Posts Tagged ‘Kurt Hess’

Missouri State has owned Youngstown State the last few seasons.  The Bears have given coaches and players fits even putting up some double-digit wins along the way. This year, Missouri State is much in the same position that Youngstown State was in last season – close but no cigar.  Last week, they lost 28-20 to Indiana State, the week before they fell to South Dakota State 43-36 in 2 OT, etc.  Sound familiar?  It should to Youngstown State fans.

Coach Eric Wolford knows that the Bears have enough talent not to be overlooked. He also thinks that if his Penguins can get by the Bears this Saturday that they should be in the playoffs.

“We are a playoff team,” claimed Wolford.  “We are ranked 15th in a BCS-like formula and history has shown that the top so many in that poll always seem to get in despite where they are in the other polls.  We are playing as well as anybody right now, we are a good football team.  We have quality wins and we deserve to be in the playoffs. With that said, our focus is squarely on Missouri State because if we don’t win, none of the scenarios matter, our season will end.”

Missouri State Senior, Travis Simmons, knows that he and his Bears are in a position to disrupt Youngstown State’s huge momentous surge.

“This is definitely our last game and we know that we have nothing to lose.  It has been very frustrating the way we have lost all of the close games this season, we just can’t seem to pull them out.  We have won the last few times against Youngstown State, but there is no mental edge for us.  Hopefully our coaches can find some tendencies as they continue to break down films.”

YSU quarterback Kurt Hess is excited about the chance to get to the next level, but knows the Penguins need to focus on the task at hand.

“Last year’s game against them was not one of my favorites, they controlled the game. They are a very talented team and seem to be stuck where we were last year, just unable to get over the top.  We feel as though we have played really well in the last five games, we are a hot team right now.  We are in a good position and I like the opportunity.”

On Senior Day, Wolford has exclaimed that the community needs to come out in full force and give the Penguins support.  He also said that the seniors on this years team will be honored before the kickoff, but that there would be no honorary senior starts. The seniors who will be playing in their last, at least, regular season game are Andre Barboza, Ely Ducatel, Josh Lee (above), David Rogers, Deionte Williams, Daniel Stewart, Marc Kanetsky, Scott Sentner, Andrew Johnson, John Sasson, Pat White, Nate Schkurko, and Obinna Ekweremuba.

So much is at stake for Youngstown State.  The casual fan gets the sense that Wolford’s promises have started to turn into reality in a very short period of time.  He knew the talent was there, never made excuses when the Penguins lost, and with a playoff slot within their reach, expect this team to come out fired up.

“Defensivily, they [Missouri State] they do not want you to be able to run the football. They use some plus one in the box and try to outnumber you, force you to make some plays.  Offensively, they run a spread offense where the quarterback will hand it off or keep it, something similar to what we do, a zone read.  The quarterback will have to be accounted for all of the time.”

Kickoff for the game is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Come out and cheer on your Penguins in the first meaningful season-ending game at Stambaugh Stadium in years.

At first glance, the above picture would not say much.  Some photographers would even say it is a wasted shot and delete it.  The fascinating things going on in the above picture are guys in red uniforms knocking around guys in white uniforms.  If you look to the left, you can see D J Main (#77) knocking his guy out of the picture with the ball ten yards away.  Look to the right and see Mark Pratt (#76) and Lamar Mady (#55) going for more after knocking a would-be tackler on the seat of his pants.  Look at the middle, David Rogers (#13) seems to have made his block.

If you asked Kurt Hess and/or Jamaine Cook why the Penguins offense is so successful, I would bet that neither of them would go beyond the first sentence without crediting this offensive line.  In fact, they both already have several times at press conferences, and with good reason.  With the Penguins averaging about 35 points per game, Penguins offensive line coach, Carmen Bricillo, deserves as much credit as offensive coordinator, Shane Montgomery.

The big guys are getting it done in games that many did not think that they could. Heading into last week’s North Dakota State game, all you heard about was the size of the Bison defensive line and that they had a top-rated defense.  When the two balls collided and the smoke cleared, a good defense was defeated by a better offense. Against the immovable object, YSU scored the most points (27) and had the most total yards (476) against the stingy defense of the Bison, more than any other opponent.

So here is some ink for the hogs – a pat on the back for a group of guys who Coach Eric Wolford says ‘eats way too much and lifts a lot of weights’.  Above photo, L to R, Andrew Radakovich (72),  Mady (55), Pratt (76), Chris Elkins (66), and Eric Franklin (75). Three tight ends have made significant contributions this season, especially with their blocking.  David Rogers, Will Shaw, and Carson Sharbaugh, are very much worth mentioning when giving credit to the non-glory seeking and under-recognized blocking Penguins.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that an offensive line will make or break what happens when they have the ball.  Oh, and did I mention that none of the linemen, or their backups are graduating?  They will all be back next season.  Elkins and Pratt have both been named Missouri Valley Football Conference Lineman of The Week this season too.

Coach Wolford has said in the past that during the week he likes to get the car shined up and take it for a ride on Saturday.  Good to know the the tires on the car, the Penguins offensive linemen, are all-weather radials with a lot of tread left.

Youngstown State sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess (Dayton, Ohio) was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week while junior placekicker David Brown (Ojai, Calif.) was tabbed the Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced on Sunday.

Hess completed 20-of-24 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another in the Penguins upset win over No. 1 ranked North Dakota State. Hess threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Berassa in the second quarter before his one-yard score with 17 seconds left before the end of the first half pulled YSU within 21-17 at the break. In the second half, he threw a 10-yard scoring toss to Jamaine Cook to give YSU a 24-21 lead.

It was the second weekly honor for Hess this year who was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week following wins over Illinois State.

Brown had a career-high two field goals made, including the game winner as the Penguins upset top-ranked North Dakota State. Brown made a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter and drilled a 30-yard kick in the third quarter which put YSU on top 27-24. That second field goal proved to be the difference in the game. Brown also made all three of his extra-point tries in the Fargodome.

South Dakota State cornerback Winston Wright was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Southern Illinois running back Jewel Hampton was named the Newcomer of the Week.

The Penguins close out the regular season on Saturday when they play host to Missouri State. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 1 p.m.

Youngstown State, playing their biggest game in years, finally came out on the right end of a close one.  Going into a hostile environment to face the #1 North Dakota State Bison, not many gave the Penguins a chance.  Happy to report, however, I predicted a four point win for the Penguins.  The end result was a tremendous 27-24 upset, boosting the Penguins playoff hopes, but more importantly, assuring everyone that Eric Wolford was not just saying that he had a good team that had to learn how to win – he actually does have a good team.  Lessons well taught.  In this game, it could easily be said that three is greater than zero.  The second field goal was actually the difference.

YSU marched into the red zone with the opening drive but had to settle for a David Brown 33-yard field goal.  When the Bison got the ball back, Sam Ojuri capped a three-play, 52 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run.  The Bison held a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and YSU’s defense looked very ineffective in the entire first quarter.

Following a Kurt Hess interception, the Bison went up 14-3 as Ojuri again scored, this time from two yards away.  This scoring drive took only six plays and covered 40 yards in just under three minutes.  YSU took the next drive in for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-10 in favor of NDSU.  Hess connected with Jelani Berassa from twelve yards out.

With just under two minutes left in the half, D J McNorton popped in another Bison touchdown on a two-yard run.  YSU did not finish out the half without getting back on the board.  Jordan Thompson broke a nice 38-yard run to get to the Bison two before Hess snuck in from a yard out to make the halftime score 21-17 in favor of the Bison.

Things got interesting in second half.  McNorton broke off a big run but fumbled the ball.  The opportunistic Penguins jumped on the ball for a big momentum swing.  The Penguins drove into the red zone and Hess found Jamaine Cook on a swing pass.  Cook caught the ball at around the nine and practically jumped over a would-be tackler to get in the end zone.

The Bison and the Penguins exchanged field goals.  Ryan Jastram kicked a 27-yarder to tie the game for the Bison.  Not to be outdone, Brown doubled his production for the entire season with a 30-yard field goal to give the Penguins a 27-24 lead that would last the entire game.

From that point, the YSU defense took over.  NDSU QB Brock Jensen faced huge pressure from YSU’s young defense.  Daniel Stewart brought serious heat more than once in the final three Bison possessions.  Aronde Stanton batted a ball down, Jimmy May played big, breaking up passes in the final drives, and the entire unit played awesome down the stretch.

Before this game, the Bison did not give up more than 24 points.  They never gave up more than 396 yards.  Youngstown State (6-4, 4-3) got by both of those marks.  Cook had 33 big carries for 147 yards.  Hess was 20-24 for 237 yards and more importantly, was able to lead the team by making great decisions at crucial times.  Berassa had 5 catches for 97 yards.

The Bison (9-1, 6-1) got 133 yards of passing from Jensen on 11-22 passing.  Ojuri, who had big success in the first half with long runs finished with 14 carries for 104 yards.

The Penguins wrap up the regular season at home next week against Missouri State.  If they will have any shot at a playoff spot, they will need to win convincingly.

** Photos courtesy of YSU Athletics / Trevor Parks

If you wanted a statement win, what better time than now to make a statement? Youngstown State hits the road one last time in 2011 to face off against the undefeated and #1-ranked North Dakota State Bison.  The Penguins have matured each week, played better each week, and have already made a statement – win or lose.  That statement is pretty obvious.  It would read something like, ‘We are young, we are gaining experience, and you don’t want to play us right now.’

North Dakota State has every reason to be nervous about this game on Saturday.  The last three times these two teams have faced off, the game hung in the balance until the final minute, YSU won two of those contests.  All five conference meetings have been decided by a total of 25 points.  Youngstown State won in their only appearance at the Fargodome two years ago, rallying from an eleven point deficit to win, 39-35.   Disagreement on the Bison nerves?

“They [North Dakota State] are really good at all phases of the game”, said Penguins Coach Eric Wolford.  “Reviewing the films, you can tell that they do a great job developing their players physically.  They have more weight, more size, and they do not turn the ball over.  Coach Bohl and his staff really do a great job recruiting big guys.  They work hard and lift weights and their secondary hits.  I expect them to try to keep possession, they had the ball 38 minutes in their win last week, and that will keep an offense off of the field.”

Youngstown State has not lost focus of their biggest goal, making the playoffs.  By knocking off the #1 team in the FCS polls, the Penguins will surely get a huge boost in class and at least be ranked next week.  They may need a few dominos to fall in the right direction to make the playoffs, but do not rule them out yet.  For Wolford and his youthful Penguins, winning is the goal.  Last year competing against an undefeated team may have been satisfactory, but Wolford has stated all year that the standard is to win championships and be in the playoffs.

To dissect the four losses that YSU has, a two-point loss at Indiana State, a seven point loss to South Dakota State, a four point loss to Northern Iowa last week, and a 28-6 defeat at Michigan State – the Penguins have gained respect.  They have exceeded the expectations of their predicted seventh-place MVFC finish and more importantly, have been in every game that they have lost with a chance to win.  Three conference losses by a total of 13 points is pretty damn good when nobody is giving you a chance.

Kurt Hess and Jamaine Cook have delivered all season.  Two of the four captains have really made the offense of Shane Montgomery lethal.  The skeptics were critical of the receivers all Spring and into the start of the season, but Christian Bryan and the crew have shut them up in that department.  The defense was then the next unit to be dissected and blamed by the critics.  Start seven freshman at any level and lose to a team that is ranked and see how ‘bad’ you looked, really.

YSU Center Mark Pratt was not around until this season, but is looking forward to taking on the Bison with so much on the line.  “They are the number one ranked defense for a reason, they must be doing something right.  They are as good as advertised and the biggest challenge is that they do not make mistakes.  We need to play like this is a playoff game.”

The Bison have committed zero turnovers in six of their games this season.  Efficient is a word best used to describe their offense and their quarterback, Brock Jensen, is a clock management genius.  If the Penguins can neutralize the line of scrimmage and create obvious passing situations, they must respect play-action passes as the Bison are probably the best in the conference at fooling defenses with their run-disguised aerial attack.

“They have 27 sacks and put tremendous pressure on the quarterback”, said Wolford.  They are smart and defensively, they keep everything in front.  Their pressure creates turnovers.  I think they are going to test our defense with the run.”

Wolford talked about the Bison taking it to Big-10 Minnesota this season.  “In the Minnesota – North Dakota State game, you would have thought that North Dakota State was the Big-10 team the way they dominated.  Minnesota has a few wins this season and it says a lot about this conference to dominate a Big-10 opponent the way they did.”

North Dakota State would not let me talk to any players, saying that they were done doing interviews for the week already.  When I asked Sports Information Director Jeff Schwartz for a coach he said that was not something we could do either. I vowed to supply bulletin board material at some point this season.  Here ya go.  YSU 28 – NDSU 24.  Thanks Jeff!

Kickoff is set for 4:07 Saturday and the game will be televised on the WBCB networks.  You can also catch the radio coverage on AM-570 with Bob Hannon, Ed Muransky, and Zach Humphries.

Performance in a hostile environment against an angry team usually does not bode well for a team when they are mediocre, at best.  The biggest thing that Youngstown State (5-4, 3-3) proved in their 21-17 loss is that they are anything but mediocre.  Northern Iowa continued their dominance of the Penguins winning their eleventh straight meeting between the two teams on Saturday.  This one could have gone either way though, and the difference in this game was probably experience.

Imagine you have a garden.  In that garden are many different vegetables that bloom to full maturity over a period of time.  The bulbs are finally starting to open and the harvest is just getting ready to begin for Eric Wolford.  No starting player on offense was a senior, that means that EVERYBODY comes back next year.  Defensively, recruiting should fill a few holes, but there are many bright spots that have started to show signs of excellence, dramatic differences.

Northern Iowa (7-2, 6-1) was put in an early hole as Youngstown State marched into the red zone on their opening drive.  For the first time this season, they attempted, and made, a field goal, and David Brown finally got his name in the scoring column.  Northern Iowa answered on their first drive when Jared Lanpher, filling in for injured Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of The Year,  Tirrell Rennie, found Jarred Herring on a 32-yard strike.

The Penguins (5-4, 3-3) reclaimed the lead with 7:08 left in the first half when Jamaine Cook plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard dive.  Cook ran hard and sometimes made something out of nothing in the loss.  The 10-7 Penguins lead was short-lived,  however.  The Panthers used only two plays to go 61 yards and Lanpher found Terrell Sinkfield from 31 yards away.  The score came with just six seconds left in the first half and surely was a bad touchdown to give in that short of a time span for the Penguins.  UNI held a 14-10 halftime lead.

In the second half, the defense stepped up to the plate and really did a good job limiting the Panthers to a whole third quarter of three-and-outs.  YSU did not fare much better in the scoreless third, but was getting an edge in field position.

In the fourth quarter, Hess found Will Shaw, a converted linebacker turned tight end, on a corner route for his first career score.  Shaw caught the ball at about the UNI nine-yard line, and tiptoed the line to stay inbounds and get in for the points.  The touchdown and PAT gave the Penguins a 17-14 lead.  The stage would then be set for Northern Iowa’s game-winning David Johnson 1-yard run to give the Panthers the 21-17 lead, which they would hold on to for their seventh win.  Johnson’s heroics were the result of a fourth-and-goal gamble by NIU Coach Mark Farley, and the big running back looked stuffed at first, but his second effort got him over the plane.

Youngstown State got 100% effort against a great team.  Kurt Hess was 17-34 for 175 yards with a touchdown and a pick.  Cook finished the game with 90 yards on 30 carries against one of the best defenses in the country.

Lanpher, proving effective for the injured Rennie, finished 16-28 for 238 yards and a pair of throwing scores to mark a successful first career start.  Johnson finished the game with 47 yards rushing, a higher than usual total for the pass-happy Panthers.

The Penguins will be back in another hostile environment next week, the Fargo Dome, to face the #1 ranked FCS team in the country, North Dakota State.

** All Photos courtesy of YSU Athletics / Ron Stevens.

Youngstown State will face their toughest test of the Eric Wolford Era this Saturday when they travel to face a very talented Northern Iowa team.  The Panthers had a showdown with North Dakota State last week in a matchup of conference unbeatens, but came out on the short end of the stick, 27-19, and may have lost their best weapon on offense in the process.  Wolford knows that his team has to put their best effort on the field for four quarters to win a game against a team like Mark Farley‘s Panthers.

Tirrell Rennie (#10, above), as of this writing on Thursday night, is still listed as questionable.  I doubt Rennie is playing because when he got hurt at the start of the fourth quarter in last week’s game, he was unable to put any weight on his injured leg.  In a game that important, Rennie would limp around and play through pain unless he was too injured to do so.  My gut instinct is that Farley is just trying to keep everybody off-balance and guessing on the status of his quarterback, last year’s Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of The Year.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, this is a very good team, showing tremendous balance on both sides of the ball.  Senior LJ Fort is second in the nation in tackles and made 15 of them last week.  Fort is a good linebacker because of the stunts that Northern Iowa runs.  Fort would also be the first to credit players like Ben Boothby, a three-technique down lineman, for keeping blockers off of him and allowing the playmaker to get to the ball.  The Panthers defense ranks fourth nationally and gives up an average of less than ten points per game against conference opponents.

Youngstown State is currently ranked second in the nation in offense, averaging about 40 points per game.  While the skeptics would argue that blowout wins against Valpairaiso and Saint Francis are the only reason that average is so high, keep in mind that YSU only put up six against Michigan State, and that works against a 40-point average.

Kurt Hess is loaded with weapons and has done a fantastic job of moving the ball around. Jamaine Cook is currently third in rushing yards nationally and he has skipped about five quarters due to decided outcomes.  The offensive line knows that the Panthers defense is a handful, but can rise to the challenge.

“It starts with our line”, said Hess, who has been praising the big men all year.  “They have to communicate and pick up all of the twists and stunts that make their defense so dangerous.  I think they are smart enough to handle the assignments.”

Hess also commented on what this game means to his team.  “This is the biggest game for me since I have been here.  In order to make the run to the playoffs, I said three weeks ago that we would need six, and we got three of them so far.  We must play 60 minutes against Northern Iowa, and I enjoy playing in that kind of loud environment.  If we do what we are capable of and play that full 60 minutes, we are believing that we can do something really special.”

The YSU offense facing off against the Northern Iowa defense is a matchup made in heaven.  Something has to give, and it will come down to who wants it more.  The X-Factor in this contest will be the youthful Penguins defense.  Leaders have emerged in the last three weeks and everybody seems to be playing better than the first four weeks of the season.  Aronde Stanton has been a beast lately and Teven Williams seems to be emerging as a big-time linebacker.

The past is something that cannot get into the young minds of the YSU players.  UNI has defeated the Penguins ten times in a row, the longest active streak in the league.  The Panthers lead the all-time series 19-6, including last season’s 34-30 win over the upset-minded Penguins.  The last time YSU won at Cedar Falls was in 1999.

I don’t think the Penguins players and coaches care too much about past statistics and records.  Their focus is squarely on the 2011 Northern Iowa team that they face Saturday, period.  If Rennie is unable to play, it does not guarantee anything for YSU, but it definitely takes a dual-threat all-star out of the mix and enhances the upstart Penguins odds of winning this war.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (EST) and the game will be televised on the CBWB Network.

In recent weeks, Eric Wolford has defended his young team through the bad times, while also assuring everyone that the season was not over and that this team was going to get better, contend, and live up to the standard of winning championships. Youngstown State took another big step or two in the right direction by blasting Western Illinois, 56-14.  The Homecoming win puts the Penguins in a position to climb back into the polls with some momentum as they prepare for Northern Iowa.

“Good day for all of the Penguins”, said Coach Eric Wolford.  ” We are getting people to focus on a consistent basis.  We are a stong running team, so there is some opportunity for play-action passes.  We are only a year and a half into this thing.”

“This football team is a work in progress, and when we focus, we can do it.  It was exciting to see four quarters of football and play all three phases of the game this year.  If we are going to make a run, we have to do it now.”

A pattern had developed a few weeks into the season where the offense was scoring a lot of points, but the defense had given up more than the offense could produce a couple of times.  This young defense is really turning the corner and the offense has somehow gotten even better than they were. The Penguins dominated the Leathernecks on both sides of the ball, playing their most consistent football of the season.  The score does not reflect the parity of a tough Missouri Valley Football Conference where teams can jump up and beat the other on any given week.

Youngstown State struck early and often in the first half.  On the first play from scrimmage, Kurt Hess threw a perfect deep ball to Christian Bryan on a skinny post route.  Bryan was a good ten yards behind the defense and the perfect pass from Hess, which traveled about 40 yards before landing in Bryan’s arms, yielded the opening score in a real hurry.  Hess had two more touchdowns in the opening half, a 69-yarder to Jelani Berassa (above) to end the first quarter, and a 17-yard strike to Kevin Watts.  Hess also ran for a score and added another TD pass in the second half to round out his shortened day.

Hess reflected on the win.  “It starts in the trenches, and our offensive line performed very well today.  The defense created some turnovers and offensively, we appreciate that, and we were not going to let ourselves fail to take advantage of those situations.”

Jamaine Cook always punches his card and goes to work for Shane Montgomery‘s high powered offense.  Cook broke the 1,000-yard barrier in the first half.  He also scored the two first half touchdowns to round out the scoring as the Penguins took a 42-0 lead into the locker room.  Just in the first half, Cook had 111 yards on 16 rushes, he also caught a couple of passes for 19 yards.  Hess and Cook, two captains, have produced week in and week out for Youngstown State.

Defensively, the Penguins were chaotic and disruptive and never allowed the Leathernecks to get into a rhythm, keeping them off of the scoreboard until there was 5:21 left in the third quarter.  Aronde Stanton (above), played a solid game at noseman for the second week in a row.  Stanton had an interception to set up a Penguin score in the second quarter.  The entire defense just looked good.  The secondary created chances for the line to pressure WIU quarterback, Josh Hudson, all day.  In return, the line did a pretty solid job against the run and did all of the little things right.

“When we get turnovers like that, it creates chances for our offense”, remarked Daniel Stewart after the game.  “We are starting to finish games and are consistently getting better.  We have a big challenge ahead of us next week.”

YSU, which has not lost at home to Western Illinois since 2003, scored more than 28 points for the seventh consecutive game.  The win also marked a halt to losing Homecoming games.  Prior to this victory, the Penguins had lost five straight Homecoming contests, but this win boosts their all-time record to 48-21-1 on such games.

Hess, who only went one drive into the second half, finished the game 7-10 passing for 209 yards and three touchdowns.  He also ran one in.  Cook (above) finished with 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 rushes.  Bryan and Berassa only caught a ball each, both touchdowns, 70, and 69 yards respectively. Marc Kanetsky found Ely Ducatel for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter, a rare senior-to-senior hookup. Kintrell Disher also scored his first career touchdown as a Penguin. Daniel Stewart recorded five unassisted tackles, including one for a loss.

“All of the guys on defense have made significant improvement”, said Wolford.  “A lot of times when you are a young person, you don’t understand the sense of urgency or focusing on ‘now’.  We have confidence that we can play with anyone on our schedule. Northern Iowa is a good football team, very well coached.”

The Penguins (5-3, 3-2) head west next week to take on Northern Iowa, the #2 FCS-ranked school going into this week.  The Penguins have not beaten Northern Iowa in their last ten meetings and look to bolster their playoff hopes with a big road win. Don’t be surprised to see YSU ranked this week in the new FCS poll.

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.

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.