Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

History is tough to reverse.  Youngstown State headed to Northern Iowa winners of all five Missouri Valley Conference games they played in this season.  UNI was 0-5 in conference play.  The Panthers got a 34-yard field goal from Tyler Sievertsen on the final play of the game to lift UNI to a 22-20 win over YSU.

The loss at the UNIdome dropped the Penguins to a seventh consecutive defeat at that establishment.

Special teams, the critical third phase, was where this game was decided.

With exactly 13 minutes left in the game and YSU ahead 14-6, Northern Iowa capitalized on the great field position they earned by blocking a Nick Liste punt.  The Panthers scored to make it 14-12.  They failed on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game as Donald D’Alesio broke up an arrow route.

On the ensuing kickoff, Martin Ruiz fumbled when he was blindsided and the Panthers got possession at the YSU 43.   The Panthers would score a go-ahead touchdown with 9:58 left to play when Brion Carnes found Chad Owens for the second time in the fourth quarter to make it 19-14 in favor of UNI.

The Penguins took the next kickoff and converted a key third down in their own territory and a fourth-and-one inside the UNI 30 on a Ruiz carry.  The Penguins got inside the 10 on a Kurt Hess to Carson Sharbaugh out pattern.  On third and goal at the UNI five, the Guins reclaimed the lead when Hess chose to keep on the option, and mustered just enough yardage to get in.

Ahead by a count of 20-19, the Penguins went for two, but Hess had to flip the ball out of bounds under immense pressure.

Northern Iowa got the ball back and converted four first downs.  Carnes found Kreston Caldwell twice on crucial third downs on this drive.  With 20 seconds left, on a third-and-two, Carnes broke right and gained a first down inside the YSU 20.

This set the stage for Tyler Sievertsen.  The UNI kicker already nailed field goals from 49 and 37 yards.  He also missed from 37 yards.

Sievertsen nailed the 34-yarder to give UNI the win.

Hess finished the game 15-22 for 207 yards and a touchdown to Andre Stubbs.  On the touchdown pass to Stubbs, Hess was in big trouble and somehow got enough air on his pass, while getting hit, to find his receiver in the back of the end zone.  Hess would also rush for 20 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns, a career first.

Ruiz had 24 carries for 88 yards.  Andrew Williams hauled in four receptions for 63 yards.

The Penguins have a week to prepare for #1 North Dakota State.  The huge game still has major title implications for both teams.  If the Penguins can win, they would sit atop the conference tied with NDSU but would get an automatic playoff bid if they can also beat South Dakota State the following week.

Kickoff is set for 2 pm.  Noise is mandatory.

Youngstown State stayed unbeaten in Missouri Valley Conference play with a dramatic and wild 38-34 win over South Dakota.  More importantly, the Penguins are one step closer to a championship, and may only need one more win in their final three games to secure a playoff berth, the first of the Eric Wolford Era.

Martin Ruiz (above) scored the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds to play to lift YSU.  The winning drive featured great clock management by Kurt Hess, great play calling by Shane Montgomery, and superb effort from the entire offensive unit.

Ruiz would finish the game with 131 yards on 23 carries with a pair of scores.

Jordan Roberts gave South Dakota a 34-31 lead when he hit the end zone with two minutes left to play.  Youngstown State (8-1, 5-0) snatched the win with a 10-play, 74-yard march, highlighted by Ruiz’s four yard touchdown.

Both YSU freshman running backs, Ruiz and Jody Webb, made big plays when the Penguins needed them most.  Webb scored the Penguins first touchdown on a well-designed 40-yard wheel route that put YSU ahead 7-3.  Webb would score another for the Penguins and finished the game with five carries for 64 yards and two receptions for 52 yards.

“This is a tough place to win, I think they have gone 48-4 here”, said Wolford.  “This is quite an atmosphere and Coach Glenn is doing a tremendous job here.”

Hess would finish the game with 283 passing yards and threw two touchdowns while running for another.

YSU would finish with 517 offensive yards, and that total could have been much higher if you take away a few costly penalties and three lost fumbles.  To have all of that working against you, and still come out a winner, makes for a good tale of overcoming adversity .

Youngstown State had problems and could feel fortunate coming out with a win.  Andre Stubbs (above) had the ball stripped from behind on a return, Joey Cejudo missed an extra point breaking a string of 51 straight.

Next up for the playoff-seeking Penguins is another road game in a different dome.

This time the bus will point to Northern Iowa.  Uncharacteristically, UNI is 0-5 in conference play and 3 of those losses were consecutive, overtime defeats – an FCS record.  They are very capable of beating anyone in the league and YSU has to be ready to play.

Youngstown State University looked as good as they have all season in destroying Illinois State, 58-21, in front of a good crowd of over 16,000.  Kurt Hess ran the offense as well as he ever has in leading the way and put up a career-high 311 passing yards in the win.

“It was a fun game, we had a good week of preparation.  The offensive line played great, and we were clicking”, said Hess.

Illinois State took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards to take a 7-0 lead on a Collin Keoshian 2-yard touchdown scamper.  YSU would respond when Carson Sharbaugh motioned to the right and slid behind the defense for a two-yard catch that would tie the game.  Sharbaugh has played an increasingly important role in the offense the last few weeks.  He would be used in short yardage situations as a ball carrier and converted every chance he got to touch the ball into a Penguin first down.

“We executed our game plan”, said Jelani Berassa, who scored during the 31-point second quarter explosion.  “Kurt was on point tonight.  Before the game, I told Kurt I felt something in him tonight, and he proved it tonight.  It felt good to get in the end zone.”

The Penguins scored three touchdowns in a five minute span to take control of the game.  Hess found Andrew Williams from 40 yards out, then Martin Ruiz scored on a 26-yard run.  The third touchdown was a beautiful 67 yard strike from Hess to Marcel Caver.  The bomb completion was perfect as Hess hit Caver in stride with a ball that traveled about 45 yards in the air.  Caver put himself into another gear to create separation from the defender and never broke stride.

“It was a good one because I made him {Caver} chase it.  He ran it down”, said Hess. “We accepted the challenge as a team and we can be as good as were on offense two years ago.  Sometimes we get penalties, we need to continue to iron it out.”

Illinois State tried to rally as Cameron Meridith caught a 73-yarder from Blake Winkler.   That would make the score 28-14 in favor of the Penguins.

The rally was short lived for the Redbirds.  Joey Cejudo nailed a 38-yard field goal to increase the lead to 31-14.  With thirty seconds left in the half, Hess threw his fourth score to a fourth receiver – Jelani Berassa.  The pitch-and-catch would send the teams to the locker room with YSU ahead comfortably, 38-14.

In the second half, the Penguins kept rolling.  Demond Hymes got in on the action as he carried the ball 5 yards for a score.  Hess would tack on another, this time on the ground, as the senior signal caller dashed into the end zone for a 16-yard score.

Marshaun Coprich scored a fourth quarter touchdown for Illinois State to make it 52-21.  Coprich would be the first running back to go over the 100-yard mark since the North Dakota State State game in Week 6 of the 2012 season.

The 59 points put up by YSU were the most points put up in a conference game ever by a Penguins team.  The old record was 56 against Western Illinois.  The defense played equally led by senior captain Donald D’Alesio who intercepted a pass.

“We buckled down and got after them”, said D’Alesio.  “We have goals to get three turnovers a game.  We are playing much faster than we have been playing in the past.”

 

Statistically, the Penguins were a juggernaut on offense.  Nick Liste did not put until there were two minutes left in the third quarter.  All of the preceding drives (eight) resulted in points.  Liste did get his moneys worth kicking the ball off as he booted each YSU kickoff into the end zone.  NFL bound?

Ruiz finished the game with 85 rushing yards on just eight carries before he left the game with what looked like a sprained ankle.  His replacement, Hymes, tallied nine carries for 65 yards.  Jody Webb got in on the act too.  The gifted transfer had a 21-yard touchdown run which seemed like he was twice as fast as anyone else on the field.

In the receiving department, Hess connected with eight different targets.  Leading the way was Caver with three catches for 99 yards.

“Obviously a good effort by our football team tonight” said Eric Wolford.  “We need to keep getting bigger and bigger.  On third down, the other team should not be able to communicate.  We need that to continue to grow here.”

The Penguins will host Western Illinois next Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 4 pm.

Youngstown State junior forward Chelsey Haney has been named the Horizon League Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.  This is Haney’s first player-of-the-week honor of her career and the first award for the Penguins this season.

The last Youngstown State player to earn offensive player-of-the-week laurels was Rachel Morrison in 2012.

Haney scored the game-winning goal to lift the Penguins to a 2-1 victory of Green Bay on Oct. 5 at Farmers National Bank Field.

Haney fired six shots at the Phoenix, including four on goal. Her goal came on a breakaway on the left side of the box and powered a shot into the top right corner at the 51:31 mark

Haney, 2012 All-Horizon Leauge Second-Team and All-Newcomer Team choice, has scored two goals this season and both have been game-winners.

The Penguins (3-8-1, 1-1 Horizon League) visit Oakland (4-7-1, 0-2), Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.

Youngstown State continued attempting to make believers out of skeptics on Saturday.    The Penguins won the turnover count, ultimately resulting in winning the game against Indiana State, 35-24 to raise the record to 5-1 and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings.

Martin Ruiz, who has emerged as the feature back, continued his consistent production as he scored three times from 44, 13, and six yards out.  Ruiz would finish the game with 141 of YSU’s 196 rushing yards on 23 carries.

The turning point of the game was a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jameel Smith (below).  Indiana State was threatening to take the lead when Smith picked off Mike Perish and went almost the length of the entire field to completely kill the Sycamores momentum and giving the Penguins a 14-3 lead.

The Penguins were ahead 21-10 at the half when the weather got ugly.  A thunderstorm rolled through and would delay the game 75 minutes.

After the lengthy delay, Kurt Hess found Christian Bryan for a two yard score that would increase the Penguin lead to 35-10.  Hess played his consistent brand of football for the Guins not turning the ball over and making plays while protecting the ball.  He would finish the game with 14 completions in 23 attempts for 164 yards.

Hess also reached yet another milestone.  Needing only five yards entering the game, he broke a record held by Tom Zetts for passing yards and total offense.

Indiana State racked up some yards as the Penguins were giving small yardage in exchange for clock in the fourth quarter.

Perish, the Sycamore quarterback, entered the game boasting the best passing game in the conference, but when a team is 1-4, many yards get compiled in late game situations when you are trailing.  He would finish the game with 392 yards and three touchdowns.

Highly touted running back, Shakir Bell, was held in check by a stingy Penguins run defense.  Bell would finish the contest with seven carries for 17 yards and didn’t even lead the Sycamores in rushes.

Next up for YSU (5-1, 2-0) is Illinois State.  The Redbirds defeated Western Illinois 35-21 to even their conference record at 1-1.  The home game will mark the first time during the Eric Wolford era that a YSU team will be riding a two game road winning streak.

Two seasons ago, Youngstown State University (4-1, 1-0) learned what Indiana State’s Shakir Bell was all about as he racked up over 250 rushing yards in the game, mostly in the first half.  Bell reached a milestone, going over the 4,000 yard career plateau last week in a heartbreaking loss.

Last season, Youngstown State finished the season on a high note, defeating the Sycamores at home in the season finale, 27-6.

Notable in last season’s win was the absence of Bell in the first half.  Some sources say Bell was held out because he was injured, which is inaccurate.  Bell was withheld from starting the game for disciplinary reasons.  He was plenty healthy when he ran the ball 18 times for 54 yards.

For the Penguins to win, the biggest key to a victory is to shut Bell down, period.  Mike Sanford, in his first season at the helm for the Sycamores is a smart enough coach to know where the ISU bread is buttered.

The Penguins have to utilize the momentum they built in the second half comeback last week against a very hard-nosed Southern Illinois team.  Kurt Hess has to continue to protect the ball and make smart decisions.  The Penguins defense, led by captains Dom Rich and Donald D’Alesio will have to stay focused on shutting Bell down and playing with the same intensity that they used in the second half last week.

If the Penguins are successful in neutralizing Bell to some extent, they will have succeeded in taking Indiana State out of their comfort zone and will dictate the tempo of the game.

The Penguins last started MVFC play 2-0 in 2006 when they went on to win their first three contests. In the previous 16 years, YSU has opened Valley play 2-0 on four previous occasions – 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2006. It was a combined 20-6 in league play those years.

The opening game of Missouri Valley Football Conference play did not go so well for Youngstown State in the first half.  The Penguins got into a 27-14 hole in the opening session and had to make adjustments.  The changes resulted in Southern Illinois not scoring in the second half after having their way on offense in the first half and a 28-27 win for YSU.

The Penguins trailed 7-0 before a pair of Kurt Hess touchdown passes to Andre Stubbs  gave the Penguins a 14-7 lead.  SIU quarterback, Kory Faulkner, then went completely off throwing and running through the Penguins and leading the Salukis to a 27-14 lead at the half.  Thomas Kinney‘s missed extra point on the fourth touchdown would end up haunting Southern Illinois.

Then came the adjustments.  The Penguins defense found a way to contain Faulkner while applying much more pressure in the second half.  Offensively, YSU found a way to move the ball.  Martin Ruiz had a great game carrying the ball 20 times for 87 tough yards.  Ruiz also caught three passes for 50 yards with a huge reception in the fourth quarter on the game-winning drive.

The offense unveiled a new chapter – Carson Sharbaugh.  The senior tight end from New Wilmington, PA was lined up in the backfield on short-yardage situations and given the ball to convert first downs for the Penguins four times in the game.

Lining up in the Sharbaugh formation on a fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes to play, the Saluki defense seemed convinced that with Sharbaugh back there he would get the handoff.  That theory was foiled when he motioned right and snuck behind the defense to haul in the game-winning pass from Kurt Hess.

Credit to Shane Montgomery for showing imagination at the right times in this win.

Hess played brilliantly.  He did not force much and made veteran decisions of when to throw the ball away and when to take off running.  He would finish the game 25-37 for 258 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, Donald D’Alesio was everywhere.  The senior captain made several key stops, 15 in all.  The whole secondary showed great improvement and covered Saluki receivers very well throughout the contest.

The Penguins (4-1, 1-0) will head back to the road next week to face Indiana State.

Youngstown State got back on the winning track with a 52-17 win over Duquesne.  The Penguins came out a little sluggish, but shook off the hangover with enough vigor to look impressive heading into league play.

The thing that stood out in the win was balance.  The defense really hit hard Saturday, credit them for the low-scoring output from Duquesne.  Offensively, there was true balance as the run and pass games were both effective.  More impressively, both phases got major contributions from many different players.  Whether it was Ruiz or Pace, Hess to Bryan, or Hess to Adams — it will end up being a hard film to grade for Southern Illinois.

“We got a lot of balance”, said Wolford.  “We have to do a better job of getting some guys in.  When they load up the box, we have to be able to throw the ball down the field, and we did that well today too.  We dropped three potential interceptions and if we keep contain, we get sacks too.”

The 3-1 record that YSU takes into Missouri Valley Conference play comes without a true gauge of what to expect.  The three wins — against Duquesne, Morehead State, and Dayton should all have been wins.  The loss to Michigan State fell well below the expectation of making a good showing.  When combining the results of those four games, nothing is certain entering the conference schedule.

The Penguins put up the only points in the first quarter on a 40-yard field goal form Joey Cejudo.

The defense started to really put some licks on the Dukes in the second quarter.  Once the offense got their hands back on the ball, the Penguins rode the back of Torrian Pace.  The senior running back carried the ball five straight times to cover the last 19 yards of the scoring drive.

Dom Rich recovered a fumble to give Youngstown State the ball back, but the Dukes ended the scoring threat forcing the Penguins to punt.  Once the Guins got their next possession, Andre Stubbs broke a reverse for 44 yards but it was called back due to an illegal block in the back.

The Penguins recovered from the penalty, and then some, tallying two touchdowns before the end of the first half.  Martin Ruiz, who seems to be emerging as the Penguins number one tailback, had a nine-yard scoring run.

With 46 seconds left in the first half, Kurt Hess found his tight end, Nate Adams, across the middle for a 52-yards scoring play.  The late burst put the home team ahead, 24-0, at the break.

“We came out a little sluggish”, said Adams.  “I’m glad Kurt found me though, it always feels good to be in the end zone.  Going into conference play with confidence is big for us.”

Duquesne came out to start the second half not looking at all like a defeated team.  The Dukes engineered a nice 75-yard scoring drive which ended on an Ethan Dorsey one-yard plunge and made the score 24-7.

The Dukes wasted little time scoring their next six.  On the first play of their second drive, Dillon Buechel found Gianni Carter for a 63-yard hookup to make it 24-14.

Dale Peterman returned for the Penguins and made several big defensive plays.

“It felt good, I have been waiting a long time “, said Peterman.  “Coach Tresey and Davis stress that turnovers win games.  David Rivers returned one and we got some fumbles,we felt pretty good.”

The Penguins would roar back angrily with their own scoring drive of 84 yards as Ruiz cashed in with a four-yard jaunt, his second touchdown on the day, that would give YSU a 31-14 lead.  He would add a third score from five yards out on the very next drive to make it 38-14.

Hess found Marcell Caver (above) for a 55-yarder that made it 45-14 to start the fourth quarter.  Jody Webb made it 52-17 with 5:20 left in the game on a ten yard tally. David Rivers added an exclamation point with a pick six to make it 59-17.

Hess would finish the game 15-25 for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Ruiz paced the ground attack with his three touchdowns and 66 yards on 18 carries.  Pace add 65 yards on 17 carries.  Nate Adams caught four passes for 104 yards.

For Duquesne, Buechel finished 21-38 for 362 yards, but took a solid licking the last play he was in.  Kevon Caffey nailed Buechel from behind.  Carter had four catches for 134 yards to lead the Dukes.

The letters MS stand for two things in YSU’s recent past – Morehead State and Michigan State.  The similarities stop with the coincidental initials.  Mark Dantonio’s offense only had two touchdowns on offense coming into Saturday’s contest, but got dialed in at YSU’s expense.  The Spartans amassed seven touchdowns and rolled to a 55-17 win against the Penguins.

The trick for YSU(2-1) will be to pick up the pieces and move on.

“We will use the 24-hour rule”, said Coach Eric Wolford.  “Obviously, we are disappointed, we got whooped out there today.”

Muired in quarterback controversy this season, the Spartans got a good performance from Connor Cook (below).  The Spartan starter completed 15 of 22 passes and had four touchdowns in the first half before being replaced halfway through the third period with the game seemingly decided.

The Penguins got off to a rough start.  Michigan State deferred after winning the toss.  The opening kickoff was mishandled by Andre Stubbs, who fell on the ball on the YSU five-yard line.  The first two plays were passes, both to Michael Wheary, and both   unsuccessful attempts.  The Penguins punted, and the Spartans established early dominance.

At the half, the Spartans held a commanding 35-10 lead.

YSU got a touchdown running the option to the left side with Kurt Hess pitching to Martin Ruiz for a 5-yard score.  Joey Cejudo kicked the extra point and also would nail a 34-yard field goal.  That was all of the scoring for the Penguins in the first half.

“Schematically, we were ready, we just didn’t execute”, said Hess.  “They were a really well coached team and they capitalized on our mistakes.”

Hess finished the game 11-27 for 121 yards and a touchdown.  YSU was paced by Ruiz who had 11 carries for 36 yards and four catches that added up to 57 yards, including a 34-yard connection with Hess for a second half touchdown.

YSU had two turnovers, one on a first half option pitch that Martin Ruiz took his eyes off of looking upfield.  The other was in mop up time as Wheary mishandled a kickoff return that yielded  field goal.

“That has been a problem for us that we need to correct”, said Wolford.  “We took the guy out who fumbled the first time and the new guy did the same thing, so we will have to keep working on that.”

“We will keep working to improve and we will get better”, said Ruiz.  “We need to make some corrections.”

The Penguins only managed eight first downs and lost the time of possession by nearly a 2-1 margin (39:09 – 20:51).

“When you go 2-12 on third down and get beat in time of possession that badly, you are not going to win very many football games”, said Wolford.

The Penguins look to rebound next week against Duquesne.

 

This is the last time, in all probability, that Youngstown State University (2-0) will play Michigan State in a football game.  Two years ago, YSU made it interesting before ultimately falling 28-6.  That loss marked the end of the “money beatings”.  A money beating was when a I-AA, or FCS, school would travel to a larger opponent’s facility and come home with a big check and hopefully, their health.

The level of competitiveness the Penguins showed that night carried over to Pitt last season.  The result was a win, and the “money beating” banter has turned to “hurry up and get these little schools off of your schedule” in the Big-10.

Michigan State is an interesting opponent for the Penguins to face this week for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the Spartans are on the bubble of cracking into the big poll.  Interestingly enough, Michigan State has six touchdowns in their two wins this season, four by the defense, and just two from the offense.  Three of the Spartans touchdowns have been scored by a defensive end, Shilique Calhoun, which makes him the team leader in scoring.

One of the other six Michigan State touchdowns came from a local who is a Spartan.  Kurtis Drummond, a Hubbard grad, made a spectacular one-handed snag and raced to the end zone.  Speaking with Drummond via telephone, the Spartans will not overlook the Penguins.

“Kurt Hess has a great arm”, said Drummond.  “You don’t just accidentally rack up 700 yards of offense in a week.  He has the ability to put the ball in places that many can’t, and he also reads defenses very well.”

The admiration was clearly mutual coming from Hess.

“I got to see him play when he was in high school”, said Hess.  “I went to a game with Marc Kanetsky and couldn’t believe how fast he {Drummond} was.  He is a ball hawk and plays very fast.”

When asked about next week’s matchup with Notre Dame, Drummond said, “We are not looking ahead at all, this is the game on our schedule this week.  You are the first person to get me to say the words Notre Dame.  Youngstown State was the only college team I ever saw play a game until I got here, so this matchup has added excitement for me.”

Drummond may not be the only excited Spartan welcoming Youngstown.  There is a ton of local connectivity between the two schools.  Head Coach Mark Dantonio was a YSU coach in the mid-to-late eighties, as was his co-offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.  Pat Narduzzi, the current Spartans defensive coordinator, played for his father Bill at YSU in 1986 before transferring.  Jim Tressel’s nephew, Mike Tressel, is the linebackers coach.

YSU Coach Eric Wolford could not praise Dantonio and his staff enough.

“He {Dantonio} should be given credit for turning Cincinnati’s program into a powerhouse.  Those guys that came after him there should give him their bonus checks because he instituted a great program.”

Watching film on Michigan State has to be tough because of the lack of offensive production.

“They have used four quarterbacks”, said D. J. Moss.  “Coach Tresey will have to put together the defensive game plan that could give us a chance to win.  They {MSU} are extremely well coached.”

Wolford knows that the Big-10 games are going to be done for awhile after Illinois next season.  He commented on the opportunity the players have with this game.

“I hate to see that end”, said Wolford.  “Our guys really look forward to going and playing in a special environment like Michigan State or any of the bigger facilities.  It is nice that they can get the chance to play in front of 60,000 to 100,000 fans.  We were a really young football team when we were there two years ago, a lot of our guys were freshmen and sophomores, they are older now, but we know that we can’t sneak in like we did two years ago, and that those coaches will have their team’s attention this week.”

I will not rule out the possibility of the Penguins pulling off a second straight FBS upset.  They have to score a few points and hold a struggling offense down.  If Hess can get hot, and the role players like Carson Sharbaugh, Kyle Sirl, Martin Ruiz, and Joey Cejudo can contribute like they are capable of, it might be another wild day.

“I’m not going to make any predictions”, said Wolford.  “All I can say is that we expect to play well.”

The game will be televised on the Big-10 Network and kickoff is slated for 2 pm.