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Double OT win sends Penguins to semifinals
Gallery
By CHARLES GROVE
cgrove@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
It may not have been the days of old when there wasn’t a seat to be found for a playoff game at Stambaugh Stadium, but those who were there made a heck of an atmosphere.
“It was loud today,” Vincent Roberts of Niles said. “It was good. It wasn’t like it used to be, but I think the weather played a factor.”
The temperature that dipped into the mid-20s didn’t make for a particularly hospitable environment, but the passion was evident from 8,066 fans who layered up to support YSU during their 30-23 win in double overtime that sent the Penguins to their first FCS semifinal since 2006.
But with such a back-and-forth game that featured everything from missed field goals and turnovers, Roberts felt like he couldn’t just leave.
“We had to stay,” Roberts said. “You figure if you go that far, everyone was afraid to leave. With all the miscues, you didn’t want to miss anything crazy.”
Roberts was attending his second game of the season. He said it wasn’t quite the same as the days when Alcorn State visited the Ice Castle in the 1990s, but those who were there Saturday were just as passionate.
“I remember going to that Alcorn State game and the place was just packed,” Roberts said. “The miscues of the game may have held back some of the fans a little bit. It may have let the air out of their sails, but they were all there to support our Penguins.”
Though there were still some empty seats in the corner of the stadium, each of the players who gave postgame interviews commented on the support of the fans.
“They played such a big role in helping us win the game,” YSU linebacker Armand Dellovade said.
Tailback Jody Webb, who broke the school record for all-purpose yards in a single game, said the crowd was much louder than the crowd of 5,322 who showed up to see YSU defeat Samford two weeks ago.
“To see them out even when things weren’t going as well as we wanted them to go – the crowd was into it,” Webb said. “They kept us in the game a lot of times. It was great to see them behind us.”