YSU struggles in win

The Penguins escapedwith a 27-14 victory over Clarion in the seasonopener before 17,834.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State might be 1-0, but the Penguins showed they still have a long way to go to reach their goals for the year.
Thursday night, the Penguins struggled to beat Division II Clarion 27-14 before an opening night crowd of 17,834 at Stambaugh Stadium.
YSU led 20-0 at halftime, but then was outplayed by the Golden Eagles in the second half and struggled to hang on for the win.
Second-year coach Jon Heacock was disappointed in his team's performance, and when asked to sum up the game he said only, "We won.
"You have to give Clarion's staff and team a lot of credit, they came out and played championship football and we didn't," Heacock said.
"We had too many turnovers and too many penalties and we made mistakes in our kicking game," he added. "It's disappointing because we prepared so hard and then we just did not play.
Fundamentals
"We've got to block and tackle much better than we did tonight," he continued. "We know that every week we are going to see nine-man fronts on the defense, and we must find a way to block and open the holes for our backs."
The Penguins did run well, finishing with 300 yards on the ground. Senior tailback P.J. Mays finished with 165 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.
But Mays agreed it wasn't a performance the team could be proud of.
"I don't think we were ready for this game. We did things tonight that were very uncharacteristic of this team."
Clarion coach Malen Luke was proud of his team, but indicated that they are still 0-1.
"P.J. Mays is a special football player," Luke said. "I don't think that our defense will see a better back this season."
Long return
The Eagles shocked the Penguins on the opening kickoff, when Kareem Shelton returned it 78 yards to the YSU 19 before the Penguins' Jake Godec hauled him down.
But Clarion turned the ball over on the second play, as quarterback Adam Almashy of Newton Falls fumbled and Martin Stachowicz recovered at the YSU 16.
The Penguins went without a first down its first two offensive series, and Mays never touched the ball in either possession.
On the third series, after Clarion missed on a 38-yard field goal attempt earlier, Mays finally got the ball.
On his first carry he got 4 yards, then on the second he slashed through a big hole and raced 73 yards to the Clarion 1. On the next play Mays scored with 4 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the first period.
Doby delivers
On the next YSU series, Mays had three carries for 20 more yards, but then was relieved by junior Josiah Doby who, on his first carry, broke through a hole and raced 53 yards for the second score on the final play of the first period.
Sophomore Jake Godec set up the third Penguin score when he returned a punt to the Clarion 26-yard line.
On the first play, senior quarterback Colby Street found tight end John Schumacher wide open, and he hauled in the pass and rambled untouched to the end zone.
The YSU defense held Clarion to just 62 total yards and four first downs in the first half. The Penguins' only mistakes were a missed extra point by Jake Stewart and an interception in the final minute by Street, on a pass that was tipped and finally picked off by freshman defensive back Kerwin Cledanor.
Saad recovers fumble
YSU took the second-half kickoff and moved to the Clarion 45, but on third down Street fumbled and Shaun Saad of Poland recovered for the Eagles.
Clarion then drove for its first score, which was set up by a 38-yard run by Brandon Sweeney to the YSU 9. Sweeney scored on the next play to make it 20-7.
The Penguins answered with a 10-play, 58-yard drive, that Mays finished off with an 18-yard scamper to the end zone. Street injured his left hand during the drive and was replaced by junior Luis Gonzalez for the remainder of the contest.
Fake punt
The Eagles used a fake punt and an 18-yard pass from punter Ken Crawford to Chad Thompson to keep alive its second scoring drive.
Robert Walker set up the score with a 22-yard run and then Shelton carried over from the 12 with 14:03 remaining in the contest.
The Penguins made only one threat the rest of the quarter after Doby, who finished with 129 yards on five carries, raced for 39 yards. But several plays later Doby fumbled and the Eagles recovered at their own 3.
mollica@vindy.com