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Barnes leaves legacy at wide receiver
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Youngstown State Dominique Barnes catches a 33-yard pass from Penguins quarterback Kurt Hess for a fi rst-quarter touchdown during Saturday’s game against South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
On Saturday afternoon, YSU senior wide receiver Dominique Barnes will make the walk up the tunnel to the Stambaugh Stadium field for the last time as a player.
The air might get a little dustier than usual.
“I might get a little emotional,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of games in this stadium. I remember my freshman year, the first touchdown I caught here, the first pass I caught here.
“I’ve played a lot of games at YSU under the old staff and the new staff.”
Barnes has caught 57 passes for a career-best 779 yards this fall. He needs four catches to pass his career-high, set last season, and become the only Penguin to catch at least 60 passes in two seasons.
Either way, he will finish his career near the top of almost every receiving category in YSU history.
“He’s helped me a lot,” said quarterback Kurt Hess, who has thrown for more yards (1,926) than any freshman in school history. “He’s one of those guys who’s a playmaker. He extends plays and makes great catches.
“He’s a special player.”
Last week, Barnes broke a three-way tie for second on the school’s all-time receiving list and needs 70 yards this week to become the seventh Penguin to eclipse 2,000 for his career. He already holds the school record for consecutive games with a catch.
“I’m not going to sit here and lie and say I don’t pay attention to it,” Barnes said of his place in the record books. “I do.
“But I’d turn in all my records just to get this last win for myself and all the seniors and the team.”
This has been a bittersweet season for Barnes and the rest of the YSU offense. The Penguins are averaging 32 points per game (third-best in school history) and 408 yards per game (best in school history). But a six-game losing streak, dotted with some of the most heartbreaking losses imaginable, has left the Penguins with a 3-7 record and nothing left to play for but pride.
Overall, Barnes would give the Penguins a C.
“We played pretty average this season,” he said. “The offense did some good things and bad things, the defense did some good things and bad things at times.
“We’re better than 3-7, everybody knows that. If a couple plays had been different, we’d be sitting here 7-2, 7-3 and everybody would be getting ready for the playoffs.”
Instead, they’re getting ready for the end of the season — or, in Barnes’ case, the end of their college careers.
“I think the future is bright, though,” he said of YSU. “I think in the next few years, Youngstown State is gonna make some noise.”