead.

North Dakota State had a shot at the end zone on the last play of the game , but YSU’s Scott Sentner picked off the Bison scoring effort to end the game.

Youngstown State was paced by Kevin Smith who had 101 yards on the ground.  Summers finished the game with 259 yards and three touchdowns.  Jones caught 10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

North Dakota State got 238 passing yards out of Mohler along with a couple of touchdowns, as well as a pair of interceptions.  Paschall finished with 140 rushing yards and a 5.2 average on 27 carries.  Holloway caught three Mohler passes for 88 yards and a TD.

Youngstown State (6-5, 4-4) completed the season in unbelievable fashion.  North Dakota State (3-8, 2-6) Coach Craig Bohl will surely want to put this season behind him.  It must be noted that Youngstown State took several more chances and opened up the playbook in the last couple of weeks.  The result of those two games were 63 offensive points (the six by Lenny Wicks on the blocked FG don’t count).  

Congratulations Senior Penguins!  I salute you for not throwing in the towel and exhibiting class under the worst of times.  No fingerpointing, no excuses, and no bickering really made this bunch special to cover all season.  The positions you are leaving will be tough to fill in the future.  All twelve of you are competitive winners, you had the respect of the players under you, the coaching staff, and at least one sports journalist.  Good luck with your futures and thanks for the good memories this season!

Even though this game can not aid either team to win a conference championship or vault into the playoffs, it somehow holds meaning.  Youngstown State University (5-5, 3-4) heads to Fargo, North Dakota in hopes of ending the season with a winning record.  The Penguins will have no easy task facing the North Dakota State Bison (3-7, 2-5).

This only marks the fourth time these two teams will square off.  The last time YSU played at NDSU was in 1972 when Ron Jaworski was the Penguins QB.  Last season Youngstown State took a 32-24 victory over the Bison.  North Dakota State was ranked #2 before dropping last year’s contest at Stambaugh Stadium.

The game is also significant because it marks the final chance for twelve special players wearing a Penguin uniform to leave one last impression.  The seniors want to win badly to recoup some sense of salvation to a season which started with so much promise and hope and finish with a winning record.

Coach Heacock stressed that this game will be prepared for just like any other.  “We rebounded in this last one.  We are 5-5 and have an opportunity to get our sixth win.  We will just keep grinding.”

On North Dakota State, Heacock stated stopping the run, in particular Pat Paschall, is paramount to this weeks success.  “They have a running back [Paschall] who is real good and they like to line up and run the football.  They do a nice job setting up play-action off of their runs.  Their tailback is something, he can take it the distance at any time.  I would guess that he is a pro prospect.  We have to match-up and try to stop them.” Paschall has 1,257 yards in 9 games and is averaging 7 yards per carry.  His 139.7 yards per game average is the best in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Penguin kicker Stephen Blose is coming off of his best week of the season with three field goals in the 30-18 win over Illinois State last week.  Blose commented on the mood of the team.  “The team is positive and it feels great coming off of a win.  We get down on ourselves after a loss, but we always had to prepare.  After a win, this week is no different.  We need to take advantage of opportunities when we get them.”

The Penguins and Bison kickoff at 2 p.m.  Tune in to AM-570 with Bob Hannon and Dick Hartzell at 1:30 as they preview the game and provide the call on all of the action.  The weather does not matter this week as the game will be played indoors at the Fargodome.

Penguin Facts

• WR Dominique Barnes has caught a pass in 22 straight games.  Donald Jones has a reception in 20 consecutive games.
• LB Draye Ersery made 11 tackles against Illinois State.  In the 17 games prior to that one, he had a total of 10.
• The last time YSU had two players rush for 100 yards in a game was aginst North Dakota State last season.  Kamryn Keys had 146 yards, and Jabari Scott added 120.
• North Dakota State MLB Preston Evans leads the Bison in tackles with 88, 43 of which are unassisted.

On Senior Day, the weather and general atmosphere on the sidelines was warm. It was nice to see the Senior Penguins with their parents before kickoff as they were recognized for their outstanding efforts as Youngstown State athletes.  Coach Heacock stressed all week that it was about this Senior class to succeed in this game, to find ways to involve them into the gameplan in a positive fashion.  They all seemed to contribute.  Pictured are two of the Seniors, Aaron Pitts (left) and Mychal Savage (right).

In what looked to be an even match on paper, Youngstown State and Illinois State were not playing for a championship or a postseason berth, but rather for pride.  The Penguins dug into the cupboard of forgotten plays and tried some new wrinkles on offense. Some of the results were good, others needed to stay in the cupboard. The result was a 30-18 Youngstown State victory.

Youngstown State took their opening possession on their own 14-yard line. The Penguins marched 45 yards in 12 plays to allow Stephen Blose a 45-yard FG attempt. Blose was successful on the attempt, and at the 4:37 mark, YSU held a 3-0 lead.

Coach Heacock rolled the dice and tried an onside kick that the Penguins recovered and the Penguin offense went back to work. Brandon Summers hooked up with Donald Jones for a 30-yard completion, but the Penguin drive stalled and Senior Ben Nowicki buried the Redbirds on their own 5.

The first quarter would come to an end with Youngstown State ahead 3-0 and driving. The Penguins stalled around the Illinois State 19 and were forced to take another Blose field goal to increase their lead to 6-0.

YSU tried a second consecutive onside kick that the Redbirds recovered. The Illinois State offense cashed in on the good field position as Zach Kutch connected from 41 yards out to cut the Penguin lead to 6-3 with 11:11 remaining in the first half.

A scenario the Penguins have become accustomed to this year came back to haunt them. The Redbirds Bert Whigham came up the middle almost untouched and blocked Nowicki’s punt. The ball rolled right into the end zone but the converging Redbirds were unable to come up with the recovery for a touchdown and YSU was lucky to give up a two-point safety. Weird score as YSU still lead 6-5.

The free kick following the safety further exposed the kryptonic special teams play of Youngstown State as Illinois State’s Ben Erickson returned the kick all the way to the YSU 40. Four plays later, with 8:03 left in the half, Cliffton Gordon scampered four yards to paydirt and just like that YSU was behind 12-6.

Southern Illinois caught the onside kick fever and tried their own, unsuccessfully. When the YSU drive appeared to stall and Blose kicked a field goal of 22 yards, a penalty of roughing the snapper set the Penguins up on the three. On the next play Kevin Smith got into the end zone for a 3-yard score and Blose knocked in the extra point to give YSU the lead back at 13-12.

Zach Kutch connected on a career-long 49-yard field goal to give the Redbirds a 15-13 lead with just over a minute left in the first half.

Blose tried to give YSU the lead back on a 42-yard attempt to end the opening half. The kick was blocked and the special teams hamster race continued. Halftime at the Ice Castle, Redbirds 15, Penguins 13.

Youngstown State finally got a big play. Dominique Barnes hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Summers. Youngstown State held a 20-15 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Redbirds effective kicker, Zach Kutch was again clutch, this time from 42 yards. The field goal shaved the Youngstown State lead to two points as they clung to a 20-18 lead.

Not to be outdone, Stephen Blose connected from 37 yards away to vault YSU to a 23-18 lead. For Blose, his third field goal capped his most productive day on the season.

At the 9:32 mark of the fourth quarter, Donald Jones caught a Brandon Summers pass from 8 yards away. YSU moved the ball 56 yards in 2:35 in increasing their lead to 30-18. Summers was 2-2 on the drive for 25 yards and a 3-yard run.

The Redbirds had a little left in the tank, but YSU was able to keep them out of scoring range and kept the score where it was to seal the victory.  Final score, YSU 30, Illinois State 18.  With the win, the Penguins improved to 5-5 and 3-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  Illinois State fell to 5-5 and 4-3 in the conference.

YSU was paced by Brandon Summers who finished the game one yard short of a career-high with 346 passing yards on 25-38 passing.  Kevin Smith (pictured) had his third one hundred yard game of the season and finished with 136 all-purpose yards.  The deadly duo on the sides clicked again as Donald Jones caught 7 balls for 105 yards and Dominique Barnes hauled in 8 for 122 with each scoring a touchdown.  Aaron Pitts chipped in with 68 receiving yards on three catches.

The Redbirds Freshman Quarterback, Matt Brown, finished the game 32-49 for 328 yards.  Cliffton Gordon carried 18 times for 58 yards, and TE Cody White had a career-high day with 6 receptions and 76 yards.

After the game, Coach Heacock again praised this Senior class.  “It was a special day for them.  We had a nice breakfast with the parents and loved ones this morning.  They came out and played hard and it was great to see so many of them play their hearts out.  Of all the Senior plays today, none was bigger then Ben Nowicki preventing Illinois State from scoring a touchdown on the blocked punt.”

This week is a special week for 12 individuals who will be playing in their final home game ever at YSU.  Saturday’s game pits Youngstown State University (4-5, 2-4) against Illinois State University (5-4, 4-2) in the home finale for the Penguins.  It also marks Senior Day, a celebration of the hard work put in by the leaders.  Parents and friends will come out to see YSU Seniors give it one last go at The Ice Castle.

The twelve YSU Seniors are a pretty unique group.  Not once this entire season have I heard a Senior on this team make excuses or point fingers of blame toward underclassmen, coaches, or each other.   They have won and lost as they should, a unified team.   I can see why these twelve are so special and respected by those learning from them.  Paneech.com congratulates this very unique and tight-knit group of young men for striving to be leaders on and off the field.

The 12 Seniors:

• Kevin Smith, Brandon Summers, Draye Ersery, Dana Brown, Lenny Wicks, Jabari Scott, Ben Nowicki, Brian Mellott, Donald Jones, Aaron Pitts, Crispin Fernandez, and Mychal Savage. Congratulations Seniors! Not for the wins and losses, but for never quitting, playing hard, and most importantly setting an example for the future.

So Saturday marks the end for some.  Illinois State is no free lunch either.  The Redbirds have continued to improve all year and run a wide open offense that YSU has not been used to seeing much of this season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Redbirds saying, “They have alot of things in the arsenal.  They play with alot of emotion and seem to just get better every week.  We have to play a great game to win this week.”

Heacock seems to genuinely like this group of Seniors.  “There is no more important of a week than Senior Week.  It’s all about these 12 seniors this week.  There is nothing like it, and it is a game they will never forget being a part of, their last game at home.  We, as coaches, want to find ways to get them all on the field.  We used to start all of the Seniors, some out of position, but we had more than 24 a few years back, so that tradition doesn’t exist anymore.”

To hear Senior Brian Mellott talk about Heacock proved that the respect is mutual.  “Coach Heacock is here 18 hours a day battling for his life right now.  He handles things with class and dignity.  I’m not badmouthing anyone, but when some guys got here, the transformation they underwent as people under Coach Heacock was very obvious.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the early forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a high of 58 degrees.  The game will also be televised on tape-delay on MyYTV with Chad Krispinsky and Chris Burch.

Penguin Notes

• Last year, Illinois State won a wild one, 54-44, at Hancock Stadium.
• The series is tied 9-9 and is seperated only by one point (446-445) in favor of the Redbirds.
• Illinois State Coach Brock Spack makes his initial appearance against Youngstown State.
• The last time YSU had a 60+ yards passing touchdown was last season against Illinois State when Brandon Summers hit Donald Jones for a score.  It was also the last time YSU went over the 500-yard mark for a game.

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.

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.

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.