YSU looks to continue strong defensive play

October 11, 2014 at 12:09a.m.

WIU coming off strong

performance vs. NDSU

YOUNGSTOWN

Last Saturday, as Youngstown State safety Donald D’Alesio was boarding the plane home from Missouri State, he started talking with defensive coordinator Jamie Bryant about their next opponent, Western Illinois.

Specifically, running back, J.C. Baker.

“That’s the first thing I said — I remember how good their running back was,” D’Alesio said. “He’s good. He’s up there with the best in our conference.

“We just have to gang-tackle him and try to get after them early.”

The Penguins (4-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) are coming off arguably their best defensive performance of the Eric Wolford era, shifting the question from, “Can the defense win when the offense is struggling?” to “Can they do it again?”

“We know last week doesn’t matter anymore,” D’Alesio said. “This week we’ve got a new goal ahead of us. We’re 0-0 this week and our goal is just to get one win. That means our whole defense has to go out there and do their job again.”

Thanks to a career-high 175-yard performance from Baker, the Leathernecks (2-4, 0-2) are coming off a surprisingly close 17-10 loss to North Dakota State last weekend. Western Illinois was actually lead 10-3 entering the fourth quarter and NDSU didn’t score the game-winning touchdown until less than four minutes left.

Not bad for a team picked to finish ninth in the 10-team MVFC.

“Their record doesn’t show how good of a football team they are,” D’Alesio said.

The Leathernecks’ four losses have come against Big Ten members Wisconsin (37-3) and Northwestern (24-7) along with nationally ranked conference foes Southern Illinois (34-17) and NDSU. Things don’t get any easier today as, thanks to a scheduling quirk, the Leathernecks are making their second straight trip to Stambaugh Stadium.

YSU won last year’s meeting 24-14, outscoring the Leathernecks 10-0 in the fourth quarter. Baker had 148 yards in the game for WIU, which has lost nine of 10 to the Penguins. The lone win came in the last seconds of the 2010 game, the same year Western went 8-5 and lost to Appalachian State in the second round of the playoffs.

Offensively, this year’s Leathernecks prefer to run — despite trailing in the second half of several games, they’ve still attempted 224 rushes to 191 passes — and like to use the pass to stretch defenses vertically.

Defensively, they’re more of a bend-but-don’t break team, preferring to force teams to methodically move the ball downfield.

“We’re going to have our hands full,” YSU coach Eric Wolford said. “Another good conference game. Fortunately it’s here at home and hopefully our fans can give us a third-down advantage and make it nice and loud for those guys.”