Penguins play for pride over final three contests

By Pete Mollica

Injuries have caused a lot of headaches for the coaching staff at YSU this fall.

YOUNGSTOWN — Despite his team’s 2-7 record (1-4 Missouri Valley Football Conference) Youngstown State head coach Jon Heacock won’t be changing a thing as he gets his Penguins ready for Saturday’s road contest at Illinois State.

Heacock and the Penguins have been through a lot this season, especially with injuries that have left a majority of his starting players on the sidelines.

Still Heacock knows that he has three games remaining on the schedule and he wants to do everything in his power to win them.

“The challenge this week for our football team will be the same as it has been for every game this year,” Heacock said. “We’re going out there all this week and preparing to win, just as we have every week.”

Problem is, almost every week the preparation involves a different group of players.

“What it comes down to is that you have to take the players you have and try and become the best team that you can be,” he added. “Unfortunately we’ve been doing it with a different group each week.

“Right now we’re going to take the team we have this week and get it to play the best that it can.”

The Penguins have lost five straight games, three of them at home. Saturday, they play an Illinois State team which is also struggling at 2-5, 1-3 MVFC. The Redbirds have lost three straight.

“You can really throw out the records when these two teams play,” added Heacock. “I can remember back in 1993, a year we won the national championship, we went up there and lost. Then two years ago when they were ranked No. 3 in the country we went up there and won.”

Heacock said this year’s Redbird team is still very dangerous.

“They run the football very well and if we’re not able to stop the run we could be in trouble,” he added. “They have improved defensively and their special teams are as good as anybody in our league.”

Last week in a heartbreaking 21-20 loss to No. 4 ranked Northern Iowa, Heacock had two players return off the injury list in junior quarterback Brandon Summers and sophomore defensive nose tackle Torrance Nicholson.

But two other key players were missing from the lineup in senior wide receiver Ferlando Williams and senior tight end Derrick Bush.

“Ferlando definitely won’t play and is probably done for the season,” Heacock said. “Bush is still a day-to-day decision, but nobody else will be returning to the lineup this week.”

The return of Summers to the offense is a big plus for the Penguins. He was rusty last week, but still threw for two touchdowns against the Panthers.

“He’s the guy who’s had the most reps this season and he gives us our best chance to win,” he added.

Last week the Penguins opened the game with a successful onside kickoff by sophomore Stephen Blose. Although it didn’t result in any points, it could have been a major factor in the game had the Penguins scored.

“We watched a lot of film on Northern Iowa before the game and we watched the way they lined up on the kicks and we felt that we had a chance to pull it off,” Heacock said.

On the blocked extra point, which proved crucial to the Penguins, Heacock said it was a combination of the snap being a little off and the kick by senior placekicker Brian Palmer being a little low.

Illinois State comes into the contest having a problem hanging onto the football. The Redbirds have lost nine fumbles, thrown 10 interceptions and have a turnover margin of minus-12.

“It has definitely hurt them this year and we have to find a way to get more turnovers from them this week,” Heacock said.

Heacock was asked about how difficult it would be to get the Penguins mentally prepared to play three games that don’t mean much.

“I’m a competitive person and I want to win,” he said. “You compete to win and not winning isn’t a lot of fun. We have to play until there is no more time left in this season. That’s what we’re suppose to do and it’s my job to get them to do that.”