YSU falls to Redbirds, 54-44, for sixth loss in row

By JUSTIN ROSENBERG

NORMAL, Ill. — Even when the two teams combine to score 98 points or collectively gain 1,057 yards on 142 plays, the old adage rings true: The difference between winning and losing is one or two plays.

The 11,615 fans who packed Hancock Stadium on Saturday saw those one or two plays work to the advantage of Illinois State University, as Youngstown State (2-8) dropped its sixth straight game, 54-44.

“There were a couple of key plays, impact plays that we really needed to get it done, but we didn’t,” Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock said.

One of those impact plays occurred immediately after quarterback Brandon Summers threw his third of four touchdown passes, a 28-yard strike to Derrick Bush that gave the Penguins a 37-33 lead early in the fourth quarter. The slight advantage held up for 14 seconds.

That’s how long it took Chris Garrett to return the ensuing kickoff 93 yards, recapturing a lead that the Redbirds wouldn’t relinquish.

“We were disappointed,” Heacock said. “You kick the ball. You practice it. And you cover them. Those are impact plays that you have to make. You’ve got to be able to go out there, kick them the ball and tackle them. We didn’t. And give them credit, they blocked us.”

The kickoff proved to be the turning point in a game that seemed destined to be won by the team that held the ball last. The game, however, was dominated by Walter Mendenhall’s career rushing effort.

Making his first career start for the Redbirds, the former University of Illinois product produced the second 200-yard rushing performance allowed by Youngstown State this season. He finished with 227 yards on 35 carries and crossed the end zone three times.

“You have to play defense and stop the run,” Heacock said. “We knew they were going to run, and we couldn’t stop them. You have to give them credit. He is a tremendous back. You don’t go play for where he came to play from if you’re not very good.”

Despite Mendenall’s monster performance, the Penguins ground game actually held a slim lead in rushing yards through three quarters before leading rusher Kamryn Keys (19 carries, 94 yards) was held out for the fourth quarter.

“He was tired,” Heacock said. “We’re down to a couple of backs with all the injuries. He was doing a whole bunch of different duties. We just tried to go with the fresh body.”

Summers had another career day behind center for Youngstown State, tossing his second 300-yard game of the season.

The sophomore quarterback finished the afternoon with 347 yards on 20-for-34 passing. Even with his monster performance, combined with four touchdown passes and an additional 30 yards rushing, Summers was disappointed by his role in the loss.

“It doesn’t feel good,” Summers said of his gaudy statistics. “I had to do more for us to come out with a victory.”

Dana Brown (six carries, 21 yards) did his best to pick up the slack for Youngstown State, but the junior running back was stopped on a third-and-1 midway through the fourth quarter before being stopped again on fourth-and-one. The Redbirds took over at midfield and two Mendenall runs later increased their lead to 47-37.

“Our defense was struggling a bit, and we just felt that we had to try to keep the ball away from them. It didn’t work, and it backfired on us,” Heacock said.