In spite of the Ohio State emotion, YSU tight end feels right at home

Louis Irizarry led Penguin receivers against the Buckeyes.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State senior tight end Louis Irizarry enjoyed playing the season opener last Saturday against Ohio State. But the Penguins’ co-captain is really looking forward to playing Saturday’s home opener.

The Penguins, who played well against the Buckeyes in a 38-6 defeat, will play the first of their seven games at Stambaugh Stadium Saturday against South Dakota State at 6 p.m.

“Playing last week at Ohio State was an emotional time for me,” said Irizarry, who was a member of the Buckeyes in 2003 before ending up at Youngstown State.

“It really hit me once I ran out onto the field Saturday, but I was able to collect myself after we came back into the locker room and things went fairly well after that,” he added.

“It was a great experience and to be able to stand in there and hold our own for most of the game will be a tremendous confidence builder for us the rest of the season,” he said.

“There is definitely things that we need to improve on offensively, especially our consistency. There was a good feeling there once it was over, but after the initial emotion of being there it was just another football game.”

Excitement

Irizarry, who played at Ursuline High, said this week’s home opener is something that really has him excited.

“This is our turf and this is our home opener and we want to make it something special for everyone,” he said.

“This is home to me,” he added. “I’ve been playing games here since 1999, first with Ursuline, and even before that as I was a youngster growing up here.

“I love this place, and the fact that my parents and family will be here each and every game makes it that much more special to me.”

Irizarry led the YSU receivers with four catches for 19 yards against the Buckeyes. His longest was 12 yards, but he felt it could have been much better.

“There were a couple of drops and a couple of other mistakes that we need to correct this week, but the key factor is that those are correctable and that’s what we’ll be working on this week in practice,” he said.

“We are not going to have an easy time on Saturday. South Dakota State is a good football team and it’s definitely going to be a tough game,” he said.

“But it’s our home opener on our turf and that will also be something special for Youngstown.”

Coach’s take

YSU coach Jon Heacock is also happy to be playing before the home fans.

“You always look forward to getting back home,” he said. “This is where we play, where we practice and it’s special to me being the head coach.”

“There are 365 days in the year and we are scheduled to play 11 games in the regular season,” he said. “That means that we’ll spend over 350 days just preparing for those games.”

The Penguins will be at home for the next four weeks. They play host to Stony Brook on Sept. 15, Lock Haven on Sept. 22 and then open the Gateway Conference schedule Sept. 29 against Missouri State.

mollica@vindy.com