Jersey session difficult to grade

Youngstown State football coach Jon Heacock views the team's annual jersey scrimmages as a break-even point in its progress.
Each spring the team holds two jersey scrimmages, in which the offense plays against the defense. One more jersey scrimmage is held in the fall, and the winner of the last one gets to wear the red practice jerseys for the remainder of the season.
A special scoring system was devised years ago by former coach Jim Tressel to allow the defense to score points other than by touchdowns, such as forcing a punt, sacking the quarterback or recovering fumbles or intercepting passes.
"Every time you scrimmage against yourself somebody is going to do good and somebody isn't going to do good, but that's what the game of football is all about, and you just have to go out and evaluate things as they come," Heacock said.
Always in middle: "I always tell our kids after one of these scrimmages that nothing is as bad as it seems and nothing is as good," he said. "It is always somewhere in the middle.
"The thing is that you've got to learn from both sides and then you've got to move on," he continued. "That's how I feel we have to approach it."
Offensively, the Penguins are hampered without senior quarterback Jeff Ryan, who will miss all of the spring with injuries, but the offense has still shown progression.
Junior tailback P.J. Mays, the second-year transfer from Cincinnati who starred at East High, has looked impressive, especially Saturday when he rushed for 130 yards.
Junior quarterback Colby Street, who has taken over the No. 1 slot while Ryan is out, threw two touchdown passes, but still has a long way to go.
The team lost senior wide receiver Sean Guerriero to a fractured ankle in Saturday's scrimmage. With sophomore Brandon Pedraza out this spring and doubtful in the fall with academic problems, the position has become a weak spot.
Defense, on the other hand, has blossomed into another outstanding unit.
The Penguins have a host of outstanding linebackers and defensive backs, while the front line is solid, although junior tackle Matt Mechling went down with a sprained ankle on Saturday.
On the air: WYTV, Channel 33 has announced that it will again carry the Penguin Power television show each week during the 2001 season.
Sports Director Bob Hannon will team up with Heacock in WYTV's fourth year of airing the show.
Last year a lot of fans were disappointed when the show was not aired until 11:30 p.m. on Sunday nights. Hannon has indicated that will not happen this year.
WYTV has also acquired the rights to The Jim Tressel Show, which is produced in Columbus with The Ohio State University.
That show will be shown every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. beginning Sept. 2.
"We are hoping that the Penguin Power show will be carried either right before or right after the Tressel Show," said Hannon. "If that's not possible, then the worst case scenario for Penguin Power will be its return to its old time slot at 6:30 p.m. It definitely won't be shown at 11:30 p.m."
Hannon, who has served as the voice of Penguin football for the past 10 seasons, is looking forward to working with Heacock this season.
"I'm looking forward to analyzing the games with Coach Heacock," Hannon said. "Like Tressel, Heacock is a leader who dedicates himself to his players and the program. He'll bring the best performance possible out of these young men."
XPete Mollica covers Youngstown State for The Vindicator.