YSU overpowers Saint Francis
Tight end-turned-running back comes up big as YSU routs SFU
By Joe Scalzo | scalzo@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State replaced a week’s worth of doom and gloom with a steady dose of KUUUUUHHHHNNN!
Sophomore tight end Shane Kuhn got his first carries since his sophomore year in high school and bulled his way to two touchdowns as the Penguins shook off last week’s lackluster win with a dominating 48-3 victory Saturday over Saint Francis in sneeze-like conditions at Stambaugh Stadium.
“He looked like Larry Csonka back there,” YSU coach Bo Pelini said, referring to the Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer who retired more than a decade before Kuhn was born. “That’s a name from the past, isn’t it? He did some good things and he ran pretty well.
“I didn’t know he had it in him.”
YSU’s regular running backs did pretty well, too. Martin Ruiz ran for 103 yards rushing and Jody Webb added 93 and two touchdowns for the Penguins (2-1), who needed overtime last weekend to beat Robert Morris.
Saturday’s game had no such drama. The Red Flash — who, like Robert Morris, are a lower-level FCS team out of the Northeast Conference — were dominated from start to finish, falling behind 38-0 at halftime. Saint Francis finished with more penalty yardage (107) than total yardage (87).
“I didn’t expect the game to be like that,” Pelini said. “I thought we played pretty well. Didn’t play perfect. There’s still a lot of things we need to clean up, but I thought we’re a better football team after this week. We brought the attention to detail. I think we got our attention last week. I think we practiced better and therefore the result was better.”
Saint Francis senior Khairi Dickson, who led the FCS in rushing yards per game last year (155.3), carried three times for just 5 yards. Marcus Bagley got the bulk of the carries but he didn’t do much either, rushing for 66 yards on 24 carries.
The Red Flash couldn’t pass either. Quarterback Zack Drayer was just 1 of 12 for 10 yards as the Penguins forced seven punts and held Saint Francis to 1 of 12 on third down.
“We executed real well on defense,” said junior linebacker Lee Wright, who had four tackles including two for loss (one sack). “We gave up three points, but at the end of the day, we was happy.”
Hunter Wells completed 10 of 16 passes for 148 yards and an 11-yard touchdown to Ruiz. But the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Kuhn stole the spotlight, following in the footsteps of recent tight ends like Carson Sharbaugh and Nate Adams, who shifted to fullback and became short-yardage threats.
“I expected maybe one or two third-and-shorts,” Kuhn said, when asked if he thought he’d get any carries. “But it was working and we just kept going back to it.”
Kuhn’s touchdowns prompted plenty of KUUUHHHNN! tweets, which is a reference to “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Kuhn had never heard of the movie — or Csonka for that matter — but said he’s been hearing the chant since he played high school at Kiski Area, about 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
“They just yell my last name,” he said. “They did that in high school. I don’t know how it transitioned to here.”
When asked how he would tackle Kuhn, Wright laughed and said, “definitely by the ankles.”
The Penguins have next week off, then begin a stretch of eight straight Missouri Valley games on Oct. 3 at South Dakota.
“Defensively, I wish the bye week was a little later,” Wright said. “I wish we could keep it rolling.”