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Hess, Cook named first team all-MVFC
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
As far as YSU sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess was concerned, he was at the wrong press conference on Monday.
Hess, who set several single-season school records this fall, joined junior running back Jamaine Cook as the only two Penguins selected to the first team of the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference team.
But while he acknowledged “it’s a pretty exclusive club to be in,” Hess would have rather been talking about his next game.
“There’s only one team that [wins] a national title and that’s the one we want,” he said.
Hess expected to be in the mix for that title before a 38-34 loss to Missouri State in the season finale dashed YSU’s playoff hopes.
“It was hard for awhile,” he said. “It definitely kind of caught us off guard and these are things we have to live with as a team.
“Going through these experiences together, it’s going to help us down the road.”
Hess (6-foot-3, 235 pounds), who shared the honor with Northern Iowa senior Tirrell Rennie, set school records for single-season touchdown passes (26), completion percentage (64.5), 200-yard games (eight), touchdown passes in consecutive games (11) and touchdown passes in a game (five vs. Missouri State) as the Penguins finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the MVFC.
Hess was just the second sophomore in the 27-year history of the conference to be named first-team quarterback, joining Illinois State’s Kevin Glenn (1998).
He also was just the second quarterback in YSU history to earn first team all-conference honors, joining Trenton Lykes in 1987 (Ohio Valley Conference).
“To be named and recognized is an honor,” said Hess, the 2010 MVFC freshman of the year. “It shows where the program is headed.”
Cook set career highs in yards (1,386), yards per game (126) and touchdowns (13), tying a school record at midseason with six straight 100-yard games.
Senior DT Andrew Johnson and junior center Mark Pratt earned second team honors, while freshman LB Teven Williams, sophomore guard Chris Elkins and freshman WR Christian Bryan earned honorable mention.