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YSU news & notes SFlb More from Stambaugh Stadium
Wells plays well: Although YSU coach Eric Wolford said both of his quarterbacks would play against Southern Illinois, junior Dante Nania played just one snap on Saturday, carrying one time for 0 yards. (He was also at QB on an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.) True freshman Hunter Wells did the rest, completing 21 of 28 passes for 269 yards, a touchdown and an interception. “Wells had a pretty good night,” Wolford said. “I think he had one pass he’d like to get back, but I think you guys can see he put the ball on the spot and has a tremendous feel for being in the pocket and moving around in the pocket.” Nania started five of the first six games (he missed the Week 3 game against Butler with an injury) but was pulled in favor of Wells after the first quarter of last week’s loss against Western Illinois. Wells gave himself a C-minus for his WIU performance, but said he earned a B-minus against Southern Illinois. “Two fumbles and an interception, that’s on me,” said Wells, who had two fumbled exchanges with RB Martin Ruiz, losing one. “That’s not acceptable. I’m going to work on it this week and get it ironed out by next week.”
Another blocked punt: YSU had a punt blocked for the second straight week and third time this season. Saturday’s block came midway through the second quarter, giving SIU the ball at the YSU 48. Ten plays later, the Salukis missed a 48-yard field goal attempt. “I’ll just say it [the block] was an execution problem,” said Wolford, who clearly wanted to say more.
Agnew hurt: SIU’s top running back, Malcolm Agnew, left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury after rushing four times for 31 yards. He did not return. Agnew was averaging just under 113 yards per game. “We didn’t change anything,” Wolford said. “We knew they had a couple backs that were good.” Agnew’s older brother, Ray, is a fullback for the Cleveland Browns.
This and that: Senior kicker Joey Cejudo was 2-for-2 on field goals, including a career-long 42-yarder that gave YSU a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. ... YSU held big advantages in first downs (27-13), total yards (465-224) and time of possession (37:33-22:27). The Penguins were also 12 of 17 on third down. ... LB Jaylin Kelly had two tackles for loss, DE Terrell Williams had a sack and Tre’ Moore and Donald D’Alesio had interceptions for YSU.