Posts Tagged ‘Eric Wolford’

There is a sign in the dark cement tunnel that empties onto the field from the Youngstown State locker room.  The sign is hanging on a cement column right in the middle of the ramp and doesn’t have many different connotations.  Last season was a prime example of why a young and talented team needs a subtle reminder sometimes. Western Illinois dealt Youngstown State a painful 40-38 defeat , winning the game in the last minute after the Penguins failed to convert a first down with the game seemingly in control. Times have changed.

For starters, the Leathernecks lost their two best players, QB Matt Barr, and LB Kyle Glazier.  Optimistically, the Leathernecks are in a rebuilding year at the money positions.  However, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has proven one thing over the past several years – that every conference game is an unpredictable war, and that nobody can take assume that they can win a game until it is officially over.

“There is so much parity in this league”, said YSU coach Eric Wolford.  “In most leagues, there is an upper echelon of very good teams, and there is another group of teams that fall below that standard.  There is no division in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, any team can win any week.  Every week in college football, there are teams that are expected to win and are double digit favorites.  They go out and don’t play well.”

Kurt Hess (above) echoed the sentiment of his team on last year’s loss.  The sophomore QB said, “It was a very tough loss and it was very emotional, just like all of the other losses were.  We feel like we owe them something.”

The Penguins have gone all season without making a field goal attempt.  Wolford shared his feelings on the lack of three-point kicks.

“I don’t really care if we kick a field goal.  We work very hard on our red zone stuff.  I think everyone knows that seven is greater than three from kindergarten.  I would rather have seven.”

Hess, who is mature beyond his years, has been pretty effective this season, as has the entire offense, to the tune of 37.7 points per game. Jamaine Cook, barring injury or disaster, should crack the 1,000 yard mark in rushing against the Leathernecks, needing only 51 yards to do so.  Cook scored four touchdowns in the first half of last weeks game against Saint Francis.

Western Illinois (2-5, 1-3) lost last week, 31-17, at home to Missouri Valley State.  It was the first win in the conference for the Bears and if there was a silver lining to the outcome for the Leathernecks, it had to be the play of senior linebacker, Kevin Palermo, who recorded 14 tackles in the loss.  Palermo has 63 tackles on the season, 21 more than anyone else on the team.

The Leathernecks have gotten decent numbers out of first-year quarterback Josh Hudson, who has thrown for 1,313 yards so far this season.  His favorite target is 6’3″ senior, Terriun Crump, who has 41 catches in 2011, more than double of the next closest Leatherneck receiver.  I spoke with Crump about using his experience against YSU’s freshman-dominant defense.

“Obviously, we want to find a way to take advantage.  Youngstown State must have confidence in all of those freshmen to put them on the field.  We start some freshmen too and they have performed for us.  I don’t think it matters if they are freshman or seniors.  Our key to victory is to win all three phases of the game – offense, defense, and special teams.  We’re a balanced team and can play with anyone when we get all three phases going.”

YSU has not lost to Western Illinois at home since 2003, and the Leathernecks are currently riding a five-game road losing streak.  The special Homecoming game will start at 1 p.m., and YSU will announce it’s 2011 Hall of Fame inductees at halftime. With a win, the Penguins continue to show marked improvement from last season, stay in the playoff hunt, and head off to Northern Iowa, and then North Dakota State.  First though, the goal is to take care of the business at hand, and that is focusing on defeating Western Illinois.

Perhaps the most likable characteristic a person can have is that when they reach a level of success that few have, they are unchanged and remember their roots. Donald Jones is nursing a high ankle sprain and will be out of action at least this week (bye) and next week against the Washington Redskins.  The money hasn’t changed his attitude.  He is still a very sensible and grounded human being and returned to Youngstown State to talk with the team at this week’s pregame dinner on Friday night.

When addressing the players, Jones talked about his personal hurdles in establishing his goal.  “There were only two teams interested in signing me as a free agent, Buffalo and the New York Giants.  The chances of you making it to the league (NFL) are not very good.  I am not saying that you can’t do it, because I am proof that you can, but embrace the education you are receiving while in college and prepare yourself for a future.”

Jones not only talked with the team but introduced himself to many of the faces he had never met.  He sat with various members and chatted during the dinner.

Aaron Pitts, Jones’ college roommate, is on a different path of success.  Pitts is training with the Cintas Corporation locally and enjoys what he is doing.  Pitts showed up at the dinner to hang out with his old friend and it was nice to see the past interact with the future.

“We haven’t seen each other much”, said Pitts.  “As you know, Donald and I were roommates and got to be pretty close.  I am glad he is doing well and it is great to spend some time with him and catch up.”

Youngstown State second-year coach, Eric Wolford, introduced Jones to his team and talked about how hard work and taking care of your body can pay dividends. Interestingly, Jones graduated before Wolford was hired, but the two interacted like old friends.  It was a nice union of old meets new and everyone walked away happy.

Jones and Pitts showed up at the Youngstown State – Saint Francis game, which the Penguins won, 49-23.  Jones was on the home sidelines and spent time talking to reporters, signing autographs, and talking to anyone that approached him.  He is a refreshing change from the stereotype of a successful athlete, often perceived as a prima donna.  Jones is anything but.

“The biggest problem I have now”, joked Jones at the dinner, “is that everyone wants something.  Everyone calls and wants something from you.”

The most satisfying thing Youngstown could ever want, they got, when Jones showed up as an unchanged and respectable person who has not let the limelight change who he is and how he acts.

Sometimes Youngstown State University starts a game slowly, something Coach Eric Wolford claimed needed addressed.  Other times the Penguins had problems on both sides of the ball with missed assignments, lining up wrong, and fundamentals.  Against Saint Francis, a game which the Penguins won, 49-23, the maturity of this young team continued to take place.  There were few missed assignments, little that was not properly executed, and everyone looked fundamentally sound for the Penguins.

Jamaine Cook came into the game 4th in the FCS in rushing with 131.2 yards per game.  One of the backs ahead of him at number three on the list was Saint Francis’ Kyle Harbridge.  Cook put on a show, racking up four first half touchdowns and gaining 162 yards on 19 carries.  Harbridge managed to crack 1,000 for the year, but the Penguins RB had the much more productive day.  What was more impressive of Cook’s day was that Saint Francis runs a plus one defense most of the time, meaning they have nine guys in the box.  The line did a great job of picking up the extra man and sprung Cook, Adaris Bellamy, and Jordan Thompson for good yardage all day, to the tune of 450 yards combined on the ground.

“We came out to play up to our standard”, said DT Aronde Stanton.  “We prepared for this game like it was a conference game.  Because there are so many good running backs in our conference, we were prepared to face this kind of an offense that runs the ball.”

The Penguins (4-3, 2-2) never punted in the first half.  Cook had touchdown runs of 1, 4, 8, and 26, to account for his four first half scores, which marked the first time a Penguin scored four times in a game since PJ Mays did it in 2001 against Indiana State.  The Penguins also got a 5-yard touchdown from Bellamy, and Kurt Hess hit Christian Bryan for 19-yard score to account for the 42 first half points for Youngstown State.  Saint Francis managed a 35-yard Josh Thiel field goal.

In the second half, the Penguins sat the starters and Coach Wolford got the depth chart some playing time.  Saint Francis scored a few touchdowns in the second half to salvage some pride on offense.  The damage was pretty well done in the first half though and the Penguins and Wolford can be content with the first unit’s play on both sides of the ball.  The Penguins, however, put some icing on the cake when Jordan Thompson tore off a 95-yard touchdown run, off right tackle, tying a school record.  Thompson will be a force to be reckoned with going forward and he is finally 100% after suffering a shoulder injury early in the season.

“I didn’t know I had tied a record”, said Thompson.  “We have a bunch of talented backs and we were able to make some plays against a plus one defense, forcing misses.  I am happy to get the ball and contribute.”

For Saint Francis (1-6), Harbridge finished the game with 117 yards on 28 carries (he had 52 yards in the first half).  John Kelly threw for 288 yards on 16 completions in 28 attempts (including a 70-yard TD) and had 5 rushing yards and a score on the ground.

The Penguins really distributed the ball well in both halves.  Cook finished with 162 yards on 19 carries.  Thompson, aided with his 95-yard score, finished with 135 yards on 4 carries  (33.8 ypc).   Hess was 11-14 for 172 yards and a touchdown again doing a very efficient job of managing the offense.  Bryan finished with four catches for 49 yards and a score.  Torrian Pace got 15 carries in the second half and finished with 81 yards.

Defensively, Josh Garner and Aronde Stanton finished with five tackles each an Andrew Johnson recorded a sack. Sir Taylor nabbed an interception and returned it 42 yards, just missing a 65-yard touchdown when the last possible tackler tripped him up near the YSU sideline.

The first meeting of these two teams since 1953 ended sort of lopsided, but both coaches will have things to build upon despite the wide scoring differential.  Youngstown State will jump back into conference play when they welcome Western Illinois to town for Homecoming next weekend.  Saint Francis will host Central Connecticut State.

Coach Wolford talked about the victory at the postgame press conference.  “You always worry that the team will look at the record of the other team and have preconceived notions of chalking up a win.  Upsets happen all of the time and this team posed some challenges with a solid running game.  We did good things in the first half against the ‘plus one’ look, and defensively, the only thing that had me worried was the abundance of penalties.  We continue to strive though, and are putting things further behind us.  We now have to get ready for Western Illinois.”

One of the things about Wolford that has become more obvious to me over the past couple of weeks is his character.  I knew he had a big heart because of his ‘paying ahead’ attitude and charitable contributions through No Stone Unturned.  However, what I learned about this guy in the last 48 hours is that he worries about the personality and character of his players as responsible young men.  Everything from what they eat the night before a game, to what they do in their spare time, to the value of their education.  Wins and losses aside, Eric Wolford is now a better fit, in my mind, more than I ever could have imagined.  He is honest, refuses to make excuses, has tackled adversity head-on several times in just his second season, and more than anything — finds time for everyone.

Call me a mark.  Call me a homer.  Call me anything you would like.  Facts are facts.  Wolford is solid.

When asked whether or not he could take a team like Saint Francis lightly, Eric Wolford gave reasons why he could not.  Saint Francis is coming to Youngstown State this weekend for a rare midseason non-conference game and they bring plenty of offense to town.  The Penguins got a huge win last week at Southern Illinois, posting a quality 35-23 win over a good team.  Wolford knows that his Penguins have to stay focused and sees some daylight.

“Last week was a step in the right direction,” said Wolford.  “Southern Illinois has a very good football team and won this conference a couple of years ago.  I felt coming into this season that they were the second or third best team in the conference, so I am very pleased to get that win.”

The win came on the road, a first for Wolford.  It was also his first come-from-behind win, small landmarks in a bigger path of goals.  With playoff chances looming with every game, YSU cannot afford another loss, at home or on the road.

“We will prepare for Saint Francis like they are the best team we play”, remarked Josh Lee (below), one of last weeks heroes. “We have to prepare and can never underestimate an opponent.”

The Penguins defense will have their hands full against the Red Flash offense.  Kyle Harbridge has been outstanding at RB this year.  The gutty running back put up 189 yards on 23 carries last week and has 955 yards on 150 carries this season.  That is an average of about 132 yards per game.

“We rely on the run game and when it is working, we click on all cylinders.  My line does a fantastic job and we look to establish the run early in games.  It is the same approach every week, get it going early… early and often, hopefully”, said Harbridge via telephone.  “We want to play 60 full minutes to beat YSU, they are an FCS top power type team and we hope it is going to be a fight until the end.”

The Red Flash also have QB John Kelly.  Kelly is 79-173 for 942 yards and six touchdowns.  This team can score, they have just been outscored in most of their games so far this season.

One of the things that concerned Wolford in last week’s win was the kickoff coverage.  It seemed like Southern Illinois started every drive close to midfield.

“Guys didn’t do what they were supposed to do”, said Wolford.  “Those problems should be fixed and some changes will be made, but I think the coverage will be fine this week.”

Wolford praised several of his young players for their effort but says the celebration ends Sunday and there is still a lot of work to do to reach the goal of making the playoffs.

“We can play with anyone.  We could win or we could lose.  We can’t look at the schedule and circle the games we think we will win and the games we think we will probably lose.  We finally feel as though we have some depth at every position.  We are maturing and with that will come better execution.  This season isn’t over yet, I’ll tell you guys when it is over.”

The Penguins will be without David Rogers and Carson Sharbaugh will get the start at tight end on offense.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

A college football program is a big step up from a high school football team.  Even at the high school level, not too many freshmen play for the varsity team.  In a freshman-packed defense, Youngstown State University is gaining experience, valuable experience, where many of its members are new to college.  Coach Eric Wolford and his staff have recruited tirelessly to bring in some of the most talented athletes this country has to offer.  Wolford will never use the youth movement as an excuse for losing.

Southern Illinois (2-3, 1-2) expected more this season, just like YSU (2-3, 1-2).  The two teams paths will cross Saturday and one team will feel like they have advanced forward at the final whistle, while the other team will continue to search for answers.  The fact that these two teams share the same record is interesting in the sense that YSU can score and has, all season.  Southern Illinois has a tremendous defense.  The Salukis held North Dakota State, a team averaging 38 points per game,  to 60 yards rushing last week in a 9-3 loss.

“They have improved tremendously on defense”, said Coach Wolford of SIU.  “It should be a very aggressive football game that is filled with unique match-ups.  They have a running back, Jewel Hampton, who you can tell lifts weights and runs very hard.  Their quarterback [Kory Faulkner] does a very good job of managing the game.”

“We’re still upbeat”, said Freshman WR Christian Bryan (above).  “We have had two tough losses in two games we feel we should have won.  In no way, shape, or form, has anyone on this team quit.  When we have somebody down, we need to finish them off, it is like we are missing that sense of urgency.”

Freshman LB Teven Williams also echoed positive sentiments.  “We have the talent to be great, there are just a few little things that need fixed.  We still feel our goal of making the playoffs is attainable.  When we have lost, it’s been on us this season, not anything the other team did.  Against Southern Illinois, we have to control the line of scrimmage and if everybody does their part, we will be fine.”

The Salukis have not lost to YSU in Carbondale since 2001, they have not lost a Homecoming game in nine years, and YSU has not won on the road in the conference under Wolford yet.  Last year, Youngstown State got by Southern Illinois by the score of 31-28 at Stambaugh Stadium.  The dynamic of Shane Montgomery’s offense can make all of those statistics meaningless with a solid performance against Southern Illinois’ powerful defense.   Kurt Hess remains the glue, Jamaine Cook is having an All-American type of year, the line is maturing, and the receiving group has improved light years since Spring. Once this defense matures, beware.

“Everyone has had adversity in their lives”, said Wolford.  “Someone will get a phone call and get bad news today.  Adversity develops character and toughness and builds a stronger mentality.  I would admit if we were being out-schemed, but we aren’t.  We give these guys a game plan and you have got to line up right and get it done.  I have been on the floor many times, but I always get up.  This team will have it’s day and I wish I could say when, and I can’t say when, but I promise, that day is coming.”

This Saturday’s Youngstown State at Southern Illinois football game will be televised locally on WBCB “The CW”. Kickoff for the contest is slated for 3:05 p.m. Eastern Time/2:05 p.m. Central Time.

Armstrong Cable customers can watch the game on Channel 16 while Time Warner subscribers can see the game on Channel 14.  21 WFMJ and WBCB will also televise the Penguins’ games at UNI on Nov. 5 and at North Dakota State on Nov. 12.

As always, the game will be available on 570 WKBN beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m.

Youngstown State seems to be struggling for answers to this point of their season.  For the second conference game in a row, YSU played a very strong second half on both sides of the ball, but came up short, falling 35-28 to South Dakota State.  The loss marks the fourth time the Jackrabbits have got by the Penguins (2-3 ,1-2) since they joined the conference four years ago.

“We settled down a little bit in the second half.  It is very difficult when you take a lead.  We just haven’t arrived yet and we are going to have to make some changes, put some different guys in spots and do something different.”, said coach Eric Wolford.  “There is plenty of blame to spread around, but there is plenty of football left.  We have had so many losses and I have coached a lot of football, and this was a difficult loss.  Give them credit, they played hard.  They recruit too, they have scholarships too.”

YSU put the first points on the scoreboard when Jamaine Cook tallied for a seven-yard strike capping off a nice eleven play, 75 yard drive which featured some new wrinkles.  Those new wrinkles included using a three-back set with TE David Rogers lined up in the backfield and Adaris Bellamy motioning out of the backfield.

The Penguins lead would be short lived as the Jackrabbits put up two touchdowns by the end of the quarter to hold a 14-7 lead. Tyrel Kool punched in the first score from a yard out.  On their next possession, Dale Moss hauled in a 27-yard pass from Austin Sumner to give the Jackrabbits the seven point advantage.

In the second quarter, Youngstown State scored when Kurt Hess found Christian Bryan for the first time in the game on a 51-yard completion.  The scoring drive took four plays and covered 75 yards.  South Dakota State managed to put up another touchdown before intermission when Sumner found Brandon Hubert with 16 ticks left on the clock.

Once play resumed, the Penguins came out looking like a different team. Jelani Berassa hauled in a 48-yard pass from Hess to tie the game at 21.  On the ensuing possession, Sumner made a bad read and found the Penguins Sam LB Davion Rogers who returned the pick 27 yards for a score and a 28-21 YSU lead.

In the final quarter, SDSU manufactured an 88 yard scoring drive in 14 plays.  The drive was capped off when Sumner threw his third TD of the day, this one a five-yarder to Aaron Rollin, to tie the game, 28-28.

The Penguins went to work in the fourth quarter of a tie game.  Hess led the offense on a nice drive in which the Penguins converted a fourth-and-two on SDSU’s 41 to keep the drive going.  The Penguins would settle for a field goal attempt by punter Nick Liste , not kicker David Brown, that was unsuccessful.  The 44-yard try sailed just to the right of the goalpost.

On the very next play, Sumner found Rollin with an out-and-up pump fake that froze Jimmy May.  Rollin caught the ball at about YSU’s 25 and trotted in giving the Jackrabbits a 35-28 lead.

YSU got the ball back with 5:55 left in the game.  The drive started on their own 45 yard line thanks to an excessive celebration penalty on South Dakota State’s touchdown, and the actual kickoff going out of bounds.  Cook rattled off 18 yards on the first play to get down to the SDSU 37.  A holding penalty against YSU’s Chris Elkins backed the Penguins up into a 2nd & 16 situation, and the Penguins would fail to convert the opportunity into points.

The Penguins got the ball back with 2:30 left in the game.  Hess, again, led a poised drive down the field, this one with no timeouts.  YSU got all the way to the Jackrabbits 17-yard line but could not convert a fourth-and-ten, losing the ball on downs.

Kurt Hess finished the game 18-34 for 243 yards, was picked off twice and had a couple of touchdowns.  Jamaine Cook finished with 107 rushing yards on 18 carries, he also caught four balls for 40 yards.  Teven Williams had 10 tackles, six solo, for the Penguin defense.

Andrew Johnson, another captain, commented on the loss.  “Words can’t explain it.  We started slow and we are a lot more talented than we were last year.  I can’t really explain it.  We go hard and try our best.”  Johnson finished the game with two sacks.

“We had them”, said Cook.  “We got in some third-and-long situations and Kurt had to try to come out and scramble around to try to make plays.  We have to keep things from falling apart.  As a captain, I am committed to doing that.”

For the Jackrabbits, Sumner was 22-35 for 345 yards.  Aaron Rollin finished with 155 yards on 8 catches.  Zach Zenner led the ground attack with 97 yards on 16 carries.

Youngstown State has some proving to do this week.  In their last game, the Penguins dropped a contest at Indiana State, the first time that has ever happened.  The Penguins have had two weeks to sharpen up their fundamentals and get back into the confident mindset that was to propel this team to loftier goals this year.  YSU can pull off their own first if they can beat South Dakota State this Saturday.  If the Penguins can defeat the Jackrabbits, it would mark their first win since South Dakota State joined the conference in 2008.

“We learned our lesson”, said Coach Eric Wolford on the loss to Indiana State.  “You can never forget about the fundamentals.  When you are not as mature as you would want to be, you just go through the motions and run plays.  No good disciplined routes, no blocking fundamentals… it’s not an excuse, it is just part of maturing, and hopefully we grew up quick and learned our lesson.”

South Dakota State is looking to avoid their first five game losing streak since 2000.  They have had nightmares trying to run the ball, averaging a paltry 2.3 yards peer attempt.  They are having issues with turnovers, stopping the run, and had a key member, QB Thomas O’Brien quit the team two weeks ago.  O’Brien (below) threw a couple of touchdown passes against the Penguins last season.  The three-year starter has been replaced by redshirt freshman, Austin Sumner.

The Penguins offense has been effective in every game this season. Jamaine Cook has racked up 501 in four games.  Kurt Hess has a 9:2 touchdown to interception ratio and has been poised no matter what the situation is.  The defensive line seems to be getting better and the biggest question to be answered on defense is whether or not a freshman-dominant linebacking group and a very young, repatched secondary can respond to a little adversity.

Junior OT, D. J. Main, knows Saturday is a bigger challenge than the records may indicate.  “South Dakota State is a good team and their record is deceiving.  They are well-coached and we will have our hands full.  We have watched a lot of film and when you see a few repetitive things, you get a better idea of what they might do.”

Jackrabbits linebacker Dirk Kool thinks that his team is prepared.  “We looked at films of last years game against Youngstown State and we also watched their game against Indiana State.  From a preparation standpoint, we don’t see much to prepare for that we have not already seen from them.  We have a lot of respect for Youngstown State, and our motivation is just to go 1-0 every week.”

YSU Director of Football Operations, Dan Kopp (above), talked about the obstacles the Penguins have endured leading up to the South Dakota State game.  “We did not tackle or block well against Indiana State and you can not win football games without those fundamentals in place.  South Dakota State has had our number the last few years, so we have a huge task in front of us Saturday.  We can’t afford to give up long touchdown runs on the first play of the game, or for that matter, the first couple of series.  It will be imperative that we start fast.”

Kickoff for Saturday is set for 4 p.m.

Goals were set.  Plans were made.  Things can change.  Coming off of a 37-35 loss at Indiana State last weekend, Coach Eric Wolford and his staff have fallen back into a fundamentals approach.  YSU tackled poorly, especially in the first half, in their loss to the Sycamores.  The good news is that it is only one loss and that there is time to regroup.

“It is only one loss and there is a lot of season left”, commented Wolford.  “We have to get back to some fundamental things.  We felt like Indiana State did a couple things fundamentally better than us at a couple of key positions and it showed up.  Unfortunately, four or five plays can define a game, and we found that out the hard way.  So we are spending time this week on blocking, tackling, and technique to get better, and I feel that we have gotten better as a result.”

The Penguins have been immersed by the circus that came to town this week, aka, the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are using the YSU facilities in between their games against Cincinnati and Philadelphia to avoid the two long plane trips.  However, Youngstown State was turned into Fort Knox for a few days as campus employees were not even allowed to get too close or see too much.

Wolford peeked ahead to South Dakota State.  “They are going to come out and, obviously, try to run the football against us.  Quite frankly, since they joined the conference we are 0-3 against them.  Last year we closed the gap and only lost by ten, but the year before that, they blew us out.  We have to come out and play some football and can’t afford to get off to a slow start again.”

Andre Stubbs, it was discovered, is out for the year for the Penguins.  He will be given a medical redshirt and start as a freshman again next year.

Jelani Berassa talked about the football camp environment.  “Coach said we have got to get better with our fundamentals.  We are probably going to get together to watch the South Dakota game and continue to work on correcting all of the mistakes we made last week against Indiana State.  We want to be able to look back on that game [Indiana State] as a turning point where we got better because we learned from our mistakes.  We are still very confident.”

“After the game last week, we knew we had to get back to fundamentals”, said Obinna Ekweremuba. “We knew what we had to do in that first half last week and we were not able to execute the game plan.  We believe in our coaches, and we have to do a better job.  You can’t let a running back go 69 yards to start a game, it doesn’t work real well in the end.  Coach Kravitz made some adjustments at halftime and we want that positive momentum to last awhile.”

The Penguins host South Dakota State next weekend.  This is one of the toughest opponents that the Penguins have on the docket from year-to-year and a good week of practice leading up to the contest is imperative for the Penguins to have a shot at winning.

Youngstown State University fought until the very end, but came up short in a 37-35 loss at Indiana State.  The Penguins overcame an awful start trailing by as many as 21 in the first half but were able to attempt an onside kick down only two with just over a minute left in the game.  Unfortunately, the kick never traveled ten yards and the Penguins offense never got back on the field. Shakir Bell had a huge day for the Sycamores and the hole the Penguins fell into in the first half could not be fixed by the final gun.

Bell had 21 carries for 256 yards, a 12.2 average per carry, and scored four times on runs of 62, 39, 61, and 51 — all in the first half.  The 256 yards recorded by Bell are an Indiana State school record.  Bell wasn’t flawless, despite the record, as he coughed one up in the second quarter.  YSU’s Aronde Stanton scooped up the fumble and raced toward the Penguin end zone to score a defensive touchdown that would have cut the score to 27-21.  Stanton, however, fumbled the ball on the ISU one-yard line and it rolled out of the end zone resulting in a touchback and the Sycamores retaining possession on their own 20.

Youngstown State (2-2, 1-1) got a very solid performance from Jamaine Cook.  The junior tailback racked up 177 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns for the Penguin offense. Kurt Hess and Jelani Berassa also hooked up for a pair of scores from four yards out.  Berassa finished the game with 44 yards receiving on six grabs.  Christian Bryan continued to play fantastic football for Youngstown State.  Bryan was the Penguins top yardage wideout, finishing with six catches for 72 yards.  Notably, the Penguins were five of five in the red zone, and Indiana State was two-of-two.

The passing game was also good, leading a nice two minute drive in the fourth quarter to bring the Penguins within two points.  Hess performed like a surgeon on the drive and had a couple of key runs, as well as passes, on the scoring march that would result in a touchdown.  Hess finished the game with 224 yards passing on 25 completions in 41 attempts.  He also gained 21 yards on the ground, but threw one interception.

Indiana State got decent production from others than Bell, mostly in the first half.  The efficient Ronnie Fouch completed 11-17 for 189 yards.  His top two targets were Michael Mardis and Alex Jones, who finished the game with 83 and 81 yards, respectively.  The Sycamores could only score three points in the second half as the YSU defense made some good adjustments at halftime to eliminate the big plays the Sycamore offense enjoyed in the opening sessions.

Nick DeCraker recorded a sack for the Penguins. Josh Garner and Davion Rogers each recorded three unassisted tackles, and Travis Williams had a hand in eight tackles, two solo from his Will linebacker position.  Give the penguins defensive players and coaches credit for really turning things around most of the second half.

Indiana State got a monster effort on defense from Aaron Archie.  All Archie did was sack Hess twice, record seven solo tackles and assist on eleven other stops.

Other Penguins who had some statistics worth mentioning were Jordan Thompson who finished the game with 43 yards on eight carries, scored a touchdown, and caught a couple of passes for seven more yards. Kevin Watts (above) had a couple of catches in the Penguins final scoring drive for 19 yards and also returned three kickoffs for 57 yards.  Nick Liste had six punts for 239 yards (39.8 yards averaged per punt), and kicker David Brown was 5/5 on PAT’s.

Unfortunately, Eric Wolford, who stresses the importance and difficulties of winning on the road, dipped to 0-9 away from Youngstown State.  The win marks the first time that the Sycamores have gotten by the Penguins in Terre Haute after losing their first eleven tries at home.  Be assured that Wolford and staff did not take this loss lightly, and I am sure that the upcoming two weeks of practice will be very hard for the team.

Youngstown State is headed into a bye week but will return home on October 8 to face South Dakota State.

Indiana State has never defeated Youngstown State at home.  The Penguins are a perfect 11-0 when traveling to Terre Haute and hold a 19-2 series lead over the Sycamores.  Eric Wolford lost his only game coaching against Indiana State in Youngstown last season by a score of 30-24 and did not get a win on the road (0-8) last season.  Something has to give and one of the streaks will come to an end this weekend.

Indiana State (2-1, 0-0) opened at Happy Valley, falling to Penn State.  The Sycamores rebounded to win a shootout over Butler and posted an impressive win over an FBS opponent last week, handing Western Kentucky a 44-16 beating.  The offensive weapons that the Sycamores use most are senior Ronnie Fouch at QB, Brock Lough (Sr.) at fullback, and Shakir Bell (Jr.) at tailback.

Fouch is 40-65 in three games for 564 yards and five TD’s.  He has also thrown three interceptions and doesn’t seem to pose much of a threat by running with one yard in three games.  Lough is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and has three touchdowns, including a 45-yard run for six.  Bell has 312 yards on 46 attempts and has busted one for 59 yards.  This is a big play offense that is in every way capable of beating you through the air or on the ground.

Youngstown State is out of the box in an eerily similar way that they were last season.  They are 2-1 and have a conference win under their belt.  Last season, the wheels came off and the Penguins could not record another win after that finishing 0-7.

Jamaine Cook says that the philosophy has changed. “Last year after Southern Illinois, we had the mentality that we were unstoppable and that no one could beat us – we started looking ahead too much.  We came in this season saying that we wanted to be 1-0 every week, making that a goal we could focus on.  We are happy about being ranked #24, but honestly, we are so hungry that we are not going to stop until we hit #1.”

“Indiana State is a very good football team”, said Eric Wolford.  “They have done a great job of recruiting, they are very well-coached, they work and play hard, and they play with aggression and passion.  That is a compliment to their coaching staff, it starts with them.”

“They are a fast team”, said Cook referring to Indiana State.  “They got a win over a D-1 team last week beating Western Kentucky and we have to come out ready to play hard and have a good week of practice to come away with a win.”

Sycamore FB Lough had this to say about YSU.  “They are a good team.  They played the only conference game last week and won, so that makes them the first place team right now.  We are preparing for them just like we prepared for Penn State in a sense that we expect a battle.  We are in good shape and prepared for a very talented team.  We have never beaten them here and are using that as motivation to prepare for them.”

“Our defense came out last week and held a strong offensive team to 150 yards passing – I know it seemed like more, but it wasn’t – and shut them out at the end of the game giving only one first down there at the end.  We needed to win a game like that for our confidence with all of the youth on that defensive unit.”, said Eric Wolford.

“The thing I was discouraged about last week was that offensively, we had a chance to close the game out, and we didn’t do it.  We missed some key blocks and fortunately, it didn’t cost us a game.  If we continue to miss those blocks, it will surely cost us in the future.”

Coach Wolford talked about being ranked. “Obviously, it is nice to be ranked, but that ranking stuff really matters more at the end of the year.  At the end of the day, that is what would matter. I don’t want anything like a ranking causing a distraction this week.”

Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. and the game will be televised on the WB Network.  You can also catch the action on AM-570, WKBN.