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Penguins struggle in home loss to Leathernecks
Leathernecks’ Norvell carves up YSU;
Penguins unable to keep momentum
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Following a somewhat-surprising 30-24 loss to Western Illinois at Stambaugh Stadium, Youngstown State wide receiver Jelani Berassa didn’t want to talk about quarterback changes or offensive struggles.
He only wanted to talk about the future.
“Everything is still in front of us,” said Berassa, who said “no comment” to two questions about the offense afterward. “We’ve got one loss in the conference. It’s still early in the season. It’s not like it’s over for Youngstown State football. It’s not over at all.”
No, but if the Penguins keep playing like they did on Saturday night, it will be soon.
A week after Youngstown State put together one of its best defensive efforts in a half-decade, the Penguins had few answers for the Leathernecks and their talented quarterback, Trenton Norvell.
Norvell completed 19 of 26 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns and did some of his best work in the game’s final minutes.
After Penguins running back Jody Webb scored on a 16-yard touchdown run with 6:08 left to make it a six-point game, Norvell converted two crucial third-down passes to carve five minutes off the clock. YSU’s defense finally forced a punt with 45 seconds left, which Christian Bryan bobbled and recovered at his own 7-yard line.
The Penguins (4-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley) gained just 15 yards in three plays before backup quarterback Hunter Wells found Berassa for a 30-yard gain, giving YSU a first down at the WIU 46 with three seconds left.
Wells managed to buy enough time for a Hail Mary attempt, but Leathernecks defender Aaron Diggs knocked it down just in front of the end zone.
“It hurts,” said senior safety Donald D’Alesio, whose defense held Missouri State to a lone touchdown in last week’s 14-7 win. “We had a couple chance in the fourth quarter to get off the field and we obviously couldn’t give the offense enough time to get back and try to score a touchdown.”
YSU’s starting quarterback, Dante Nania, was yanked after managing just three points in his first two drives. Wells led the Penguins to touchdowns on each of his first two possessions to give YSU a 17-14 halftime lead, but the offense was shut out in the third quarter, gaining just 28 yards in two possessions.
By the time the Penguins regrouped, they were trailing 30-17.
Wells finished 14 of 25 for 187 yards and a touchdown, while Nania was 2 for 2 for 9 yards. Penguins coach Eric Wolford said the decision to play Wells was made earlier in the week.
“We felt like Dante brings certain strengths to the table and Hunter brings certain strengths to the table,” he said. “The original plan was to play both quarterbacks [in the second half] but Hunter got the hot hand and we decided to ride him out a little bit.”
When asked who will start next week against Southern Illinois, Wolford said, “I think it’s something we’ll visit with as a staff tomorrow. We’ll take 24 hours, kind of let the emotions settle down and look and see where we are.”
That approach is a good idea for everyone, as YSU had two players ejected and finished with 11 penalties for 88 yards.
“We have 24 hours to kind of get ourselves together here and get ready for next week,” Wolford said. “We’ve played six games thus far, we’re 4-2 and 1-1 in the conference and there’s still a lot of things ahead of us in our control.”