Abeid anxious to play against YSU
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s been about six months since St. Francis (Pa.) junior Anthony Abeid first saw his Red Flash would be playing at Youngstown State in Week 4.
Six. Long. Months.
“I’ll tell you what — I circled that game immediately,” said Abeid, a Youngstown Christian graduate. “I couldn’t wait.”
The wait ends today when Youngstown State closes out its non-conference schedule against St. Francis (1-2), a partial-scholarship Northeast Conference school located about 90 minutes east of Pittsburgh. Abeid, who grew up in Campbell but attended YCS since preschool, figures he’ll have about 120 family members and friends at Stambaugh Stadium.
“Coming back home, I have to perform a little better than [a regular game],” he said. “There’s nothing like Youngstown. Nothing like Youngstown football. The environment breeds football.”
Abeid (5-8, 175) was an All-Ohio defensive back for the Eagles and is listed as a starting wide receiver on the Red Flash depth chart, where he’s posted team-highs in catches (five), yards (62) and TDs (one). He’s also played some wildcat quarterback, returns kickoffs and is listed on the College Football Performance Awards watch list as a punt returner.
But at heart, he’s still a running back, the position he started playing when he was 5 and one he still plays, either to spell starter Khairi Dickson (who has 608 yards in three games, which leads all levels of the NCAA) or in their two-back “lightning pro” set.
“I’m definitely a running back, 100 percent,” said Abeid (pronounced a-BIDE). “That’s really the only life I know. But they use me anywhere they can, really. That’s mostly their idea. I told the coaches, ‘Wherever you need me, any place I can help this team, I’m willing to do it.’
“It was rough at first coming to a Division I college and transitioning to a new position, but I’m starting to get the gist of it.”
While Dickson is mostly a power back, Abeid does his best work in space, where he can utilize his speed and quickness. He also takes pride in his blocking, which is key in St. Francis’ run-first offense.
“Transitioning from running back to receiver, you go from blocking defensive linemen and linebackers to corners and safeties, so it’s a little easier,” he said.
Abeid had several small college offers coming out of high school, but he chose St. Francis because it offered his major (nursing) and because he loved its campus and location. He’s one of two Valley natives on the Red Flash roster — Warren JFK grad Eric Bofenkamp is a freshman backup kicker — and the team’s offensive line coach/run game coordinator, Brian White, played for YSU from 1989-93 and is a former tight ends coach for the Penguins.
Today Abeid will be reunited with a former YCS teammate, Darien Townsend, who is a freshman WR for the Penguins.
“He’s a really good friend of mine,” Abeid said of Townsend. “He’s a couple years younger so I took him under my wing and looked out for him. At first he had a short temper and a younger attitude, but I showed him the ropes of the game and he kind of walked his own path and was pretty successful. I’m very proud of him.”
Still, Abeid would love to send Townsend, and the rest of the Penguins, home unhappy.
“I think if our team stays disciplined and fires off the ball, we have a great chance of winning this game,” said Abeid, whose school is 0-5 all-time against YSU, including a 49-23 win in 2011. “We do need to be disciplined — no penalties, no dumb plays — and be consistent throughout the whole game. I think we’re better conditioned than we were in the past, so that’ll allow us to perform at a higher level.
“Like I said, this is a very important game to me. I’m going to go out there and perform my best and show those Youngstown guys that this Youngstown boy is coming back to play Youngstown football.”