The Jambar

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Nick Young / The Jambar Senior Lenny Wicks searches for blockers and a clear lane as he returns a punt. On defense this season, Wicks has 31 tackles, two interceptions, and one sack.

The road for members of the Youngstown State University football team does not get any easier as they travel to Iowa to face off against their nemesis, the University of Northern Iowa Panthers.

The Penguins fell short of winning their Homecoming game against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Saturday, 17-3. The Panthers are also coming off a loss to the Jackrabbits from the previous week. They lost in their last game on Oct. 24, 24-14 at SDSU. Last week, the Panthers welcomed a bye week.

With the Penguins' record at 4-4, their playoff dreams are all but over. The team can't rest now as they still have three more games to go in the season.

"We're pretty disappointed in ourselves for not making it to the playoffs," said senior wideout Aaron Pitts at the weekly press conference.

A focal point the Penguins need to address before their clash with the Panthers is their rushing attack. The team averages 130.8 yards on the ground this season. Against the Jackrabbits, the Penguins rushed the ball plenty of times, with 29 rushes as a team. The problem was they gained just 73 yards. This needs to improve for the Penguins to win at UNI.

The play of senior quarterback Brandon Summers has been inconsistent the entire season. Summers' 13 interceptions through eight games played won't get the job done. The past game was the first since the opening game loss at Pittsburgh where the Penguins failed to reach the end zone.

Coincidently, the last game was also the first since the opening game where Summers did not throw a touchdown pass. Even though Summers threw multiple touchdown passes in a couple games this season, he also has multiple interception games as well, including the loss to the Jackrabbits.

The Panthers hold the edge in the series against the Penguins as they have won eight straight against YSU. The Penguins experienced a heartbreaking loss to the Panthers on Homecoming weekend a season ago. The Penguins scored a touchdown with just under four minutes to go to get within one point, 21-20. Unfortunately, the Panthers blocked the extra point and held on for the one-point victory. Two seasons ago, the Penguins also lost by one point, 14-13, to the Panthers.

On offense, the Panthers redshirt senior quarterback Pat Grace leads the Panthers high-scoring offense. Grace, the second team All-Missouri Valley Conference quarterback from 2008, has thrown 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions.

The defense for the Panthers holds their opponents to 14.5 points per game. The Penguins might have to win the game in a shootout against the Panthers.

Summers, for the Penguins, will need to play more consistently and find his trio of wide receivers, Aaron Pitts, Dominique Barnes and Donald Jones, to hang with the Panthers. The run game needs to take off as well for the Penguins to get the victory. The Penguins search for their first win since Oct. 10, when they defeated Western Illinois University 31-21 at Stambaugh Stadium.

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