Burns, Cayson among winners

The two offensive standouts helped the Penguins to a 35-11 win.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mike Burns has waited a long time to be a starter in the Youngstown State football backfield, and he made the most of his first start Thursday night.
The 6-foot-1, 240-pound tailback, an All-Ohio selection at Niles McKinley High, helped the Penguins to a 35-11 victory in their season opener against Edinboro University last Thursday.
Burns rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns in the victory, and was named the MVR offensive player of the game.
But he still wasn't satisfied with the team's overall effort.
"I thought we started a little slow, but we picked it up near the end of the second quarter and put a couple of scores on the board," Burns said.
"We played pretty well overall, but there are still things that we need to work on, but as long as we keep improving each and every day we'll get to where we need to be," he added.
Radio team picks Cayson
Burns shared the spotlight with sophomore tailback Josh Cayson, a former standout at Warren JFK, who was named the Haines Family Player of the Game by the YSU radio broadcasters.
Cayson led all rushers with 136 yards on 10 carries, including a 73-yard touchdown run the first time he touched the football in the second quarter.
The 5-11, 171-pound speedster sat out the 2002 season after failing to meet the NCAA academic requirements, but has come on strong this year.
"I was a little nervous, it being my first game in college football, but once I got the football all those jitters were gone and I just followed my blocking like the coaches told me to do," Cayson said.
Sophomore Brandon Brown, a former Ursuline High standout, was named the MVR defensive player of the game by the coaching staff.
The 6-1, 246-pound defensive end accounted for five solo tackles and three assists and also was involved in two tackles for losses.
Redshirt freshman Joe Bishop, who took over this season as the Penguins punter, also had a good day, although his overall average didn't show his efforts.
Two kicks inside the 10
The 5-10, 185-pounder from St. Thomas Aquinas High averaged 31.3 yards on three punts, but two of those kicks were downed inside the Edinboro 10-yard line. Bishop was named the MVR's special teams player of the game.
Junior tight end Mike Roberts earned the Jim Zdelar offensive lineman of the game award. The 6-0, 235-pounder from Plant City, Fla., caught two passes for 23 yards, one of them a 14-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Aaron Marshall.
Roberts was also outstanding on the offensive line, helping the Penguins to 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
The Jermaine Hopkins defensive lineman award went to junior Matt Porter, a junior college transfer from Yuba City, Calif.
The 6-3, 262-pounder finished with three total tackles in the game playing in a backup role to Steve Durbin at nose tackle.
The Wash-on-Wheels Derrick Pixley hit of the game was made by sophomore linebacker Mike Andrews.
mollica@vindy.com