Penguins’ spiral continues

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FOOTBALL - (8) Lilton Morris of East blocks the punt of Anthony Cornwell during their game Saturday afternoon. - Special to The Vindicator/Nick Mays

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FOOTBALL - (8) Lilton Morris of East is hit by (8) Lerone Burley during their game Saturday afternoon. - Special to The Vindicator/Nick Mays

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FOOTBALL - (8) Lilton Morris of East tries to strip the ball from (15) Carlos Colon during their game Saturday afternoon. - Special to The Vindicator/Nick Mays

No playoffs again and if the Penguins don’t right the ship quickly it could be another losing season.

Saturday’s 17-3 loss to South Dakota State was definitely not the worst game Youngstown State played this year. In fact, they didn’t play all that poorly.

The Jackrabbits are a very good football team and might be the best team in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They will find out for sure on Saturday when they play host to Southern Illinois for sole possession of first place.

Both the Jackrabbits and Salukis are 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference. The winner will get the league’s automatic bid into the playoffs and the other will be an at-large selection.

With four losses, the Penguins (4-4, 2-3) don’t have any hope for the postseason. They are also going to have to play very well over their last three games to avoid another losing season.

Especially when you figure that next up for the Penguins is Northern Iowa — in Cedar Falls — a team that owns an eight-game winning streak over the Penguins.

YSU has lost 11 of the last 13 contests with the Panthers and haven’t won at the UNI-Dome since 1999 season they posted a 29-20 win on their way their sixth appearance in the NCAA national championship game.

That seems like an eternity ago.

Saturday the Penguins were not at their best, but they certainly weren’t at their worst.

Offensively they moved the football up and down the field against the Jackrabbits, yet came away with just three points.

Again turnovers hurt the Penguins. This time it was only one, the interception to start the second half after they had battled the Jackrabbits on even terms through the first two quarters.

That play definitely hurt the Penguins, but after South Dakota State scored to take the lead, YSU still had over 26 minutes of playing time to rally but they never did.

Senior quarterback Brandon Summers has struggled and has 13 interceptions in eight games. Eleven of them have come in the last six games. He’s now had five games with multiple interceptions.

It hasn’t been all his fault. A lot of time he’s running for his life, several times passes went through his receivers’ hands or were tipped to the opposition. But everyone, including Summers himself, expected much more from him this year.

The Penguins have had just 123 yards rushing in the last two games combined.

The defense has played well for the most part, but Saturday they allowed the Jackrabbits to control the ball with long drives which led to a five-minute advantage in time of possession.

Four losses already this season is disappointing. So is the fact that the Penguins have been to the playoffs just once in the last nine seasons.

Nobody works any harder than YSU coach Jon Heacock. The man spends 15 to 18 hours a day trying to get the Penguins ready. But it’s not working.

Nobody is more dedicated to the seniors than Heacock, but maybe it’s time for some changes. Every week sophomore Marc Kanetsky is listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, but the former Hubbard standout has had only a handful of snaps in an actual game this year.

Freshman tailback Jamaine Cook has seen some action of late and has looked very good in the past two games.

There is no doubt the expectations were very high going into this season, but the Penguins just haven’t lived up to those expectations.

The basketball season will get underway this week, at least for the women’s team, which will play an exhibition game on Friday night at Beeghly Center.

Next week the women take part in a two-day tournament at Elon, N.C., on Nov. 13-14. The YSU men’s team is set to begin the season also on Nov. 13 at Xavier.

The men’s home opener will be on Nov. 15 against Hiram College at 4:05 p.m. and then both teams will play host to Kent State in a doubleheader on Nov. 18 with the women playing the Flashes at 5:15 and the men to follow at 7:45.

XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.