43
YSU hopes to avenge ’10 loss to W. Illinois
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Picking the worst loss of YSU’s 2010 season is like picking your least favorite vegetable — fruitless and bound to leave a bad taste in your mouth — but last year’s Western Illinois game was at least at the lima bean level.
The Penguins were on a two-game conference losing streak that would eventually reach seven but it wasn’t until blowing a 38-34 lead in the final minutes in Macomb that their playoff hopes essentially ended. YSU had the ball with just over two minutes left but couldn’t convert on third-and-4, punting the ball back to the Leathernecks, who went 80 yards in less than 90 seconds to win the game.
“It was a tough loss and it was very emotional,” said quarterback Kurt Hess, “just like all the losses were last year.”
After going 1-10 in 2009, that Western Illinois team finished 8-5, losing in the second round of the playoffs.
But with the graduation of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s offensive (QB Matt Barr) and defensive (LB Kyle Glazier) players of the year, WIU has fallen back to earth.
The Leathernecks (2-5, 1-3) are coming off a 31-17 loss to previously winless Missouri State and rank next-to-last in the conference in points per game (17.0), total offense (319.4 yards per game), total defense (432.4), rushing offense (108.0), rushing defense (218.0) and pass defense (155.3).
YSU, meanwhile, is at or near the top of the conference in nearly every offensive category and could be tempted to look past WIU, particularly with road games against Northern Iowa and North Dakota State looming.
“We can’t look past anybody,” YSU coach Eric Wolford said. “We haven’t accomplished anything where we can start looking past people. You see every week in college football, a team that’s expected to win and is a double digit favorite, goes out and doesn’t play well.
“We’re not at that stage [where we can assume a victory]. We can’t look past a single team we play.”
WIU’s top offensive weapon is WR Terriun Crump, who leads the league in receiving yards (41) and is third in catches (41).
QB Josh Hudson has been efficient, completing 95 of 157 passes for 1,313 yards, 11 TDs and six interceptions, but the team’s running game hasn’t been much of a factor, in part because the Leathernecks have trailed in several games.
Defensively, Kevin Palermo has stepped into Glazier’s “Leatherneck” position in the team’s 3-4 setup, compiling 63 tackles and four tackles for loss.
“It’s going to be a good challenge,” Wolford said. “They’re very well-coached. They’ll come here in and obviously have confidence from last year that they can play with us.”