YSUsports.com - Penguins Play Host to the Salukis; Jeff Ryan Goes for Record

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Nov. 9, 2000
Penguins Play Host to the Salukis; Jeff Ryan Goes for Record
   The No. 2/2 (Coaches/SportsNetwork) Youngstown State Penguins play their final home regular-season game on Saturday, Nov. 11, against Southern Illinois. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
   The Penguins are coming off a thrilling 42-35 double-overtime victory against Hofstra. YSU trailed 28-14 before scoring two touchdowns in the final 6:16 to force the overtime. After both teams scored in the first extra period, YSU senior quarterback Jeff Ryan threw his school-record-tying fourth touchdown of the game and 40th of his career to Brandon Pedraza in the second overtime. Senior linebacker Tim Johnson, who tied his career-high with 25 tackles, intercepted Rocky Butler’s final desperation pass to end the game.
   Youngstown State, 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the Gateway Football Conference, can clinch a tie for the conference crown with a win on Saturday. YSU is tied with Western Illinois for the league lead and a victory on Saturday can wrap up a piece of the league title. WIU holds the tie breaker over the Penguins, but still has to travel to Northern Iowa.
   Southern Illinois (2-7 and 1-4) is coming off a tough 23-22 loss to Indiana State last Saturday. The Salukis own wins over Northern Iowa and Drake this season, but enter the YSU game on a three-game losing streak.
   The contest on Saturday is the final regular-season home tilt for 12 seniors. The group will be looking to give YSU its first perfect home regular season since 1993. YSU is 5-0 at home this season entering the contest with the Salukis.
   While the seniors celebrate their final regular-season home game, Ryan will look to set the school mark for most career touchdown passes. He is tied with Trenton Lykes and Keith Snoddy with 40. This year Ryan has thrown 13 touchdown passes.
   YSU concludes the regular season at Cal Poly on Nov. 18.

Last Time Out: Youngstown State 42, Hofstra 35
   • The Penguins rallied from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to pull out a 42-35 double overtime win in a game that is tied for the longest in school history. YSU quarterback Jeff Ryan connected with Brandon Pedraza on a 25-yard touchdown score on the first play of the second overtime and Tim Johnson intercepted a Rocky Butler pass on the final play of the game to seal the win. The Penguins never led until the second overtime. In the fourth quarter, Ryan threw an eight-yard pass to John Schumacher to cut the deficit to seven. Trailing with 15 seconds left on a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, Ryan hit Eugene Mintze for a score and forced the extra periods. In the first overtime, Hofstra took a 35-28 lead on an eight-yard pass from Rocky Butler to Jason Maxwell. YSU answered when P.J. Mays scored his second touchdown of the game on a five-yard run. The Penguins scored on their next play, and the first of the second OT before the defense held the Pride.
   • YSU quarterback Jeff Ryan tied a school record with four touchdown passes against Hofstra. It was only the eighth time in school history that a YSU quarterback has thrown for four TDs in a game. The last time that happened was on Sept. 24, 1994 when Mark Brungard had four against Slippery Rock. Ryan is now tied for the school record with 40 career touchdown passes with Trenton Lykes and Keith Snoddy.
   • Ryan also had a career day with his legs. He ran for a career-high 125 yards on 18 attempts and for the third time in his career he rushed and threw for more than 100 yards in the same game.
   • Team captains for the game were senior wide receiver Denver Williams, linebacker Tim Johnson and long snapper Jason Paris.
   • Tidbits: The Penguins have scored 40-plus points in consecutive games for the first time since October 1993. YSU scored 42 against Hofstra and 42 the previous week against Indiana State. The Penguins are 14-1 in their last 15 games decided by seven points or less. It was the sixth overtime game in school history and second two-overtime contest. YSU scored touchdowns on its final four possessions. Tim Johnson finished the game with a career-best-tying 25 tackles.

Breakdown of the Southern Illinois Salukis
   The Salukis enter their matchup with the Penguins on a three-game losing streak after falling to Indiana State 23-22 on Saturday. This season, 2-7 Southern Illinois has beaten Northern Iowa and Drake, but is 0-4 on the road. Following their game with the Penguins, the Salukis finish the season at nationally-ranked Western Kentucky.
   SIU is averaging 303.9 yards per game and 20.8 points. The Saluki defense has been tough allowing just 288.8 yards per game and only 112.7 via the rush. However, in eight of nine games, Southern Illinois has allowed more than 23 points.
   Leading the offensive attack is sophomore running back Tom Koutsos. Koutsos has run for 1,092 yards this season on 248 carries. He has a team-best 11 touchdown runs and is averaging 121.3 yards per game. Quarterback Sherard Poteete is at the controls and has started all nine games. He has thrown for 1,208 yards and six touchdowns, while throwing 11 interceptions.
   On the defensive side, Teddy Sims leads the way with 83 tackles, including 15 tackles for losses. Bryan Archibald also has 15 tackles for losses, including seven sacks. As a unit, the Salukis have 26 sacks on the season.
   Southern Illinois is coached by Jan Quarless (Northern Michigan, 1973) who is in his fourth season with the program. Quarless, a former defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, owns a 13-31 record at the helm of the program.

All-Time Series Against Southern Illinois
   The Penguins have won the last four meetings in the series and led the all-time series against Southern Illinois 7-3-1. The last Saluki victory was in 1986. YSU has scored more than 31 points in the last four games and has won those contests by an average score of 35.5-20.5.
   Last Meeting: The Penguins earned a hard-fought 43-37 victory at overtime in Carbondale, Ill., on Oct. 9, 1997 in the last meeting between the two schools. YSU led 37-29 following an Adrian Brown touchdown with 1:27 left. But Sherard Poteete rallied the Salukis and threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Nick Wafford on the final play of regulation to cut the deficit to two. Poteete ran in the two-point conversion to force the overtime period. In overtime, the YSU defense held SIU without points on its possession and Brown, who finished with 198 yards rushing, scored from 12 yards out for the win.