Victory close to days of old

YOUNGSTOWN -- Granted, it wasn't a performance that would warrant any consideration for an ESPY Award for style, but after back-to-back losses in which they scored a grand total of seven points, the Youngstown State Penguins would have taken a victory Saturday if it had come by way of Overland Express.
It was a vintage YSU production, though, at least in the final statistics: 376 rushing yards (averaging an obscene 7.8 yards per attempt); two ball carriers over 100 yards, and a solid, if unspectacular performance by quarterback Aaron Marshall, the redshirt freshman who just seems to get more efficient each week.
The final score was YSU 21, Southern Illinois 9, but it could have been, and should have been, worse. Twice in the second half the Penguins drove inside the SIU 40, but Mays fumbled the ball away each time.
If they convert either or both of those drives into touchdowns, it's a final score (indicative of the dominance) that Penguins fans grew accustomed to seeing in the '90s.
(Mays went over 1,000 yards for the season with his 210-yard performance Saturday night. Our guess, though, is that the film session today will concentrate more on the two balls he laid on the turf.)
Out of the cold
Coach Jon Heacock, in his post-game press conference, commended the play of his seniors, the blocking of his offensive line and the performance of his redshirt freshman quarterback (all after expressing relief at finding the interview area incredibly warm).
It was a message we've heard all season long, but this time, we saw in action what Heacock has been touting.
Senior linebacker Jon Tekac was credited with 14 tackles and a forced fumble, but it seemed like he was in on just about every play.
Defensive lineman Guy Mazard is playing through the pain of an injured ankle but hasn't lost any of the fire and drive that's made him one of the top players in the Gateway Conference.
Martin Stachowitz also played well -- he was the early favorite for the hit of the week for his sack of SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky.
And Russell Stuvaints played solidly at linebacker and even returned a couple of kickoffs.
Credit to upperclassmen
Heacock said the victory was due in no small measure to the "character of our seniors" in keeping the team together following the back-to-back losses to Northern Iowa and Western Illinois, which knocked the Penguins out of the conference championship race and I-AA playoff consideration.
It's the same mantra, from the same pedestal, that the coach has spoken all season.
Certainly, the defense has played well enough in every game for us to figure that if the offense had been able to show up just a little bit, we'd be keeping much closer tabs on the national scoreboard and trying to predict just what kind of seed the Penguins would get from the playoff committee.
The play-calling has come under fire in the wake of a .500 season, but the coaching staff didn't suddenly get brilliant since last Saturday. It was the same calls, only this week -- surprise! -- the offensive line blocked, the backs hit the holes, Marshall made good decisions ... in other words, the players executed the game plan.
Each week, at his press luncheon, Heacock touts the leadership of the seniors, the work ethic of the team in general, and the fervent hope that someday, somewhere, it will all pay off.
Saturday night, before a shivering (and smallish) audience at the aptly-named Ice Castle, we were able to witness and appreciate those qualities first hand.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.