Danger zone: YSU’s loss hurts playoff chances

The Penguins couldn’t get untracked against Illinois State.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Disappointment is only a word and what the Youngstown State football team felt Saturday afternoon can’t be put into words.

The Penguins (5-3, 1-2 Gateway) suffered a 27-22 loss to Illinois State before 18,616 fans at Stambaugh Stadium.

It was homecoming and the YSU Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2007 was honored at halftime, but none of that could get the Penguins untracked. The loss puts a big damper on their postseason playoff hopes.

Illinois State (4-4, 2-2) made the plays when it needed to coming up with 11 crucial third down conversions out of 21, compared to the Penguins’ 4-of-15.

“You’ve got to give them credit, they played very well today and made the plays when they needed them,” YSU head coach Jon Heacock said.

“It’s disappointing, but we’ve got to move on,” Heacock said. “We still have three games remaining and two of them are against the top teams in the conference.”

The loss means the best record the Penguins can earn is 8-3 if they win out. The loss all but eliminates them from a chance of a share of the conference title. And it probably means they are in a situation where they will have to depend on the NCAA selection committee for an at-large playoff berth.

Against Illinois State, the injury-riddled Penguins couldn’t come up with the plays when they needed them. Three times they got into position to score, but all three times they had to settle for a Brian Palmer field goal.

The junior placekicker from Mineral Ridge was perfect on his attempts from 37, 41 and 40 yards.

“We’re the only ones who can fix the problem,” Heacock said. “It starts with better preparation and we’ve got to find ways to do it better.

“We’re beat up, we’ve got guys playing on one leg out there and guys playing positions they’ve never played before, but we’ve still got to get it going and make it work,” Heacock said.

The Penguins gave up 453 yards in total offense to the Redbirds — 175 rushing and 278 on the passing arm of senior quarterback Luke Drone who was 19-of-31 without an interception.

YSU finished with 307 total yards — 152 rushing and 155 passing. Senior quarterback Tom Zetts was 14-of-31 with one interception and that came on a final “Hail Mary” pass on the Penguins’ final offensive play.

The Penguins dominated the game early, taking the opening kickoff and breezing down the field on a 58-yard drive that was capped off by junior Kevin Smith’s 1-yard run.

After stopping the Redbirds, the Penguins drove again with Smith ripping off a 17-yard run and Zetts hitting Ferlando Williams with an 11-yard pass.

But the drive stalled at the Redbirds 20 and Palmer came on to make the score 10-0.

The Redbirds didn’t waste any time getting on the board. On the first play after the kickoff, tailback Geno Blow ripped through a big hole and outran the YSU defense for a 77-yard touchdown run.

Again, the Penguins battled right back and sparked by a 37-yard run by Williams, moved to the Redbirds 24, But they could get no closer as Palmer again came in and split the uprights from 41 yards out.

The Redbirds then came back to tie the game on a pair of field goals by Steven Fetzer, the first from 47 yards out and the second from 36 yards.

When the Penguins couldn’t move again, the Redbirds drove to take the lead for the first time. Drone fired a long pass and Jason Horton and YSU’s Vince Gliatta both went for the ball. Somehow Horton came down with it and Gliatta fell to the ground, leaving Horton all alone to complete a 69-yard scoring play for a 20-13 halftime lead.

Palmer’s third field goal, a 40-yard kick, pulled the Penguins to within 20-16, but the Redbirds put together a 97-yard drive, 14 play drive to take command.

Drove hit six of seven passes in the drive, three of them on third down and the final one for 14 yards to Kevett Mickle for the touchdown.

The Penguins got some life back when junior punt returner De’Angelo Wilson returned a Redbird punt 76 yards from his own 21 to the Illinois State 3-yard line.

Two plays later Smith added his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run.

But the Penguins just couldn’t make anything happen again as they drove down to the Redbirds 32. On fourth down, senior Louis Irizarry, who was playing despite an injured hand, couldn’t hang on to a Zetts pass over the middle.

mollica@vindy.com