YSUsports.com - Football: Five Penguins Earn Valley Football All-Conference Honors

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Dec. 1, 2008

Football: Five Penguins Earn Valley Football All-Conference Honors

St. Louis, Mo. – The Youngstown State football team had five players earn Missouri Valley Football Conference postseason honors, the league announced on Monday. Highlighting the Penguins' selections was senior offensive lineman Brad Samsa who was chosen for the first team.

Joining Samsa as all-conference selections were junior defensive lineman Crispin Fernandez (second team), junior punter Ben Nowicki (honorable mention), junior quarterback Brandon Summers (honorable mention) and sophomore safety Brandian Ross (honorable mention).

With his first-team selection, Samsa finishes his YSU career as a two-time first-team pick and earned all-conference honors three times following a second-team pick in 2006. In 2008, Samsa started at center for the first nine contests before moving to guard for the final three. Samsa played his best in the final stretch of the season. He graded at 83 percent or better in four of the final five games.

Fernandez was the only defensive player to start all 12 games in 2008. He started at tackle and end during the season for the Penguins. For the year, he was credited with 42 total tackles and was the team leader with four sacks.

Summers burst on the scene to set school season records for passing percentage, passing efficiency and tied the mark for touchdown passes in a regular season. He completed 122-of-195 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns. He closed the season strong throwing 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in the final four games. In the five league games he started, YSU was 3-2. He also ran for 190 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Ross led the team with 98 total tackles, including 49 solos tops. He started 11 of 12 games on defense and had double figures in tackles on three occasions. He finished the year with a career-best 13 stops at Western Illinois in the season finale. He had seven-or-more stops on nine occasions during the year.

Nowicki, who was an honorable-mention selection last year, increased his yards per kick average by four yards from 2007. In 2008, he averaged 41.1 yards per kick. He placed 13 kicks inside the 20-yard line and had eight punts of 50 yards or more, including a career-long boot of 66 at Southern Utah.

#67 OL Brad Samsa, Youngstown State, 6-3, 290, Sr., Warren, Ohio/Howland
Started all 12 games on the offensive line…started at center for the first nine before moving to right guard for the final three…first-team all-conference selection in 2007 and second-team pick in 2006…as a junior was a second-team All-American…2007 Honorable-Mention Academic all-conference…played more than 700 snaps on the line, most on the team…YSU averaged 166 yards rushing and 170 yards passing…graded at 83 percent or better in four of final five games…started 38 games in his career.

#90 DT Crispin Fernandez, Youngstown State, 5-10, 270, Jr., Porterville, Calif./Monache
Only defensive player to start all 12 games…played both tackle and end during the season…recorded 42 total tackles, including 20 solo stops…had at least four tackles in six games…posted a high of six stops at Missouri State…team leader with four sacks, three of which came in league play…had 6.5 tackles for losses…had five stops against Southern Illinois and Illinois State and four vs. WIU, Liberty and North Dakota State.

#27 SS Brandian Ross, Youngstown State, 6-0, 185, So., Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook
Team leader with 98 total tackles…finished with 49 solos and 49 assists…posted three double-digit performances…had a career-high 13 tackles at Western Illinois…had 10 at Illinois State and against Liberty…had at least four tackles in every game…posted seven or more on nine occasions…intercepted a pass against North Dakota State…had 4.5 tackles for losses…recovered a fumble against Liberty…had three pass breakups.

#36 P Ben Nowicki, Youngstown State, 5-10, 170, Jr., Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite
Had 44 punts for an average of 41.1 yards per kick…placed 13 punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line and had eight punts of 50 yards or more…had a career-long boot of 66 yards at Southern Utah…in seven games had a punt of 50 yards or longer…averaged 40 yards or more in seven games…increased average by four yards per kick from 2007.

QB - #6 Brandon Summers, Youngstown State, 6-0, 210, Jr., Toledo/Southfield H.S.
Threw 18 touchdown passes, tying for the most in a regular season in school history…played in 10 of 12 games…completed 122-of-195 passes for 1,540 yards…ran for 190 yards on 77 attempts and scored three touchdowns…high rushing game was 64 yards against North Dakota State…set school single-game records for completions (32 against Liberty) and touchdown passes (4 at Illinois State)…had a career-high 347 yards passing at Illinois State…threw for 334 yards against Liberty…had 208 yards at WIU…threw 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions in final four games of the season…set school record for single-season completion percentage 62.6…had a school-record efficiency of 152.18...had rushing scores against Liberty, North Dakota State and Western Illinois.