Penguin units battle in first big scrimmage

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

It took a while Saturday, but Youngstown State’s offense warmed up after a slow start in a scrimmage at Stambaugh Stadium.

The defense dominated the first eight series before the offense was able to make some headway. In the first eight series, the defense limited the offense to one first down and forced a pair of turnovers.

YSU junior tailback Martin Ruiz had the ball stripped from him by Jamar Pinnock and David Rivers III recovered the loose ball. Later, redshirt freshman linebacker Nathan Pittman intercepted a Ricky Davis pass.

But then the offense put together an impressive nine-play, 75-yard drive led mainly by Ruiz and Jody Webb. Ruiz had runs of 5 and 31 yards to open the series and picked up a key first-down with a 3-yard carry on a third-and-3 at the 17-yard line.

On third-and-five from the nine, Hunter Wells had a strong throw to I’tavious Harvin for a score.

The defense rebounded on the next three series before first-year YSU head coach Bo Pelini had the offense and defense face some short-yardage, third-down situations. The offense was successful on four and the defense made stops on the other half.

After the third-down-situation segment, the offense scored on three consecutive possessions.

On the first offensive series after the third-down situations, Webb accounted for all 75 yards of the next drive. He opened with runs of 6 and 3 yards before breaking a 66-yard scoring run on third-and-1.

The offense moved the ball down the field on the next drive as Davis engineered an 11-play, 75-yard march. Davis found tight end Kevin Rader for a 24-yard gain to move the ball to the 39-yard line. On fourth-and-2 from the 31, Demond Hymes picked up two yards to extend the possession. Davis connected with Isiah Scott for a 16-yard gain to the 8 before Tevin McCaster scored on a 3-yard run.

Wells came in and moved the offense 75 yards in nine plays. He had an 11-yard toss and a 16-yard pass to Darien Townsend early in the drive before finding Harvin for a 22-yard gain. After a pair of Ruiz rushes made it third-and-6 from the 13, Wells had a great throw to Scott for a 13-yard strike.

In red-zone drills, Wells threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Shane Kuhn on the very first play of the segment. The defense forced the offense into a 40-yard field goal on the second try.