YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – After handing nationally-ranked Southern Illinois their first loss of the season, the YSU Football team will, once again, take on a top-ranked opponent when they head to South Dakota Saturday.
Watch the video above to hear from the team as they get ready for the Coyotes.
“This is very important for us,” says Penguins junior lineman David Metzler. “We know last year, we didn’t have as many opportunities as we do this year given all of these ranked opponents, so leave no doubt. Don’t put it into the committee’s hands and really show what we’re about.”
“Losing and having big wins, it’s all the same. It’s one in the same,” says YSU head coach Doug Phillips. “You come off a loss, guess what? You gotta learn from it, put it to bed and get ready for the next opponent. You get a win. You got to learn from it. You got to put it to bed and you got to get ready for the next opponent.”
YSU has had tremendous success against South Dakota. Since they joined the MVFC in 2012, the Penguins have won 8 of the 10 head-to-head meetings with the Coyotes.
“I don’t think there’s a team in this conference that we could say is going to be an easy win for us,” says Penguins senior defensive end Andres Lehrmann. “It’s going to be a dogfight every week. So we can’t keep going up and down. We have to stay consistent within ourselves.”
“If we do the things we need to do, when you walk off that field and look up at the scoreboard, you’re going to be happy,” added Phillips. “You’re going to get what your works deserve.”
YSU will travel to South Dakota this Saturday with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. at the Dakotadome.
