Posts Tagged ‘Kurt Hess’

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.

For the first time under Eric Wolford, Youngstown State University won a game on the road.  In a must win for both teams, YSU outplayed Southern Illinois in the second half and got their first win at Carbondale in ten years, posting a quality 35-23 win over the Salukis.  The defense played arguably their best game of the season to protect the lead and maybe showed some signs of maturation.

The first half was filled with more of the frustration shown in the Penguins previous two losses.  Earlier in the week, Wolford said that his Penguins (3-3, 2-2) were getting beat on four or five plays where players were not lining up right or missing assignments.  The first half produced two such plays where fumbles killed drives and momentum.

Halftime adjustments and better protection of the football resulted in keeping momentum and putting points on the scoreboard.  The defense really strapped it up all day.  Jewel Hampton was held to 70 yards on 20 carries.  Hampton posed the biggest threat to YSU entering the game, neck-in-neck with Jamaine Cook atop the conference rushing leaders list.  However, Cook emerged in the second half with a couple of long runs, his sixth touchdown, and his fifth 100-yard game of the season.  Kurt Hess played a good game and really controlled the pace regardless of the situation.  Hess played like a captain for those who questioned a sophomore garnering such a title.

“Nothing comes easy for us”, said Wolford.  “We will keep sawing wood and working hard.  Take your hats to our defense today, they really stepped up and played hard.”

Southern Illinois scored first when they marched 43 yards in eight plays, punctuated by a Hampton two-yard run.  The Penguins evened the score in the second quarter when Adaris Bellamy (below) plunged in for a two-yard score.  The YSU scoring drive, which covered 42 yards only took five plays.

The Salukis would capitalize on a turnover and take a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.  Hampton got his second touchdown on a six-yard scamper to increase the margin.  Jackson MacLachlin booted a 34-yard field goal to increase the Saluki lead to 17-7 at the half.

In the second half a couple of long-awaited answers came for the Penguins.  A receiver, Christian Bryan, has stepped up as a go-to guy for Hess.  Bryan made a couple of leaping, full-extension grabs to set up the Penguins in Saluki territory at crucial times.  The other question mark that can be erased was the ability of the defense to finish a game.  Give Davion Rogers the Derek Pixley Hit of The Week now, he earned it when he crushed MyCole Pruitt late in the game, dislodging the ball before the TE could gain full possession.

The Penguins scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to take a 21-17 lead.  Hess found Bryan alone in the corner of the end zone for the first score.  Cook scored the go-ahead touchdown on a hard two-yard run.

The lead would be short-lived as SIU reclaimed the lead on a 20-yard dash from the Iowa transfer, Hampton.  However, the Penguins were able to dig deep and take the lead for good with 1:11 left in the third quarter.  Hess found Jelani Berassa amongst a sea of Saluki defenders in the middle of the end zone and hit him with a hard pass that Berassa hauled in.

After a couple of empty possessions for both teams, the Penguins special teams made a difference.  Josh Lee pounced on a muffed punt that rolled beyond the goal line and into the end zone to put the Penguins ahead by the score of 35-23 with 2:48 left in the game.  Special teams were a problem to that point of the game for the Penguins.  The kickoff coverage unit let Steve Strother gain 195 yards on five returns, and Nick Liste had a couple of punts nearly blocked.  The defensive effort is even more praiseworthy based on the fact that Southern Illinois started most of their drives with great field position.

Hess finished the game 16-21 for 264 yards with two scores and no picks.  Bryan again took top receiving honors for YSU, catching five balls for 131 yards.  Cook had a sluggish first half statistically, but finished strong posting 179 more rushing yards to his growing resume.

Pruitt was a thorn in the Penguins sides all day and the freshman TE finished with 124 yards on eight grabs. Kory Faulkner was 20-35 for 184 yards for the Salukis (2-4, 1-3).

Wolford finally has the road monkey off of his back and this team is going to keep getting better with experience.  Quality win!

The Penguins return home for two games against St. Francis and Homecoming against Western Illinois.

*Photos courtesy of Ron Stevens / YSU Athletics

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.

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.

Youngstown State University took a small step towards its big goal today when they cracked into the FCS Coaches Poll at #24.  Eric Wolford has said that the standard here is to win championships and being ranked for awhile will assure a playoff berth.  The Penguins look to avoid the pitfalls of an eerily similar 2010 to this point.

After winning the conference opener against Illinois State last season, the Penguins dropped seven straight.  YSU travels West to face a much-improved Indiana State team this weekend.

2011 FCS Coaches Week 3 Poll (September 19, 2011)

Team (No. 1 Votes)                Record                      Points               Last Week

1. Georgia Southern (25)             2-0                              697                               1

2. Northern Iowa (3)                    1-1                               666                               2

3. Appalachian State                  2-1                                642                               3

4. Montana State                        2-1                                 615                               4

5. William & Mary                       2-1                               568                               5

6. Delaware                                2-1                                515                               7

7. Richmond                              3-0                                514                               9

8. Wofford                                 1-1                                  488                               8

9. Montana                                2-1                               462                              11

10. James Madison                    2-1                              383                              14

11. New Hampshire                    1-1                               369                              12

12. North Dakota State               2-0                              359                               6

13. Southern Illinois                    1-1                               342                              15

14. Chattanooga                        2-1                                  314                              17

15. Jacksonville State                2-1                               284                              16

16. Lehigh                                  1-1                                235                              19

17. Stephen F. Austin                 1-2                              220                              13

18. McNeese State                     1-1                                190                              22

19. Massachusetts                     2-0                                171                              25

20. South Dakota                       2-1                                165                              23

21. North Dakota                        1-2                               136                              NR

22. Eastern Washington              0-3                            117                              10

23. Liberty                                 1-2                                 83                               20

24. Youngstown State                2-1                        70                               NR

25. South Carolina State             1-2                               69                               21

Others receiving votes: Sam Houston State (66); Murray State (63); Southern Utah (51); Central Arkansas (45); Jackson State (38); Indiana State (33); South Dakota State (32); Weber State (12); Cal Poly (10); Coastal Carolina (10); UC Davis (10); Jacksonville (7); Holy Cross (7); Tennessee Tech (7); Sacramento State (7); Eastern Kentucky (6); Old Dominion (6); Bethune-Cookman (4); Pennsylvania (4); Dayton (3); Central Connecticut (1); Duquesne (1); Villanova (1);

For the first time in his career, Youngstown State sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week. Hess threw for a career-high 293 yards and tied a school record with four touchdown passes in the win over Illinois State.

Against the Redbirds he threw two first-quarter touchdown passes, ran for one and passed for another in the second and connected on his school-record-tying fourth in the third period.

He threw for a career-high 293 yards completing 21-of-29 passes. He had touchdown throws of 10, 20, 25 and 44 yards in the game and 35-yard completion on a third-and-8 with 2:13 left in the game helped seal the win as ISU was not able to get the ball back the remainder of the game. He is the eighth quarterback in program history to throw four touchdown passes in a game.

Other Missouri Valley Conference Players of the week were CB Larry Carter of Indiana State (defense); WR Dale Moss of South Dakota State (newcomer) and PK Cory Little of Indiana State (special teams).

YSU returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Indiana State. Kickoff for the contest against the Sycamores is set for 2 p.m.

When Eric Wolford brought in the new recruits this past offseason, there were more defensive players than offensive.  Wolford explained in March that he wanted to bring in players to add depth and stability to his defense to finish games.  YSU failed to finish games last season after holding the lead in all eleven contests, ultimately losing their last seven, including a crippling defeat at Illinois State, by a score of 40-38.  Saturday, the defense came up big in the fourth quarter and shut the door on the explosive Redbirds offense en route to a 34-27 Penguins win.

Kurt Hess had a big day for the Penguins, tying a school record for touchdown passes in a game with four.  The offense sputtered a bit in the second half, but the defense did what it could not do last season, closed the door on the opponent at the most crucial juncture of the contest, preserving a victory in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.

“It was good to get the win and go 1-0 in the conference”, declared Wolford.  “We had our struggles.  We came out and started well on offense, but the most encouraging thing I saw today was the defense stepping up and securing the win.”

The Penguins took the opening kickoff and got on the board first when Hess found Christian Bryan over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Penguins ahead 7-0.  Illinois State roared back when veteran signal caller Matt Brown marched the Redbirds into the end zone, hitting Tyrone Walker from twelve yards out.  The ensuing extra point was blocked, and the Penguins thanks to a solid play on special teams, had a 7-6 lead.

YSU would find paydirt again right before the first quarter ended as Hess found Kevin Watts for a ten yard strike.  After the YSU defense stuffed the Redbirds, Hess maneuvered the offense 76 yards in 11 plays, capping off the drive with a one-yard sneak off right guard to put the Penguins in front, 21-6.

Brown would get Illinois State closer when he connected with Matt Younger from five yards (below) to cut the Penguin lead to 20-13.  Not to give ground, YSU engineered another solid scoring drive against the highly touted Redbirds defense.  Hess would this time find Andre Barboza in the corner for a 20-yard strike to put the Penguins comfortably ahead, 28-13 heading to intermission.

In the second half, Illinois State got on the board to cut the YSU lead to 28-20.  Ashton Leggett plunged in from a yard out with 4:58 left in the third quarter for the Redbirds.

Youngstown State again rose to the challenge when Hess hit Barbosa, this time for a 44-yard connection.  David Brown‘s PAT attempt was blocked, and the Penguins had a solid 34-20 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, Brown threw his third touchdown, this time a seven-yarder to Marvon Sanders, to cut the lead to 34-27.

The next few possessions were dominated by great defensive play from both teams.  Youngstown State really did a great job down the stretch of stuffing the Redbirds when they had to.  With the offense sputtering, Hess found Barboza for a 35-yard completion on a third-and-eight that would preserve the win for the Penguins.

Hess commented on that crucial pass that let the air out of the Redbirds balloon.  “It was a gutsy call.  We decided to take a shot at it, and it ended up being a good play to finish off the game with.”

Wolford further elaborated on the big pass play that cemented the win.  “They were jamming the box figuring we would run the ball to force them to use their last timeout.  We figured we might as well take a shot and the worst case scenario would be that the clock would stop on an incompletion.  Kurt threw a nice ball and it worked well for us.”

For the Penguins (2-1, 1-0), Hess finished the game 21-29 for 293 yards and a school record-tying effort of four touchdowns.  He was only sacked one time and the Penguins offensive line did a nice job keeping preseason All-American DT Eric Brunner away.  Cook had 30 carries for 122 yards, and Watts and Christian Bryan (above) both caught five balls for 68 and 64 yards respectively.  Barboza had three catches, two for scores, and finished with 74 yards.

Illinois State (1-2, 0-1) has a good team, they are going to win conference games and this was no pushover.  Brown finished his day 16-26 for 155 yards and 3 TD’s.  Sanders had six catches for 48 yards, and Leggett paced the running backs with 129 yards on 26 carries.

Youngstown State travels to Indiana State next Saturday.  The Penguins opened last season’s conference play with a big win at home over Southern Illinois, but failed to win the rest of the season.  This team can take steps forward with a good road win.

“We have to win road games”, insisted Wolford.  “It is tough to travel for six or seven hours to most of the places we have to go and win.  The goal is to go 1-0 every week and we will celebrate this win until tomorrow when we will focus on Indiana State.  Illinois State is a great team.  They had a top offense coming back and they are a well-coached group of talented recruits.  They have a great university and it is a great place.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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