43
Stumble at Stambaugh
Photo
OOPS: Youngstown State quarterback Brandon Summers (6) spirals out of control against Liberty Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.
By Pete Mollica
Tackling NFL prospect Rashad Jennings made for a long evening for YSU, which gave up 28 straight points.
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State football coach Jon Heacock has always believed that to win at this level, you have to be able to run the football on offense and stop the run on defense.
Saturday, his Penguins did neither.
Still, it took a 24-yard field goal by Liberty’s Matt Blevins as time expired for the Flames to upend the Penguins 31-28 before nearly 19,000 fans Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
YSU (2-3) led 14-0 in the first half, but saw Liberty (4-0) score 28 unanswered points to pull ahead before a late rally by the Penguins tied the contest with 1:29 remaining.
It was just enough time for the Flames, who amassed 454 total yards (252 of them on the ground), to drive down field for the Blevins chipshot to win the game.
“It’s really very simple,” Heacock said. “You have to be able to run the ball and you have to stop the run and tonight we didn’t do much of either.
“Give Liberty credit, they came prepared and shut down our running game and [Rashad] Jennings showed why he’s an NFL prospect.”
Jennings, a 6-1, 230 pound senior, rushed for 220 of the team’s 252 yards on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“Our tackling wasn’t very good tonight — in fact it was pretty bad, but some of that had to do with him,” Heacock said. “He’s a great back and tough to bring down.”
While Jennings was the big gun for the Flames, YSU junior quarterback Brandon Summers had a record-breaking performance.
The 6-0, 210 pounder completed a school record 32 passes on 39 attempts for 334 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 49 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown.
But he had one interception and it was a costly one.
With time running out in the first half, Summers took the Penguins from their own 34 to the Liberty 16 yard line with just 11 seconds remaining.
He rolled out and scrambled around, but then threw the ball into a crowd where Chuck Duffy intercepted it for the Flames, killing the drive.
“I told him if nobody was open to throw it out of the end zone,” Heacock said. “But he was still trying to make a play. That’s what he does.”
Summers agreed with his coach.
“I was supposed to throw it away, but I thought I could make the play and it probably cost us three points,” Summers said.
Those points were the difference in the game.
Summers completed his first 12 passes and had the Penguins ahead 14-0 when he threw a 7-yard scoring strike to Dominique Barnes on the team’s first series. Then, on the first play of the second quarter, he ran 18 yards for another score.
But the Flames came scored on their next two possessions to tie the game. The first TD came on a 3-yard run by Zach Terrell and then on a 2-yard run by Jennings.
The Flames took the lead late in the third quarter after YSU’s Ben Nowicki punted them into a hole at their own 5e. But Liberty drove 95 yards on eight plays to scored on Jennings’ 2-yard run.
The Penguins were forced to punt again, but this time Dominic Bolden returned Nowicki’s punt from his own 40 to the Penguins’ 6 yard line. On the first play, Jennings went 6 yards for the score and a 28-14 lead.
YSU got a break early in the final quarter when Andre Elliott stripped the ball from Jon Crawford and Brandian Ross recovered at midfield.
Summers then took the team quickly downfield, hitting Donald Jones with three passes, including the final one from 4 yards out.
The Penguins then forced another turnover, this one an interception by senior linebacker Mike Barlak at the YSU 36.
Again Summers took control. After missing on his first pass, he hit six straight — the last one to a wide-open Ferlando Williams from 11 yards out to tie the score.
But sophomore kicker Stephen Blose’s kickoff went out of bounds and the Flames got the ball at the 40. From there, they drove for the game-winning field goal.
mollica@vindy.com