YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The YSU football team will wrap up the season this Saturday when the Penguins play host to Northern Iowa at Stambaugh Stadium.
It’s also an emotional week for the 12 seniors on the team that will be playing in their last college football game.
Watch the video above to hear from the team as they get ready for the Panthers.
“I have a lot of emotions going through. I kind of woke up this morning, I kind of got a little teared up and I was like, you know what? Let’s really get after it,” said Penguin senior Sam Merryman. “But I’m just happy. You play this game for so long, and like I said, I’ll be going into start number 52, and I can’t be more grateful than what I’ve had.”
“Ever since I’ve been here, one of the best things you can do is sing the fight song. So just being able to sing that song one more time would mean everything,” added Penguins senior Hunter Allen. “It would mean a lot to me, and I know it’d mean a lot to other seniors. So just being able to sing that fight song in a locker room with our guys one more time, would be special.”
“I love being around these kids every week. I love going on the practice field today. I love their preparation, love their focus, love how we get ready for a game,” said YSU head coach Doug Phillips. “Besides two games that, you know, that we really got our butts kicked, I thought every game we went in with the thought we were going to win a football game. And unfortunately, we lost many of them. And that’s the thing we’ve got to overcome.”
“Don’t take it for granted,” added Phillips. “We get to do this. We get to coach these guys. We get to play a game on Saturday and let’s go out in front of our crowd and let’s put on a great performance.”
Youngstown State and Northern Iowa kickoff this Saturday at noon.
