Penguins prefer playoffs

It was an exciting week for the Youngstown State football program. First came the official announcement that the Penguins will play Penn State on Sept. 16, 2006, its first game against a Big Ten program.
Just prior to the Penn State announcement it was learned that Jon Heacock was named Division I-AA regional coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association.
Saturday afternoon the Penguins held their awards banquet and the seniors walked away, and very befittingly, with almost all the awards.
As great as all these honors are for the Penguins, there isn't one player or coach who wouldn't trade any of it for the opportunity to still be playing in the postseason. And they should have been.
Being left outisn't acceptable
Heacock still hasn't recovered from the fact that the Penguins were passed up for this year's 16 team I-AA playoff field and the more he thinks about it the angrier he gets.
"I know that it's happened to us before, but there were circumstances then that made the decision acceptable, this time it did not," he said.
The fact that the Penguins won a share of the Gateway Conference championship is the one thing that made it so hard to accept. The Penguins chose not to play Maine last season, a last-place team in the Atlantic 10 and a sure win for the Penguins. Instead they took a money game against Pittsburgh and were buried 41-0.
It's possible a similar fate awaits them against the Nittany Lions. A win over Maine would have given YSU a 9-2 record -- including eight I-AA wins -- and a sure berth in the playoffs.
Pitt-type gamesserve a purpose
"I still don't look at it that way," Heacock said. "The Pitt game, despite the loss, was a great experience for our football team and so will the game next year at Penn State.
"Most of the teams in our conference play a game against a top Division I-A team," he said. "It is great for recruiting and to stay in competition with the rest of our conference we need those games."
Heacock said athletic director Ron Strollo is doing everything in his power to schedule more I-AA teams, even the non-scholarship schools.
Right now the Penguins have just Maine and Penn State on their non-conference schedule for next season. Two dates remain open and they need to be home contests.
Strollo knows he can get Division II Slippery Rock for the opener if needed, but he would rather not. But the problem is that schools aren't knocking down Strollo's door to get a game against the Penguins.
"I've contacted no less than 30 schools from I-AA non-scholarship teams along with other I-AA conferences and as of yet my phone hasn't rung once," Strollo said.
"This has been and always will be our biggest problem," added Heacock. "You still have to have some help on the other end to make it work."
Basketball teamsnot off to good start
While the football team had a good week, the same can't be said for the YSU men's and women's basketball teams.
The men have dropped three straight on the road and five overall, but at least has shown some improvement, especially in their loss at St. Bonaventure.
The Bonnies are probably the best of the three teams the Penguins played last week and YSU played a complete game against them before falling, 66-58.
The women on the other hand are reeling. They also have dropped three straight, but their effort has gone from bad to worse after Saturday's 69-48 loss to Eastern Michigan.
Both teams are taking final exams this week and will return to the court Saturday afternoon for the second doubleheader of the season. The women will play Indiana State in the opener at 1 p.m., while the men take on Duquesne in the second game at 3:25 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.