YSU FOOTBALL Illinois St. has been tested by tough schedule

The Redbirds have lost their last three meetings to YSU.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Denver Johnson has a very young football team at Illinois State.
The Redbirds (3-5, 0-3 Gateway) are the homecoming game opponent for Youngstown State Saturday at 4 p.m.
"It's been a little frustrating for us this season," Johnson said. "We have such a young football team and the competition, especially over the last four weeks, has been some of the best in the country."
The Redbirds have lost four straight -- 28-10 to No. 21-ranked Florida Atlantic, 16-7 to No. 9 Northern Iowa, 45-17 to No. 4 Southern Illinois and, last week, 27-24 to No. 8 Western Kentucky.
Hot and cold
"Consistency has been the key," Johnson said. "When we are consistent and executing well we're a pretty good football team, but when we're not being consistent we haven't been that good."
The Redbirds, who are playing outside the state of Illinois for the first time this weekend, have lost the last three meetings to Youngstown State and are 2-3 at Stambaugh Stadium. YSU leads the overall series, 6-5.
Illinois State has played five home games and their three previous road games have at Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois.
"Maybe getting out of the state will be good for this team this week," Johnson said.
The Redbirds, who start seven underclassmen on offense and eight on defense, have 12 freshmen on their two-deep roster and four of them are starters. Senior quarterback Mike Souza, senior tailback Sha-Ron Edwards and junior linebacker Boomer Grigsby are among the returning starters from last season.
JC transfer
Souza, a 6-foot, 177-pound junior college transfer, is in his second season as the starter.
He's completed 115-of-237 passes for 1,274 yards and six touchdowns this season while being intercepted seven times. He has also rushed for 272 yards on 70 carries.
Edwards (6-0, 201) is the leading rusher with 736 yards on 128 carries and five touchdowns. Against Western Kentucky he ran for a career-high 233 yards on 36 carries and one touchdown.
Souza's top receiver is junior wide receiver Dwayne Smith (6-3, 194), who has 39 catches for 512 yards and two touchdowns.
Grigsby, a Buck Buchanan Award candidate, is the leader on defense. The 6-0, 245 junior leads the team with 122 total tackles, including 11 for losses and three sacks.
He's joined by senior linebacker Gean Gilot (6-0, 202), who has 100 tackles, including 15 behind the line of scrimmage.
The Redbirds have some good kickers also. Punters Troy Maskel and Ryan Hoffman, both sophomores, have combined to average over 40 yards per attempt. Hoffman is averaging 44.1 on 20 kicks and Maskel 39.1 on 29 kicks.
Placekicker Stephen Carroll, a junior, is 10-of-13 in field goals, including a long of 50 yards. He is also perfect in points after touchdown, making 19 straight.
mollica@vindy.com