Penguins anxious for good game start

By Pete Mollica

YOUNGSTOWN — Dana Brown has always been a hard running tailback, but these days the 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior for Youngstown State is in a new role as the Penguins’ starting fullback.

After a record-breaking career at Clairton High School in Clairton, Pa., Brown was recruited to play tailback at the University of Iowa. But after three seasons (one of them a redshirt year), Brown had just four carries for 16 yards and one touchdown.

He decided to transfer to Youngstown State and has been a good acquisition.

Last season, he played as a reserve tailback and finished with 259 yards on 73 carries and one touchdown.

This season with a host of returning tailbacks and some early season injuries, he was moved to fullback where he has been a standout performer.

“It’s still football,” Brown said. “Fullback is a lot more physical position and a lot less carrying the football, but I’m here to do what’s best for this football team.”

Playing in three of the Penguins’ four games (he missed one game with injuries), Brown has rushed for 128 yards on 27 carries and hasn’t scored a touchdown.

He’s been a standout blocker that has helped starting tailback Kevin Smith to 313 yards and two touchdowns.

He had his best game in the Penguins’ 38-21 win at Northeastern University when he rushed for 63 yards on 11 carries.

Last week, the Penguins (3-1) scored a 28-0 win over Indiana State, using a 21-point fourth quarter against the Sycamores for their first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory.

After spending the last two weeks on the road, the Penguins will return home on Saturday to take on Missouri State at Stambaugh Stadium in another MVFC contest. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

“Last week was a good conference win,” Brown said. “Anytime you win on the road ,it’s a good win.”

Still, the Penguins have struggled early in all three of their victories and Brown has noticed.

“Looking at the numbers, you obviously want to perform better early in the game, but putting up 21 points in the fourth quarter was still pretty impressive,” he said.

“We’re going to work very hard this week to get things going earlier in the game and still have that strong finish,” he said.

“It’s good to be back home after two long road trips. Last week, we spent 16 hours in a bus and it feels good not to have those travel worries this week.”

The Penguins play their next two games at home and three of their next four. All are conference games.

“We expect a real dogfight on Saturday because Missouri State lost their league opener and they are going to come in here ready to play,” he said. “We can’t afford to come out flat against them on Saturday.

Brown said that he can’t pinpoint what has been the problems early in the game for the Penguins, but he knows that the team will work it out.

“Right now we are taking one game at a time and trying to get one more win,” he said.

In his senior season for Clairton, he rushed for 2,147 yards on 222 carries and scored 36 touchdowns including a single-game record of 214 yards and four touchdowns on six carries in the team’s first playoff game.

He concluded his high school career with 3,491 yards on 465 carries and 52 touchdowns.

mollica@vindy.com