YSU FOOTBALL Seniors get set for final contest at Stambaugh

The Penguins close out the season Saturday at home against Samford University.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- John Schumacher can't believe four years have gone so quickly, while Jon Tekac has so many memorable moments he couldn't choose just one.
Schumacher and Tekac are two of 18 Youngstown State University football seniors who will play their final game Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Penguins (6-4) will try to end the season with three straight victories as they take on Samford University in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
YSU head coach Jon Heacock is having a hard time dealing with the fact that he's losing these players after Saturday.
"These 18 guys are what this program is all about and now they have the opportunity to win three games to end their final campaign," Heacock said Tuesday at his weekly press conference at the DeBartolo Stadium Club.
Senior tri-captains
Schumacher and Tekac, along with senior tailback P.J. Mays were selected as tri-captains for the final four games of the season. The 18 seniors divided the roles over the first seven games.
"I think it says a lot for these three guys being selected by [their] peers," Heacock said. "They said that these are the three we want to lead us the final four games."
In two seasons Heacock has lost a lot of seniors through graduations.
"This will make 40 seniors we have lost in the last two years," he said. "That's a lot of leadership to replace."
"It's hard to believe just how fast these four years have gone," said Schumacher, a tight end, who has been a big part of the Penguins' success since he arrived here as a freshman in 1999.
"Our big challenge on Saturday is to try and get more firepower on our side of the football and to take some of the pressure off our defense."
Mays goes into Saturday's contest needing just two touchdowns to break the Gateway Conference record for touchdowns in a career. Northern Iowa's Jeff Stovall holds the record with 44.
Mays has reached his total in three years, while Stovall set the mark in four. Mays spent his first two years, one a redshirt year, at the University of Cincinnati before transferring to YSU in 2000.
"It would be nice if we could get P.J. the touchdown record," Schumacher said. "Those things say a lot for the entire offense."
Tekac, the three-year starter at linebacker, said he began thinking about this final year many weeks ago.
"You started to think that this is going to be the final time you prepared for this team and then that team and now here it is the final game," Tekac said.'
"I feel very fortunate to have spent five years here at this university. It's been a great five years," he added.
Not disappointed in effort
Heacock said that he's been asked many times if he's disappointed in this season.
"You think back and you're disappointed that you haven't achieved the goals that you set forth back in August," he said. "But then you watch these seniors working so hard day in and day out and you really can't be disappointed in their effort."
The Penguins were idle last week and are coming off back-to-back wins over Southern Illinois 21-9 and Illinois State 24-17.
"It is hard to keep up that intensity with a week off, but you hope to work hard and keep sharp," Heacock said. "At the same time we had a lot of guys banged up and this gave us the opportunity to get most of them back to full strength."