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Aug. 31, 2009

Penguins Open 2009 Season With Visit to Pittsburgh

Heacock Video | Ross Video | Jones Video | Fernandez Video

Opening Kickoff
The Penguins begin their 69th season of football against the Panthers...in season openers, the Guins are 39-27-2...this is the 43rd game against an FBS program...the Penguins are 19-22-1 against FBS schools...the last time the Guins won a season opener on the road was 1993 (at Western Michigan)...the last player to score a touchdown against an FBS school was Mike Burns in 2003 at Kent State...WR Donald Jones and DE Mychal Savage have been named team captains...the Guins’ last win in Pennsylvania was a 28-21 triumph at Villanova in 1999...YSU was 4-8 overall last season while the Panthers were 9-4...Pittsburgh won nine games last season for the first time since 2002...after losing its home opener last year to Bowling Green, Pitt won its final five games at Heinz Field...the Sept. 5 start date is the latest for a campaign since 1992...in 1992, YSU went 11-3-1 and reached the National Championship Game...this is the second straight season and third time ever (1987) the Guins will play their season and conference openers on the road...YSU begins conference play at Indiana State on Sept. 26...the Penguins have scored 30-or-more points on 24 occasions since 2005...the Penguins play host to Austin Peay next Saturday in their home opener...kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 4 p.m.

The Penguins suffered a 41-0 setback at the hands of the Panthers in 2005 at Heinz Field.

Gameday Information

Matchup: Youngstown State at Pittsburgh

Date: Sept. 5

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Stadium: Heinz Field (65,050)

Surface: Natural Grass

Forecast: 77 degrees, Mostly Sunny

Series: Pitt leads 1-0

Last Meeting: Pitt 41-0 | 2005

Television: None

Radio: 570 WKBN (12:30 p.m.)

 

The Series vs. Pitt

    This is just the second meeting between the two schools. Pitt won the previous contest by a 41-0 mark on Sept. 24, 2005 at Heinz Field. The announced crowd of 43,135 was the largest to see a YSU football game at that point in school history.

 

2008 Notes of Interest

• YSU finished the 2008 season with a 4-8 overall mark and a 3-5 record in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

• The Penguins won their final two games of the 2008 season after winning two of their first 10 to start the year.

• In the final home game, YSU overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Indiana State. The last time the Guins came from 14 points back to win was 42-35 against Hofstra in 2000.

• The offense scored 28-or-more points in seven games in 2008. However, the defense allowed 31 points or more in six contests.

• YSU scored 28 points or more in three losses last year (31-28 to Liberty, 42-28 at Missouri State and 54-44 at Illinois State). It marked the first time in school history that has occurred.

• A total of 28 players made their first career starts last season.

• Only three players -- defensive tackle Crispin Fernandez, offensive tackle Tyler Booth and guard/center Brad Samsa -- started every game.

• Brandon Summers threw nine touchdown passes in the final three games of the year, including a school-record-tying four at Illinois State.

• Donald Jones caught a touchdown pass in each of the final four games. He is the first Penguin since 1992 to accomplish the feat.

 

Last Meeting: PITT 41, YSU 0

    Pittsburgh scored 18 points in the first five minutes of the second half, turning a 16-0 advantage into a 34-0 bulge, and the Penguins never recovered, losing 41-0 at Heinz Field in 2005.

    In front of the largest crowd at the time to ever witness a YSU football game, the Penguin defense battled throughout the first half to keep the game close.

    After the Panthers scored on their first two possessions of the game, Youngstown State was able to slow Pitt’s momentum. However, the Panthers added a second-quarter touchdown to pull ahead 16-0.

    Pitt scored 18 points in a span of 2:01 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and added a touchdown in the fourth for the final outcome.

    Tailback Marcus Mason rushed for 64 yards on 16 carries in his first extensive action, and Dorian Chenault had nine tackles and a forced fumble. Youngstown State converted just one third down in 13 chances.

 

Last Game: YSU 31, WIU 28

    Quarterback Brandon Summers threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Penguins held on to beat No. 23 Western Illinois in the season finale for both teams.

    YSU never trailed in the contest and held a 31-21 lead in the fourth quarter. WIU’s Herb Donaldson, who during the game became the conference’s all-time leading rusher, cut the deficit to 31-28 with 2:52 left.

    YSU was able to get the clock under one minute before giving the ball back to the Leathernecks.

    Cornerback De’Angelo Wilson intercepted Matt Barr’s third-down pass with 25 seconds left to give YSU the victory.

    Summers threw for 208 yards and connected on touchdown passes with Derrick Bush and Donald Jones.

Ferlando Williams, making his first career start at tailback, ran for 84 yards on a career-best 26 carries and a touchdown.

    Donaldson finished the contest with 235 yards on 40 carries.

 

Season Openers

    The Penguins had won 11 consecutive season openers before dropping their last two at Ohio State. The last time YSU won a season opener on the road was at Western Michigan in 1993. All-time, the Guins are 39-27-2 in season lidlifters. In season openers played on the road, YSU owns a 10-19 mark.

 

Opener Notes

Most Points: 51 vs. Slippery Rock, 2006

Fewest Points: 0, 6 times (m.r. at Ohio State, 2008)

Most Pts Allowed: 47 by Central Michigan, 1972

Fewest Points Allowed: 0, 9 times (m.r. Wofford, 1996)

Margin of Victory: 44 | 50-6 vs. Clarion, 1998

Margin of Defeat: 41 | 41-0 at Ohio State, 2008

 

Penn Guins

    YSU has 10 Keystone State natives making a return to their homestate. The current group of Penn Guins are Stephen Blose, Dana Brown, Luke Matelan, Gary Pezzuolo, Justin Rechichar, Eric Rodemoyer, John Sasson, Rob Stupar, Noah Taylor and Lenny Wicks.

 

Olsavsky Returns to Pitt

    Former Panther All-American linebacker Jerry Olsavsky is in his seventh season as the Penguins’ linebackers coach. Olsavsky, a Youngstown native, was a Kodak All-American for Pitt in 1988 after registering 128 tackles for the campaign. He had 100 stops as a junior and finished with 127 as a sophomore. He was also on the YSU staff in 2005 when it visited Heinz Field.

 

Seniors Come Together

    The Penguins senior class may be small, but they are unified. Of the 12, five joined the team during the 2008 calendar year. The size of this senior class is the smallest since 2000 when the program had 12 as well. Here is a breakdown of when the 2009 class joined the program:

Jan. 2005: Mychal Savage

Aug. 2005: Jabari Scott, Aaron Pitts, Lenny Wicks

Jan. 2006: Brian Mellott

Aug. 2007: Kevin Smith, Ben Nowicki

Jan. 2008: Dana Brown, Brandon Summers

Aug. 2008: Draye Ersery, Crispin Fernandez, Donald Jones

 

Senior defensive end Mychal Savage applies pressure on Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko in the 2005 contest at Heinz Field.

    YSU returns 13 players who played in all 12 games last year. The Penguins to play in every contest were Crispin Fernandez, Dominique Barnes, Stephen Blose, Jaimie Frasure, Jordan Edwards, Andre Elliott, Nick Gooden, Donald Jones, Brian Mellott, Na’eem Outler, Aaron Pitts, Eric Rodemoyer and Brandian Ross.

    Senior wide receiver Donald Jones made a name for himself in the final four games of the 2008 campaign.

    Jones, who had just three receptions in his first four games, finished the year with 31 receptions for 510 yards and seven touchdowns. Of his 31 catches, 16 came in the last four games. Also, five of his seven touchdown grabs came in the final four contests. He had 351 yards as well in the final four games.

    He had the most TD grabs in a regular season since Renauld Ray had seven in 1998.

    Junior wide receiver Dominique Barnes led the team with 38 receptions last year. As a true freshman in 2007, Barnes caught just three passes for 21 yards. In 2008, he had 368 yards receiving and scored three touchdowns. He also was a strong kickoff returner, running back 17 kicks for 399 yards.

    Brandon Summers became the first player in school history to throw seven touchdown passes in a two-game span. Summers had three scores against Indiana State and followed that with a school-record-tying four at Illinois State. He added two more in the season finale at Western Illinois.

    Both Brandon Summers and Dominique Barnes played quarterback at Southfield High School before moving on to the college ranks. Summers was the Bluejays’ QB from 2003-04 while Barnes followed from 2005-06.

    Last year, the two connected on touchdown passes three times - Liberty, Illinois State and Indiana State.

Barnes returned the favor in the final game of the year connecting on a 35-yard pass with Summers against Western Illinois.

    Quarterback Brandon Summers hopes to continue a string of recent success by YSU senior quarterbacks.

In 2007, senior Tom Zetts led the Penguins to a 7-4 mark. In 2001, senior Jeff Ryan led the program to an 8-3 record. In 1997, senior Demond Tidwell led the Guins to a National Championship.

    Quarterback Brandon Summers threw 18 touchdown passes last season, tying the school record for TD throws in a regular season. Summers tied Ron Jaworski, who threw 18 touchdowns back in 1972. In 1972, Jaworski played in nine games. Summers played in 10 contests last season.

    Senior tailback Kevin Smith sat out last season after suffering an injury in fall camp. This year, he is set to make his return. In 2007, Smith was named to the conference’s all-newcomer team.

He played in nine games, starting seven for the Guins. He ran for 610 yards on 123 attempts, scoring 10 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 80 yards and a score. He had a career-high 122 yards at Indiana State.

    Two members of the program to keep an eye on entering the contest against Pitt are third-year sophomores Ely Ducatel and Adam House. Both players signed with the program in February 2007 and came aboard that August.

    After redshirting in 2007, both players missed the 2008 season with injuries. So neither player has participated in a game since coming to YSU.

    Players who redshirted in 2008 that could make their debuts sometime this year are Bryan Gaiters, Paris Wicks Jr., Vinnie Patella, David Fleming, Bryan Whitaker, Noah Taylor, Chase Lemke, Bill Dugan, Andy Kowicki and D.J. Main.

    Junior tailback Jabari Scott has rushed for 1,062 yards on 179 carries in his 21-game YSU career. He has scored 13 rushing touchdowns - most on the team. He played one snap in last year’s finale at WIU after not playing the previous two contests. In fact, he was limited the last two-thirds of the season after getting hurt on the first snap against Liberty.

    He had 299 yards on 46 carries, starting the first four games. He had just nine carries for 104 yards the rest of the year.

    Junior punter Ben Nowicki ranked second in the conference last year averaging 41.1 yards per punt. However his season was cut a game short when he suffered an injury on Nov. 8.

    He had been punting all year with a dislocated left shoulder before injuring his right against Indiana State in the home finale.

    In 2008 Nowicki placed 14 punts inside the oppositions 20-yard line and had eight punts of 50 yards or more. He had a long of 66 yards at Southern Utah.

    In 2007, he averaged 37.1 yards per kick. Of his 91 career punts, only three have been touchbacks.

    After punter Ben Nowicki was lost for the year against Indiana State, Erik Johnson stepped in to handle the punting duties.

    Three near-perfectly placed punts helped him earn Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors on Nov. 9.

    In the season finale at Western Illinois he had four punts for a 37.2 yards average

    He had nine punts on the year, averaging 37.3 yards a kick.

    Junior placekicker Stephen Blose will look to handle those duties for the first time in his YSU career. Blose, a fourth-year junior, has backed up four-year starter Brian Palmer since he first joined the program.

    The past two seasons, he was the Guins’ kickoff specialist. He does have one career field-goal made in one career attempt. He converted a 41-yarder at Ohio State in 2007 - his first collegiate game.

    Entering the season, YSU has one senior in the secondary (Lenny Wicks), one senior on the offensive line (Brian Mellott) and one senior linebacker (Draye Ersery). YSU has three senior running backs and three senior wide receivers, meaning 50 percent of the group is from those two positions. The Guins have two on the defensive line and have one each at quarterback and punter.

    In 2009, the Missouri Valley Football Conference will be celebrating its 25th season of existence. Ironically, the MVFC is in its second season being referred to as Valley Football. The MVFC was known as the Gateway Football Conference since the league formed in 1985 through 2007.

    The Penguins lost three seniors from the offensive line. Those players started a combined 94 games in their careers. Gone are All-American Brad Samsa, Tyler Booth and Nhemie Thedore. Samsa started the last 38 games on the line for the Penguins while Booth started 34 times in his career and Theodore was over 20.

    The 2009 squad has just one senior (Brian Mellott) to go along with seven juniors. The line has four redshirt freshmen, one sophomore and one true freshman. Junior Bobby Coates has the most starts of the group at 13 while Eric Rodemoyer started 10 times last year. Mellott started nine games along the line in 2007 and had two starts as a tight end last year. Last year, junior Justin Rechichar started at left guard, right guard and center.

    Senior wide receiver Donald Jones and senior defensive tackle Mychal Savage have been named the Guins’ captains for the 2009 season.

    Savage is a repeat selection from last year. However, his captaincy was cut short after suffering a season-ending injury in the opener at Ohio State.

    Jones is the first wide receiver since Herb Williams in 1992 to be tabbed as a team captain. He is also the first junior college transfer to be named a captain since YSU defensive backs coach Sherod Holmes in 2003.

    Six true freshmen saw action last season for the Penguins. Of the group, four were on defense and two were quarterbacks.

    On defense, linebacker Deonta Tate, defensive tackle Joe Marshall and defensive ends Stephen Meadows and Mike Williams all saw playing time. Meadows started at Southern Utah, becoming the first true frosh to start on defense since Roshon Simons in 2006. Tate started at linebacker the last five games.

    Quarterback Marc Kanetsky was the holder on placement kicks while fellow quarterback Dailyn Campbell started against Southern Illinois. Kanetsky also saw action against the Salukis.

    YSU has occasionally lost players to injuries, but last year was like the current New York Mets.

In 2008, a total of 28 players missed at least one game because of an injury, while 21 of those missed multiple games.

    Returning to the lineup after suffering season-ending injuries at some point last season are Ben Nowicki, Kevin Smith, Kyle Banna, David Rach, Luke Matelan and Mychal Savage.

    In the final three games of the 2008 season, the offense found its groove. YSU averaged 36.7 points, scoring 110 points.

    The Penguins had 1,311 yards of total offense, averaging 437 per contest. Of those 1,311 yards, 732 came via the pass.

    The Penguins had 28 first-time starters last year -- 10 against Ohio State, six against Central State, five at Southern Utah, one at Missouri State, four against Southern Illinois and two at Illinois State.

Offensive starters for the first time were linemen Greg Sazdanoff, Eric Rodemoyer and Justin Rechichar, fullback Kyle Banna, tailback Kamryn Keys, wide receivers Dominique Barnes and Donald Jones and quarterbacks Todd Rowan, Paul Corsaro, Dailyn Campbell and Brandon Summers.

    On defense, ends Joel Younkins, Stephen Meadows, Jaimie Frasure and Josh Myers, tackles Crispin Fernandez, Roger Gillum and Chris Gammon, linebackers Na’eem Outler, John Sasson, Mike Barlak, Deonta Tate and Jordan Edwards along with safeties Brandian Ross, Andre Elliott and Nick Gooden and corners Tyler Griffin and Randy Louis all started for the initial time.

    Of those 28 players, 23 return in 2009.

    For just the second time since 1990, YSU had more passing yards than rushing yards in a season. The Penguins threw for 2,045 yards while rushing for 1,988. It was also the first time since 1995 that YSU had more passing yards than rushing in the same season.

    In 1995, the Guins were 3-8, while last season, YSU finished 4-8.

    In 2009, the Penguins play just five regular-season home games for the first time since 1987. YSU plays three of its first four games on the road - the last time that happened was to start the 1993 campaign. The last time the program played three road games in September was 1987.

    Senior defensive linemen Crispin Fernandez and Mychal Savage were named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s Preseason Team, the conference announced in late July.

    As a team, YSU was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team league. The last time the Guins were tabbed sixth, they tied for the conference championship in 2005.

    YSU was also picked sixth in the conference prior to the 2004 and 2005 seasons. In 2004, the Guins tied for fifth and in 2005 shared the title with UNI and Southern Illinois, but did not qualify for the playoffs.

    The Penguins were picked third in both the 2007 and 2008 preseason league polls. The only time YSU was ever picked to win the conference in the preseason poll was 1998.

    The Guins are hoping to repeat some history in seasons that end in the number nine. In 1999, YSU reached the NCAA Championship Game, in 1989, the Guins reached the FCS quarterfinals, in 1979, Youngstown State played for the Division II National Championship.

The Penguins have a combined record of 32-9 in those years ending in nine.

Savage Named to Buck Buchanan List
    Senior defensive end Mychal Savage is one of 20 FCS players on the watch list for the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the top defensive player.

    Savage has established himself as one of the top defensive tackles in FCS during an outstanding career. In 2007, the All-American and first-team All-Missouri Valley selection racked up 43 tackles, five for loss, five sacks and three QB hurries. He played in one game last year before suffering a season-ending injury.

Defense Looks to Improve

    Last season, the Penguins allowed nine running backs to rush for more than 100 yards in a game while three went over the 200-yard plateau. Granted they faced some of the top backs in the nation in Beanie Wells (OSU), Herb Donaldson (WIU) and Rashad Jennings (Liberty), but a total of 12 players - in 12 games - rushed for at least 87 yards in a contest.

    The unit allowed a school-record 31 rushing touchdowns while the 29.1 points per game opposition average was the most since 1970. The unit surrendered 202.4 yards rushing per game, just the second time since 1986 that it allowed more than 200 a contest.

In 2007, YSU was 14th nationally in points per game allowed (18.5) and 18th in total defense (318.2 yards)..

Transfer FBS Quarterbacks
    Brandon Summers is the fifth FBS quarterback to transfer to YSU since 2001 and the second to start a game.

    Summers joins Mike Schneider (Duke), Vince Gliatta (Penn State), Luis Gonzalez (Cincinnati) and Lou Angelo (Temple) as FBS quarterback transfers to YSU. Of that group, Gliatta had the most success, but never started, rushing for 159 yards and passing for 148 in two years as a backup and eventually moved to safety.

    Of that group, only Gonzalez started and that was one snap on Senior Day against Western Kentucky.

    Senior quarterback Brandon Summers’ cousin, Durrell Summers, is a junior guard for Michigan State.

Assistant coach Sam Eddy grew up in Beloit, Wis., along with his good friend Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell.

    Assistant coach Chris Bache spent six years at IUP (1999-2004) coaching for Frank Cignetti, father of Pitt Offensive Coordinator, Frank Cignetti.

    YSU quarterbacks Marc Kanetsky and Kurt Hess roomed together at a quarterback camp in high school. One of the instructors at the camp in Toledo was Summers.

    YSU lost just nine fumbles in 12 games last season. It marked the fifth consecutive year that the Penguins kept under double digits in fumbles lost for a year.

    YSU had nine fumbles lost in 2007, five in 2006, eight in 2005 and eight in 2004. Prior to the four-year streak, the Guins had committed single digits in fumbles lost in consecutive years just twice (1986-87 and 1958-59).

    The Guins put the ball on the ground 16 times, but lost just nine of those.

    YSU added three FBS transfers at the start of camp this fall. Those three players are Sir Demarco Bledsoe (TCU), Andrew Radakovich (Penn State) and James Cravens (Ball State). All three should see action against the Panthers on Saturday.

    They join a group of five FBS transfers who were already on the team: Dana Brown (Iowa), offensive guard Brian Mellott (Ohio), safety Gary Pezzuolo (Akron), offensive guard Eric Rodemoyer (West Virginia) and quarterback Brandon Summers (Toledo).

    Quarterback Brandon Summers started against the Panthers as a redshirt freshman in 2006 when he was with Toledo. Summers completed 3-of-5 passes for 14 yards. The Panthers beat the Rockets 45-3.

    Senior defensive end Mychal Savage started the contest at Pitt in 2005. Savage was not credited with a tackle in the contest.

• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 88-18 when they win or tie in the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 13-36.

• 125-16-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.

• 97-7 when rushing for 200-plus yards.

• 113-13 when scoring 28-or-more points.

• 60-5-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.

• 140-8 when leading entering the fourth.

• 66-3-2 when holding opponents to 10 points-or-less in a game.

Trying to Find the End Zone

    In the games against BCS foes the past four years, the numbers aren’t pretty. YSU has been outscored 159-9 by Pitt (2005), Penn State (2006) and Ohio State (2007 and 2008). Those four teams have outyarded the Guins 2,008 to 586. Also, the Penguins have not scored a touchdown in the 16 quarters against those teams, three of which were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the contest.

    YSU plays its first home game of the 2009 season on Saturday, Sept. 12, against Austin Peay. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

    The Governors, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, are making their first trip to Youngstown since 1987. This is the Guins’ first contest against an OVC school since 1994 (Eastern Kentucky).

    The Penguins lead the all-time series against Austin Peay by a 6-2 margin.