Cayson makes impact for Red

He rushed for 74 yards on seven carries, with three touchdowns.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's going to be tough keeping Youngstown State sophomore tailback Josh Cayson out of the lineup this season, especially after Wednesday's rehearsal scrimmage.
The former Warren John F. Kennedy High standout, who sat out last season to meet academic requirements, rushed for 74 yards on seven carries and scored three touchdowns as the Red team defeated the White 28-7 at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Red team was expected to win the session since it had all of the starters and most of the top reserves.
On the mark
Sophomore quarterback Aaron Marshall also looked impressive, completing 7-of-10 passes for 85 yards. Two of the incompletions were throwaways when receivers were covered.
The White team threw three interceptions, all by senior quarterback Luis Gonzalez. The Red only turned the ball over once, on a pass by freshman quarterback Tom Zetts, which was returned for a touchdown by freshman defensive back Bob Perez for the White's only score of the game.
"I think it's the same thing as always," said YSU coach Jon Heacock. "When you turn the football over it costs you. Three turnovers turned into 21 points and I hope we learned from that.
"On the other side of that we took the ball and scored," he added. "The kids played hard the entire way and were competitive, and those things are good."
Cayson, who is behind seniors Josiah Doby and Mike Burns on the depth chart at tailback, possesses tremendous speed and quickness, and he put both on display Wednesday.
His first touchdown run was from 14 yards out, when he took a handoff from Marshall and skirted around right end, outrunning the defense to the end zone.
His second score was a 21-yard run in which he swept to the left behind good blocking, cut upfield and was untouched to the end zone. His final score was an 18-yard run on a quick hitter, in which he made some fancy cuts and rambled into the end zone.
Extra session
That final score was part of an overtime period that Heacock set up at the end of the scrimmage. Junior Nick Terracina, who kicked four extra points, made a 42-yard field goal.
The White team came back in overtime and scored behind junior quarterback Matt Rycraft, who tossed a 10-yard strike to junior wide receiver Jim Smith.
The White team elected to go for two points and the win, but senior defensive tackle Steve Durbin, of McDonald, ran Rycraft out of bounds before he could get into the end zone.
Gonzalez finished 4-of-8 for 32 yards and the three interceptions, one of which was returned by senior Sherod Holmes 27 yards for a touchdown.
Sophomore linebacker Joe Juby and senior safety Scott Thiessen also had interceptions for the Red team.
By the numbers
Doby finished the scrimmage with 47 yards on six carries and scored the Red's first touchdown on a 5-yard run, while Burns had three carries for 20 yards and also caught a 24-yard pass from Marshall.
Sophomore Justin Reams was the top ball carrier for the White with 47 yards on 10 carries, while senior Darius Peterson added 33 yards on 10 tries. Rycraft completed 4-of-6 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
The Penguins had today off and will hold their final practice session Friday at 9:30 p.m. following the high school game at the stadium.
Saturday, they will begin preparations for the season opener against Edinboro Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Stambaugh.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;