Summers Ignites YSU

College football | Week 3

Penguins QB scores 3 TDs in big win near Boston

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Senior quarterback Brandon Summers had one of those days most quarterbacks only dream about.

Summers ran for three touchdowns on Saturday, including a 73-yard game-breaker in the final two minutes, as he led the Youngstown State football team to its second straight victory, 38-21 over Northeastern at Parsons Field.

Summers threw one touchdown pass and even caught a pass, although the Penguins once again had to rally from an early deficit against the Huskies.

It was only the second win in five tries for the Penguins at Parsons Field and their first win here since 1990 as the Huskies suffered their third straight loss.

Summers’ 73-yard touchdown run was the longest by a quarterback in school history. He also had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

His reception came in the first half on an end-around pass from senior wide receiver Aaron Pitts. It covered 19 yards and put the ball at the Northeastern 1-yard line where Summers scored on the next play.

The 6-foot-2, 210 pounder finished 16 of 24 for 159 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked three times.

His touchdown pass was to junior wide receiver Dominique Barnes, covering 32 yards just before haltime to tie the contest, 14-14.

For the second straight week, the Penguins started out in the hole because of a special teams breakdown. Last week it was a blocked punt. Saturday, it was a 76-yard punt return off the Penguins’ first punt of the game.

“I don’t know what it is, but we’ve got to figure out what it is real quick,” YSU coach Jon Heacock said. “We were behind the 8-ball again and the pressure was building in the first half. We settled down in the second half and that proved to be the difference.”

Heacock said Summers’ long touchdown run was the “safe play” to call.

“It was a safe call because there was no handoff and it was just one guy, who if he makes it good, if not we end up punting,” Heacock said. “It was a great call by Brian [offensive coordinator Brian Wright].

The Huskies stopped the Penguins quickly on their opening drive. Senior Ben Nowicki boomed the kick and Tony Lott hauled it in at his own 24, cut up the middle and then outside behind the wall and saw nothing but daylight.

Summers’ first interception came on the next series, but the YSU defense came to the rescue. Then the Penguins drove 84 yards in 13 plays to tie the score, set up by the Pitts-to-Summers pass and his 1-yard sneak.

Northeastern wouldn’t go away, regaining the lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Alex Dulski to Greg Abelli. But when YSU’s Jordan Edwards recovered a Huskie fumble at midfield, the Penguins came right back to even the score. Summers and Barnes connected on the 32-yard pass with 36 seconds remaining in the half.

YSU opened the second half by completing an onside kick. Junior Stephen Blose dropped the ball perfectly and junior Brandian Ross recovered at the YSU 43.

The Penguins settled for a 36-yard field goal from Blose.

They came back several minutes later to score again when junior Andre Elliott picked off a Dulski pass at the Huskies 30 yard line and returned it for a touchdown.

“That ball looked like a big balloon coming down,” Elliott said. “I was watching the quarterback and saw he was in trouble and then the ball went up and I knew that I had six points.”

After an exchange of interceptions (first by YSU Sir Demarco Bledsoe and then by Northeastern’s Darryl Jones), the Huskies got their final score.

It came on a 60-yard drive in 12 plays and was capped by a 2-yard run by Tony Torres.

The Penguns got a big break early in the final quarter when Northeastern’s punter Ron Conway let one get away from him. It traveled just 12 yards and the Penguins started from the Huskies’ 22.

Seven plays later, Summers scored from the 1.

After the YSU defense stopped the Huskies on fourth down and a foot from the YSU 8-yard line, the Penguins had a little more than three minutes to kill.

Getting out to the 27, they had a third-and-10 when Summers took the snap, faked left and then bootlegged right, turned the corner and bolted 73 yards.

“I first thought I was out of shape,” Summers said. “When I took the snap, I thought I’d get 10 yards then down it, but when I saw Donald Jones take out the only guy in front of me, I just took off.”

mollica@vindy.com