YSU cancels Red-White game

April 5, 2017 at 12:08a.m.

Weather, injuries bad

combination for YSU

Youngstown State’s Red-White Spring Game, scheduled for Friday has been canceled due to expected inclement weather.

Forecasts set Friday’s high temperature in the high-30s with rain or snow and with a wind around 25 mph. Athletic Director Ron Strollo said the combination of forecasts and the amount of injuries the team has picked up during spring practices led to the decision.

“The advantages did not outweigh the disadvantages,” Strollo said.

Coach Bo Pelini’s Penguins planned on making the Red-White Spring Game a little shorter than in years past due to the low numbers, according to Strollo. But the low temperature, likelihood of precipitation and high winds pushed YSU over the edge.

“We had planned on having an abbreviated scrimmage anyway since our numbers our low due to the injuries we had taken on,” Strollo said. “And when we started looking at questionable weather we knew we weren’t going to draw very well either.

“It’s a nice event when the weather is nice but with rain and temperatures in the 30s not many people were going to show up.”

The Penguins will still have practice today at 4 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium and then have an indoor scrimmage on Friday to close out the spring season.

YSU tight end Kevin Rader said it will be a little disappointing not to be able to get under the lights to a game-like atmosphere to close out spring.

“I was just talking about it with some of the other guys and it’s a little disappointing,” Rader said. “It’s pretty fun to get away from a normal practice and go live every once in a little while.”

But Rader said he felt with the number of guys nursing injuries right now it wouldn’t have done the team much good.

“We would love to strap up and have the Spring Game but with the weather and the thin numbers it wouldn’t be a good idea to risk losing more people with the season coming up,” Rader said.

Rader is obviously no slouch in poor weather conditions. In bitterly cold Cheney, Wash., Rader came up with the last-second catch to beat Eastern Washington in an FCS semifinal.

“I wouldn’t worry about the weather, but I don’t think many fans would like to be sitting out in it,” Rader said.