CURBSTONERS Coach will get answer to loss

Jon Heacock didn't dwell long on his first defeat as head coach.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Youngstown State football coach Jon Heacock likened his team's 30-11 defeat to Northern Iowa last Saturday to a major storm.
Heacock, who is in his first season as the fifth coach in YSU history, was the guest speaker Monday night as the Curbstone Coaches kicked off their 2001 season.
"Right after a major storm you always find out just where you are," Heacock said. "When something bad happens that's when you find out who you are."
The Penguins started the season with three straight victories before Saturday's Gateway Conference game.
"Now we find out if we are as good as we think we are," Heacock added. "Now we find out if our quarterback is as good as we think he is and if our defense is as good as we think it is.
Work to win: "Football is not life and death, but football is life," he continued. "Our kids have worked very hard to get where we are, but we had a bad day Saturday.
"Like our country there have been a lot of people hurt recently and that's when you bounce right back," he continued.
Heacock said a lot of people have asked him how he handled his first defeat as a head coach.
"I told them all that you handle it the same way you handled the first victory. You think about it for a short while and then you get ready for you next game," he said.
Heacock was asked whether or not he felt traveling the same day as the game had any effect on the team.
"In my opinion, no." he said.
"This travel arrangement was made when Coach Tressel was still the head coach and after I took over I even talked with him about the decision," Heacock said.
"We did it last year with almost the same arrangement at Southwest Missouri State and won there," he said. "And we did it a couple of years back at Indiana State and won. We always felt it was best to keep as much a home game feeling for the players and that one and one-half hour plane trip didn't make the difference."
Heacock was also asked about the requirements for qualifying for the Division I-AA playoffs.
"You never are sure about that," he said. "That's why it is so important that you stay in the top part of the Gateway Conference standings. The conference usually always gets at least two teams into the playoffs. The best bet is to win the title and then you are assured of making the playoffs."
Another question was about recruiting and how the Penguins are able to land players from as far away as Florida and California.
"It has a lot to do with our university, our engineering department and our education department. We have some of the finest schools in the country here and the recruits know this. The days of kids going to school just to play football are over. They want an education," said Heacock.
Next: The Curbstone Coaches will return to their regular noontime luncheon next Monday and the guest speaker will be Bertram de Souza, editorial writer for The Vindicator.
The YSU Tip-Off Banquet, hosted by the Curbstoners, will be held Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium.
That event will feature both the YSU men's and women's basketball teams along with coaches John Robic and Ed DiGregorio.
Tickets for that event can be obtained by calling Byrd Gampetro at (330) 792-2820.