April 18, 2009

Football: Offense Scores Four TDs Before Hanging on For 60-55 Scrimmage Win

    Youngstown – The Youngstown State offense maintained their grasp on the Red Jerseys with a 60-55 victory over the defense on a sunny Saturday morning at Stambaugh Stadium. Seniors played a big role as the Offense built a 59-40 lead before the defense closed strong to make the contest close.
    Scoring touchdowns during the scrimmage were tailbacks Kevin Smith and Jabari Scott while Ty Campana caught a 21-yard toss from Brandon Summers.

    Head Coach Jon Heacock said it was good scrimmage and neither side stopped playing.

    "At the end of the game a couple of turnovers made the difference," Heacock said. "The two big rushing plays made a difference and the turnover at the end got the defense back in the game."
    "We have to continue to grow on defense in my mind. We played hard for awhile. We're just not mature enough yet. We are getting there though. When you play defense against a good team you have to play every down and we are getting there. We're making progress."

    On the third series of the scrimmage, Summers connected with Campana on a pass in the back of the end zone. The offense had a first-and-goal at the two, but after a penalty and bad snap, the offense was forced back to the 21-yard line. Summers found Campana in the back corner of the end zone for the score.
    The defense stepped up as linebacker Jordan Edwards snuffed out a drive with an interception inside the five-yard line. On the ensuing possession, Gary Pezzuolo intercepted a summers overthrow.

    The offense caught fire scoring on three drives from 35 yards out. Scott raced in from 31 yards out for the first touchdown. Kevin Smith added the next two scores racing in from 35 yards out and scoring on a four-yarder.

    The defense made things interesting late when Na'eem Outler recovered a fumble in the end zone to pull the defense within striking distance.

    For the scrimmage, Summers completed 14-of-21 passes for 198 yards and had one touchdown while throwing one interception. Marc Kanetsky was 6-of-9 for 43 yards and Dailyn Campbell was 1-of-3 for eight yards.
    Heacock said Summers played well and needs to continue to lead the team during the final week of spring camp and into the fall.

    "He played well." Heacock said. "He is coming along. He has to be a leader. Our seniors have to be leaders for us and I think they have done a decent job. It is just starting. The hardest part is ahead of them. The easy part is the spring. The summer and during the season is the hardest time being a leader because that’s when it counts the most."

    One player who had a solid day was redshirt freshman tailback Paris Wicks, Jr. Wicks rushed a scrimmage-best 69 yards on a high of 17 carries.
    Campana had four receptions for 64 yards while Aaron Pitts had four grabs for 77 yards.

    Not participating in the scrimmage were Luke Matelan, Kyle Banna, Jarvis Richards, Kamryn Keys, Adam House, Roshod Simons, Mychal Savage, Donald Jones and David Rogers.

    The placekickers all had their time to shine. Junior Stephen Blose made 6-of-11 attempts, Jarrod Satmare was strong making 8-of-11 tries while Bob Gratz made 5-of-7 attempts and Ronald Fularz was 4-of-7. All tried kicks of various scrimmages.

    During the scrimmage, Blose had a 32-yard try blocked, missed a 44-yard try before converting on a 39-yard attempt.

    YSU concluded the workout with punters getting their fare share of kicks.

    The Penguins start their final week of spring drills on Monday morning. The annual Red-White Spring Game is set for Friday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m.