Penguins place emphasis on special teams

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YSU head coach Jon Heacock

Coach Jon Heacock doesn’t want Saturday’s game with Pittsburgh to be decided on a kickoff or punt play.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — There are a lot of areas in a football game, such as Saturday’s matchup between Youngstown State and Pittsburgh, that can turn a game around, but YSU coach Jon Heacock said none is more important than special teams play.

The Penguins and the Panthers will clash at 1 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field. It is the second meeting between the teams. The first one in 2005 ended with the Panthers posting a 41-0 victory.

“Special teams is always going to play an important role in any football game because it’s the one play that can turn a game around very quickly,” Heacock said.

“A kickoff or punt return, a blocked punt, a missed field goal; all of those things can turn a game around quickly,” he added.

Heacock feels the Panthers are definitely at an advantage where special teams are concerned.

“It’s where the numbers game can make a big difference,” he added. “Those 20 or 25 more players that they have on the roster can really come in to make a difference where special teams is concerned.

“We know that we are going to use all of our best athletes on those teams. The fastest players, the best tacklers will be out there,” he added.

The Penguins have been working hard on special teams all during fall camp and will continue to do so right up until kickoff on Saturday.

“We feel that we have some outstanding athletes on our special teams who are capable of making that big play which could turn a game around,” said Heacock.

The Penguins have their top kickoff returner back this year in junior Dominique Barnes. A starting wide receiver, Barnes returned 17 kickoffs for a 23.5 yard average a year ago with a long return of 57 yards.

The team’s top punt returner last year was DeAngelo Wilson, who has graduated, but Heacock feels that he’s got a good one to fill those shoes in senior Donald Jones. Jones, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound wide receiver, has great speed and is already being looked at by NFL scouts as both a wide receiver and return specialist.

The Penguins also have veterans returning in the kicking game.

Senior punter Ben Nowicki returns after averaging 41.1 yards per game on 44 attempts last season, including a long of 66 yards. Eleven of them were placed inside the opponents’ 20 yard line.

Nowicki, a junior college All-American, is backed up by former Boardman standout Erik Johnson, who punted just nine times last year, but averaged 37.3 yards per kick, and had four kicks in the season finale against Western Illinois when Nowicki was unable to play because of an injury.

Junior Stephen Blose will take over all the placekicking duties this season after spending the past two years as Brian Palmer’s backup.

Blose did handle most of the team’s kickoffs over the past two seasons, but has only kicked one field goal in his first two seasons. That came in his redshirt freshman season when he kicked a 40-yarder against Ohio State.

Blose has a strong leg, but has had problems with his consistency which he has been working hard on all during camp. He’ll have the advantage of having a veteran holder in sophomore Marc Kanetsky, who handled that position a year ago, but will have a new long snapper in redshirt freshman Bryan Whitaker, also from Boardman.

mollica@vindy.com

.........................YSU.............Pitt

Points per game 22.5............27.1

Opp. points.........29.2.........21.5

Rushing Avg..........165.7.........139.1

Passing Avg..........170.4.........203.4

Total offense.........336.1.........342.5

Att.-comp. ...........308-186.........381-213

Had intercepted.........11.........14

TD passes..................19.........10

Fumbles-lost.............18-0.........23-13

Kick Return avg. ............21.6.........20.3

Punt return avg. ...........12.0.........9.2

3rd down conversions.........63/158.....63/181

4th down conversions.........6-21.......13-19

Total touchdowns.........37.........42

Time of possession avg..........29:18.....31:22