|
Penguins Advance to First Title Game in School History
In the first 50 seasons of
the storied Youngstown State
football program, no team won more
games, played more games or went
further in the postseason than the
1979 Penguins. That year YSU won 11
games, played 13 contests and
advanced to the Zia Bowl to play for
the Division II National
Championship.
For the accomplishments of the season, the Penguins earned
many accolades. Head Coach Bill
Narduzzi was named the AFCA College
Coach of the Year. Eight members of
the squad were tabbed as
All-American selections headed by
offensive tackle Jeff Lear who was a
first-team selection. Safety Kevin
Statzer and wide receiver Jim
Ferranti were tabbed as third-team
All-Americans and nose guard Terry
Dittmer, quarterback Keith Snoddy,
tailback Robby Robson, offensive
guard Tom Clifford and defensive end
Tom Harder were Honorable-Mention
selections.
Robson won the NCAA Division II scoring title with 120 points
in the 10-game regular season. He
also finished ninth in the nation in
rushing averaging 114.4 yards per
game. Snoddy was fifth in total
offense and seventh in passing
efficiency. Ferranti was third in
receptions per game and led the
nation in touchdown receptions (10).
Also, Kevin Statzer placed sixth in
pass interceptions.
As a team, the potent YSU offense finished fourth in scoring
offense (29.3 per game), sixth in
total offense (395.6 per game) and
12th in passing (177.8 yards per
game).
In the Mid-Continent Conference, Snoddy was the Co-Offensive
Back of the Year, Lear was the
Offensive Lineman of the Year,
Statzer was the Defensive Back of
the Year and Narduzzi was the
league’s Coach of the Year.
In the MCC, eight Penguins earned first-team all-conference
honors while seven others were
second-team all-league selections.
During the record shattering season, the Penguins tied or
broke 32 individual and team
records.
As a team, the Penguins eclipsed five records which were set
by the 1978 YSU squad. Those records
include the best record for a
season, 11-2; most victories in a
season, 11; points scored in a
season, 416; total offensive
yardage, 5,228; and passing yardage
for a season, 2,298. The defense
tied the school mark by recording 27
interceptions for the year.
The leading individual record breaker for YSU was Robby
Robson, who broke or tied 11 school
records. Among the records that
Robson set in 1979 were: rushing
yardage for a career, 2,742; rushing
yardage for a season, 1,489; points
scored in a career, 252; and points
scored in a season, 156.
Another Penguin record setter this season was All-American
wide receiver Jim Ferranti. Ferranti
closed out his four year career at
YSU as the all-time career
receptions records leader with
career reception yardage and career
touchdown receptions. For his
career, Ferranti grabbed 186 passes
for 3,103 yards and 25 TD’s. Besides
these career records, Ferranti also
holds six other season or single
game records.
Still another Penguin record setter is quarterback Keith
Snoddy. Snoddy, who was selected as
the Mid-Continent Offensive Back of
the Year, shattered three YSU marks.
Those records are: most TD passes in
a season, 19; most TD passes in a
career, 40; and total offensive
yardage in a season, 2,413. All
three of these records were held by
former YSU great Ron Jaworski.
Heading into the 1979 campaign, the fuel for the fire came
from the previous season’s playoff
performance. In 1978, YSU finished
the year 10-2 suffering a
disheartening four-point loss in the
semifinals to conference rival
Eastern Illinois. The Penguins had
beaten the Panthers in the regular
season only to lose in the
postseason.
YSU started the season winning its first nine games of the
year.
The Penguins opened the season with a win at Illinois State.
Snoddy threw four touchdown passes,
including three to Ferranti.
Ferranti finished the game with
eight catches for 158 yards and the
YSU defense forced four turnovers.
In the home opener, YSU defeated Central State 17-6. Robson
had his first career 100-yard
rushing game finishing with 127
yards on 31 carries. YSU led 10-0
before Central State pulled within
10-6, but Robson's fourth-quarter
one-yard run sealed the win.
The Penguins continued to play well beating Ashland 24-3 in
the third game of the year. YSU
finished with 272 yards rushing and
Robson added two touchdowns.
Against Northern Iowa in the Mid-Con opener, the Penguins
defense posted their first shutout
since 1975 beating the Panthers
29-0. Snoddy was 14-of-24 passing
for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
YSU had 441 yards total offense
while UNI was limited to just 13
yards rushing in the contest.
In the fifth game of the year, YSU had to put together a
comeback against Villanova after
trailing 22-14 at halftime.
Youngstown State did just that
outscoring the Wildcats 13-0 in the
second half en route to a 27-22
come-from-behind win. Robson scored
all four Penguin touchdowns – one
receiving and three rushing – and he
also threw a 51-yard halfback pass.
For the second straight game the Penguins needed a
come-from-behind effort in the
fourth quarter. YSU was behind 23-17
in the fourth before Snoddy drove
the team 82 yards in the final
minutes to pull out the victory.
Snoddy completed 17-of-38 passes for
309 yards and two touchdowns. Robson
scored on a five-yard run in the
final two minutes for the YSU win.
Place kicker Carey Orosz made three field goals and Robson
scored the lone YSU touchdown as the
Penguins beat Akron 16-3. In the
second quarter, the contest was tied
3-3 before Youngstown State scored
the game’s final 13 points.
After three straight road games, the Penguins returned home
and overcame six turnovers to beat
Western Illinois 29-8. YSU took a
19-0 lead in the first half and
never looked back. Robson scored on
three one-yard touchdown runs and
had 40 carries for 175 yards.
The Mid-Con Championship remained in Youngstown for the
second straight season as the
Penguins took out some frustration
beating Eastern Illinois 49-21 in
Charleston, Ill. Avenging a playoff
loss from the previous fall, Robson
scored four touchdowns and Ferranti
added two touchdown catches. YSU’s
balanced offense tallied 434 total
yards – 230 passing and 204 rushing
– as the Penguins jumped out to a
42-7 lead.
The regular season concluded with one of the wildest games in
Youngstown State football history.
In a battle between Division II’s
top two teams, YSU bolted out to a
31-7 halftime lead over the
top-ranked Blue Hens. But Delaware
scored 44 second-half points to earn
a wild 51-45 victory scoring the
game-winning touchdown with 24
seconds left. Robson scored three
touchdowns, ran for 265 yards and
also threw for a touchdown in a
losing effort. YSU led 45-42 with
2:19 left but UD marched 77 yards
for the winning score.
Youngstown State opened the playoffs with a rousing 50-7
victory over South Dakota State. The
Penguins defense limited the
Jackrabbits to zero yards total
offense and caused seven turnovers.
Robson scored four touchdowns as YSU
advanced to the semifinals for the
second straight year.
In the semifinals, YSU jumped out to a 21-point first quarter
lead and never looked back
dominating Alabama A&M 52-0. The
Penguins finished with 481 yards
total offense and 31 first downs
while A&M had just 88 total yards.
Snoddy threw four touchdown passes,
including three to Ferranti to
advance to the championship game and
a rematch with Delaware.
For the title game, YSU had a rematch with Delaware in the
Zia Bowl held at University Stadium
in Albuquerque, N.M.
Youngstown State jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second
quarter on a Robson run, a Dwight
Dumas run and a Snoddy run, but
again Delaware overcame a deficit to
beat the Penguins. The Blue Hens
scored two touchdowns in the final
two minutes of the first half tying
the game 21-21 at halftime.
In the second half, Delaware scored a touchdown in the third
and added 10 points in the fourth to
score the final 31 points of the
title game beating YSU 38-21.
Although the 1979 season had a disappointing end, no team in
the first 50 seasons of YSU football
accomplished more in a year than
this group of Penguins. |
