GATEWAY FOOTBALL Struggling Penguins face home challenge

Northern Iowa, Saturday's opponent, also is 0-2 in the Gateway Conference.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State football team faces a crucial test in its season Saturday when it plays host to Northern Iowa in a Gateway Conference game at Stambaugh Stadium.
Kickoff for the homecoming contest is 4 p.m.
The Penguins (2-4, 0-2 Gateway) have lost consecutive games to Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois.
Northern Iowa also has struggled. The Panthers are 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Gateway, with losses to Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.
YSU has struggled on both sides of the ball, and coach Jon Heacock said the Penguins have giving opponents too much help.
Costly turnovers
YSU has been hurt by turnovers on offense and giving up the big play on defense, including last week's 37-2 loss to the Salukis.
"They [Southern Illinois] are a very talented football team, but we certainly didn't help ourselves," Heacock said.
"When you go up against a good team like Southern Illinois you can figure that there are going to be bad things happen in the game, but we didn't handle those things very well."
Nobody has taken the losses harder than Heacock.
"It's killing me inside," the head coach said. "I'm fortunate that I'm blessed with some great senior leaders who still care very much about this team."
Disappointing season
Another loss will be disastrous to the Penguins' already disappointing season. Northern Iowa is in the same situation.
"They're a lot like we are this year," Heacock said. "They've also been giving up the big play and they've been struggling running the football. They are still a very good and very dangerous football team."
Heacock said that the Penguins' injury situation has improved.
Running back Monquantae Gibson is still questionable. The 6-foot, 205-pound sophomore from Louisville, Ky., missed all of last week's game and played sparingly against Western Kentucky. He still leads the team in rushing (87-487).
Sophomore fullback Demetrius Ison and sophomore center Ryan Jewell will be back in the starting lineup after coming off injuries last week, while redshirt freshman linebacker James Terry returns after missing last week's game with bruised ribs.
Senior place kicker Nick Terracina, who had a muscle pull in his leg, should be back to full strength, along with junior long snapper Tanner Dunlap, who was injured last Saturday.
Punter Joe Bishop had his best game last Saturday. The 5-10, 190-pound sophomore from Canton tied his career high of nine punts and his career-best 401 total yards ranks as the fifth-best in YSU history.
He also had a career-long punt with a 70-yard effort in the first quarter, which tied the record for the fifth-longest in school history. It also is tied for the longest punt in the Gateway this season with Illinois State's Ryan Hoffman.
Penguin notes
In addition to homecoming, Saturday's game also will honor the 2004 Athletic Hall of Fame class at halftime.
This year's class is: Donna Djorovic, basketball; Mona Jackson, track; Reggie Kemp, basketball; Angelo Pezzoulo, Chris Sammarone, Randy Smith and Lester Weaver, football; and Denise DeBartolo York and John York, contributors.
mollica@vindy.com