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Toughest test awaits YSU
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown State football team has qualified for its first semifinal in 10 years and it appears as if the toughest test of the postseason looms in the Pacific Northwest.
Eastern Washington (12-1) awaits the Penguins (11-3) who will have to endure their twelfth-straight week of practice, a 2,200 mile flight to Cheney, Wash., and then three-and-a-half hours with the second-seeded Eagles.
The winner of Saturday’s showdown will be heading to Frisco, Texas, in January for a chance to lift a trophy.
Eastern Washington hasn’t been challenged much this postseason. The Eagles won 31-14 in the second round over Central Arkansas after earning a bye in the first round. Saturday, they dominated Richmond, 38-0.
EWU has rattled off 11 straight wins since a 50-44 loss at North Dakota State on Sept. 10. Since then, Eastern Washington’s margin of victory has been 21 points.
YSU advanced after squeaking out a 30-23 win in double overtime Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins gave up 23 points to what many assumed to be an underdog Wofford team, but offensive and special teams miscues inflated the final tally on the scoreboard in what was overall an impressive defensive performance.
What is likely to give YSU fans hope is the offense’s ability to attack defenses in a variety of ways. Against Jacksonville State on Dec. 3, a stacked defensive front forced quarterback Hunter Wells and his receivers to carry the load, but against Wofford it was Jody Webb and his offensive line gaining 213 yards on the ground.
“We’re pretty good [on the ground] and we’re committed to it and I think we’ve shown if you want to overman us in the box then we’ll hurt you in the passing game,” YSU head coach Bo Pelini said.
What should be even scarier for EWU’s defense is the fact that Wofford couldn’t pick out anything specific YSU was doing on offense in order to rack up the yardage. They were bigger, stronger and hit the holes the linemen opened up.
“I don’t think [they did anything different],” Wofford defensive end Tyler Vaughn said. “They just did some things schematically to get seven or eight yards on a couple carries.
“The adjustments we made helped for a bit but then when they needed to make big plays they were able to do that.”