Nov. 8, 2007

Football: Successful Guin Seniors Go Out Against Western Illinois

    The No. 21 Youngstown State football team plays their final contest of the season at Stambaugh Stadium against 23rd-ranked Western Illinois. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
    YSU (6-4 overall and 2-3 in the Gateway) enters the game after beating Indiana State 40-7 last Saturday. The Penguins amassed 511 yards of total offense, including 392 on the ground against the Sycamores.
    Western Illinois (6-4 and 3-2) suffered a tough 10-9 home loss to Southern Illinois last weekend. WIU owned a 9-3 advantage before a late Salukis touchdown propelled them to the one-point win.
    The Penguins have a lot to play for on Saturday. First and foremost it is the final home game for a group of 19 seniors, including 12 players who started school together in August 2003 - Rory Berry, Dorian Chenault, Tim Dewberry, Leon Edwards, Blake Halverson, Dustin Helle, Matt Kishman, Tony Lawrence, Joe Nicholson, Bob Perez, Jeremiah Wright and Tom Zetts.
    Vince Gliatta came aboard in January 2004 while James Terry and Josh Tanner never redshirted beginning their careers in August of that year.
    Myles Banford and Rashod Cotton joined the program from the Junior College ranks last year while Louis Irizarry and Maurice Smith transferred in January 2005.
    The group has enjoyed much success the past three years posting a 25-10 overall record, winning the schools first-ever Gateway title (2005 and 2006) and posting two playoff wins last season.
    Picked third in the Gateway preseason poll behind UNI and Illinois State, after winning the previous two league titles, a victory over the Leathernecks will clinch a third-place tie in the league standings.
    Also, a special 32-year tenure by Athletic Trainer Dan Wathen will come to an end. Wathen has been the head trainer for the football program since the 1976 campaign. He has worked the sideline for almost 400 games in his time at YSU.
    In his more than 30 years of service to YSU, Wathen has worked with nearly 4,500 student-athletes along with numerous coaches and support staff.
    This is the 23rd meeting between the programs with YSU holding a slight 12-10 edge thanks to a three-game winning streak. The Penguins have played only one opponent (Akron) more often then they have played the Leathernecks.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• YSU has won three straight against the Leathernecks and three of the past four meetings at Stambaugh Stadium.
• The Penguins have won their last three Senior Day games. YSU beat Southern Illinois in 2006, Western Kentucky in 2005 and Indiana State in 2004.
• Quarterback Tom Zetts’ start this Saturday will be the 47th of his career, an on-going school record.
• In three games against WIU, Zetts is 38-of-76 (50 percent) for 483 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
• Junior placekicker Brian Palmer has made a single-season school record 10 consecutive field goals. Palmer’s streak ties the school overall mark of 10 held by Jeff Wilkins (1992 and 1993).
• For the 28th time in school history the Guins had two 100-yard rushers last Saturday. Against Indiana State, Jabari Scott had a career-high 149 yards while Kevin Smith had 122 yards. YSU is 8-0 under Coach Heacock when two players reach the 100-yard plateau in the same game.
• YSU has allowed double figures in points in just five of 40 quarters. All came during losses - two by Ohio State (14 twice), one by Southern Illinois (10), one by Illinois State (13) and one by UNI (14).
• In the first half this season, the defense has allowed 587 yards rushing on 172 carries (3.4 yards per rush).
• Of the seven offensive linemen to start this year, five made their first career starts - Nhemie Theodore, Matt Kishman, Brian Mellott, Leon Edwards and Bobby Coates.
• YSU has scored 185 points in its last four games against the Sycamores, scoring more than 40 in every game.
• The Guins are 11-1 when scoring at least 22 points against Western Illinois. They have won 11 straight when reaching the figure since losing the first game of the series in 1969.
• YSU has had a double-digit lead in eight games this season and has led in all but one game (at Ohio State) at some point.
• Combined YSU and WIU have thrown nine touchdown passes while they have rushed for 48 and attempted 42 field goals.
 

Western Illinois Breakdown
    Western Illinois has won its last three road games entering its tilt at Youngstown State. Leading the way for the Leathernecks is powerful tailback Herb Donaldson. Donaldson has rushed for 1,491 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.

Last Meeting...YSU 35, WIU 28
    Marcus Mason rushed for 265 yards on 20 carries and had three touchdowns as the Penguins won 35-28 at Hanson Field.
After the contest was tied 14-14 at halftime, Mason rambled 75 yards in the third quarter to put YSU in front 21-14.
    On the second play of the fourth quarter, Dorian Chenault forced a Herb Donaldson fumble at the Penguin one-yard line to halt a would-be game-tying score.
    Two plays following the crucial fumble, Mason burst up the middle for a 95-yard touchdown run to put the Penguins in front 28-14. His 95-yard jaunt was the longest in school history and second longest in Gateway history.
    WIU did not give up scoring two touchdowns late, but Mike Schneider recovered an onside kick to wrap up the victory.
Series Breakdown
    Youngstown State has won 12 of the last 18 meetings since dropping the first four games to the Leathernecks. In Youngstown, YSU holds a 7-3 advantage having won three of the last four contests.
    In winning the past three games, YSU has outscored the Leathernecks 92-58, but the last game at Stambaugh Stadium in 2005 was a 23-21 thriller.

Last Time Out: YSU 40, ISU 7
    The Penguins rushed for a season-high 392 yards as both Jabari Scott and Kevin Smith had more than 100 yards in a 40-7 victory at Indiana State.
    Scott rushed for 149 yards and had two touchdowns while Smith had 122 yards and one score. Brandon Nicholson and Ferlando Williams also added rushing touchdowns.
    Brian Palmer’s 38-yard field goal in the first quarter gave YSU a 3-0 lead. In the second quarter, Scott’s first touchdown and Palmer’s 32-yard field goal put the Guins ahead 13-0 at halftime.
    In the third quarter, Smith and Scott found the end zone as YSU pulled ahead 26-0. ISU got on the scoreboard when offensive lineman Jack Byrne pounced on a fumble in the end zone.
    In the fourth quarter, Williams scored on a five-yard run while Nicholson scored from 12 yards out.
    The 511 total offensive yards were the most by the Guins since going over 500 at Indiana State in a 45-0 win in 2005.

Zetts Holds Six Career Marks
    Quarterback Tom Zetts is one touchdown pass shy of owning seven school career records. Zetts has 49 career touchdown passes, one shy of Jeff Ryan’s 50.
    Zetts is the school record holder for completions (631), attempts (1,062), percentage (59.4) and yards (7,345).
    Against UNI, Zetts threw for a season-high 245 yards while completing a season-best 25 passes. It was the 12th 200-yard passing game of his career, tying the school mark held by Ron Jaworski.
    Zetts will be making his 47th career start this Saturday, also a school record.

Palmer Making His Kicks
    Junior placekicker Brian Palmer is 13-of-14 on field-goal attempts and 30-of-32 on his extra-point tries this year.
    Palmer’s streak of 10 consecutive made field goals is longest in a season in school history. Jeff Wilkins made 10 from the end of the 1992 season that carried over to the 1993 campaign.
    Palmer ranks third in school history by making 119 point-after kicks. In his career, he has attempted 128, also third most in school history.
    Palmer has made 32-of-41 field-goal attempts in his career and has made 19 of his last 21 kicks. His 32 career field goals rank fifth in school history while his 78.0 percent rate of success is first.

Leads Not a Sure Thing
    In eight games this season, the Penguins have built double-digit leads, but three times they lost the game and on another occasion the contest was eventually tied.
    In three defeats, YSU led 13-0 at UNI and built 10-0 leads against Illinois State and Southern Illinois. The Penguins also led South Dakota State 17-0 before the Jackrabbits tied the game in the fourth quarter. YSU eventually won 23-17.
    YSU has been ahead in each of the past nine games since losing at Ohio State.

Williams Knows the End Zone
    Ferlando Williams leads the team with 11 touchdowns. Williams is third on the team in rushing with 442 yards and second in receiving yards at 366. He has 104 touches and is scoring at a rate of every 9.4 times he touches ball.
Williams has rushed for nine scores while catching two passes for touchdowns. He has 25 receptions the past five contests, including a career-best eight at UNI.

Tailbacks Spread the Wealth
    The Penguins have depth at tailback and it has shown. The four tailbacks - Jabari Scott, Kevin Smith, Brandon Nicholson and Jordan Edwards - have rushed for a total of 1,327 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.
    Smith, who has started a position high six games, has rushed for 531 yards on 101 carries and scored eight touchdowns. Scott has run for 524 yards and five scores on 93 attempts. Nicholson has 164 yards and three touchdowns.

Berry Becomes Go-To Receiver
    Senior wide receiver Rory Berry has caught six passes in three different games this season. Berry is one of just four YSU players since 1996 to catch at least six passes on three different occasions during the same year. He had six catches against Missouri State, South Dakota State and Stony Brook.

He’s Got the Wright Stuff
    Senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright leads the defense with 71 tackles. Wright has been credited with a team-high 40 solo stops. With a four-tackle effort at UNI, he became the 12th player in school history to be credited with more than 300 tackles in a career. Wright currently has 303 stops.

Defense Makes A Turnaround
    The defensive unit ranks in the top 20 in the country in two categories. YSU is 15th in scoring defense (17.90 points) and 19th in total defense (310.00 yards). In 2006, the Guins were 60th in scoring defense (23.07 points) and 83rd in total defense (360.43).

Defense Keeping Numbers Down
    The Penguins defense has allowed the opposition to score double figures in just five of 40 quarters. Two of those came in the season opener at Ohio State (14, first and fourth) while the other three were at UNI (14, fourth), vs. Illinois State (13, second) and at Southern Illinois (10, second).
    In 34 of the other 35 periods, no one has scored more than seven (Southern Utah had eight in the third quarter).
Earlier this season, YSU did not allow a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time since 1996.

Rush For 100, Can Mean A ‘W’
    The Penguins have won 19 of the last 21 games when a back rushes for more than 100 yards. The Guins are 2-0 in 2007 with wins over Missouri State and Indiana State. YSU won nine of 11 games last year when someone rushed for over 100 yards.
 

No Sack Lunch Provided
    Despite having five first-time starters this season, the offensive line has surrendered just seven sacks. YSU leads the Gateway and ranks seventh in the FCS in the category.
    The only two players to start every game at the same position are Nhemie Theodore and Josh Tanner. Brad Samsa started the first three games at guard before moving to left tackle. Brian Mellott and Bobby Coates along with guard Leon Edwards all made their first career starts this year. Mellot has started at guard and center. YSU lost tackles Tyler Booth, Matt Kishman and Stiles O’Brien to season-ending injuries.

Six FBS Transfers Part Of YSU
    The Penguins have six former FBS players on the roster. Those are safety Vince Gliatta (Penn State), tight end Louis Irizarry (Ohio State), center/guard Brian Mellott (Ohio), defensive end Maurice Smith (Michigan State), offensive tackle Nhemie Theodore (Minnesota) and cornerback De’Angelo Wilson (Nevada).

Newcomers, First Timers in 2007
    The Penguins had plenty of new contributors in 2007. True freshmen Na’eem Outler, Nick Gooden, Dominique Barnes, Erik Johnson, Stiles O’Brien and Brandian Ross saw action.
    Freshmen who redshirted last year but have played significantly are Stephen Blose, Bobby Coates, Jordan Edwards, Chris Gammon, Luke Matelan, Nick Mernedakis, Torrance Nicholson, Justin Rechichar and Deon’te Williams.
    Other newcomers who have been major contributors are Nevada transfer De’Angelo Wilson, junior college transfer Kevin Smith, junior redshirt Ferlando Williams, sophomore redshirt tailback Jabari Scott and sophomore punter Ben Nowicki.

Guins Work Overtime
    Members of the team have spent a tremendous amount of time saying thanks to Mahoning Valley for continued outstanding support. The Guins’ annual community-service program, which is called “Overtime”, was in full force. YSU spent more than 1,500 hours in the community since last winter.
 

Plenty of Senior Leadership
    For the second straight year, the Penguins had at least 20 seniors, with 20 on the current roster. However, of those 20, Matt Kishman, Tyler Booth and Joe Nicholson have been sidelined with season-ending injuries. Booth has applied for a medical redshirt and could return in 2008 at offensive tackle.
    Of this group, 15 are taking part in their fifth season with a collegiate program - 12 of which have been at YSU that long.

One-Point Games
    For just the sixth time in school history the Penguins have played two one-point games in the same season. YSU beat Southern Utah 23-22 on Oct. 13 but lost at UNI 14-13. The last time YSU played two one-point decisions in the same year was 1986. The Guins have never played three one-point contests in the same year.

Numbers of Note
    • Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 84-14 when they win or tie in the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 13-32.
Since 1990 YSU is:
    • 123-15-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
    • 95-6 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
    • 109-10 when scoring 28-or-more points.
    • 60-5-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
    • 136-8 when leading entering the fourth.
    • 65-3-2 when holding opponents to 10 points-or-less in a game.

Point-Scoring Streaks
    • YSU has won its last 45 games when scoring more than 30 points. The last loss came at Central Florida (44-32 in 1998).
    • YSU has won its last 36 games when scoring more than 40 points. The last loss came to James Madison (52-49 in 1992).
    • When scoring at least 50 points, the Penguins are a perfect 20-0. YSU is 18-2 in games following a 50-point contest.
    • When scoring 21-plus points under Coach Jon Heacock YSU is 47-7.
    • When scoring under 21 points under Coach Heacock YSU is 2-24.