Disputed Fumble A Big Play

So who fumbled - Harry Leons or the officials?

That’s a tougher call than deciding what the pivotal play was in Youngstown State’s 25-14 NCAA Division I-AA semifinal playoff victory over Eastern Washington Saturday.

Trailing 7-0, Eastern had taken the second-half kickoff and driven to the YSU 19-yard line when Jeff Fackrell sacked Leons on third down.

Leons turned loose of the football and YSU’s Mike Stanec scooped it up, returning it 73 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Television replays indicated Leons was down before he fumbled.

“I’ll put it as succinctly as I can,” said EWU coach Mike Kramer. “It was a very difficult day for everyone on the field - their players, our players and everyone else.”

Leons, for his part, wasn’t sure.

“I think I was down,” he said. “I know guys running after it thought that the play was dead. I thought it was dead.”

Stanec wasn’t listening for whistles.

“The ball got loose and I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “I just started running and kept running.”

Happy returns

After falling behind 17-0, Eastern rallied with a quick touchdown drive, a stirring defensive stop and the momentum changer - an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown by Maurice Perigo, the second longest in EWU history.

“I thought it was open,” said the senior free safety. “The first punt return I had, I slipped and the team pretty much had a good wall down the field. I could have scored there. When I got to the sideline, Coach Kramer told me I was going to return one (for a score) today.”

It got the Eagles to within three points, but Perigo wasn’t convinced the job was done.

“I didn’t feel the momentum had completely shifted,” he said. “I felt the offense needed to punch in another score. But I did feel new life out there.”

No kicks coming

When the Penguins scored an insurance touchdown in the final minute, the PAT kick seemed perfunctory - especially since it would have given sophomore placekicker Mark Griffith the YSU single-season record.

Instead, YSU coach Jim Tressel sent halfback Adrian Brown off tackle again for two points and raised a few eyebrows.

“We weren’t going to let them block the kick and carry it back for two,” said Tressel, “to let them be within a touchdown.”

Score bored

Until Youngstown State tacked on that insurance touchdown, EWU was looking at extending a strange and troubling I-AA playoff streak.

The Eagles, who were trailing 17-14 at the time, were eliminated by Northern Iowa in each of their other two playoffs appearances - in 1985 and 1992 - by the score of 17-14.

Early fumble overrated

There were probably a few who thought Saturday’s game was impacted immensely by wide receiver Joe Mitchell’s lost fumble at Youngstown’s 1-yard line on Eastern’s first possession. But Leons, who had thrown the ball to Mitchell, wasn’t one of them.

“Oh, that fumble,” Leons said, when asked about its importance after the game. “I forgot about that. Long game, I guess.

“I think there was a momentum change there, because we could have gotten on top of them right away. But I don’t think it determined the outcome.”

Bad read, no lead

Leons, after throwing only six interceptions all season, lofted a pair against Youngstown - and one proved extremely costly.

Trailing 17-14 early in the fourth quarter, Eastern had a chance to take the lead after driving to the Penguins’ 10-yard line. But on second down, Leons tried to hit Mitchell on a quick slant over the middle and was intercepted by Jake Anderson.

“I didn’t see him at all,” Leons said of Anderson, the Penguins’ strong safety who had faked blitz before backing off into zone coverage.

“Jeff (Ogden) was running a slant and so was Joe. The last time they jumped out with a linebacker to take Jeff. I tried to float it, just in case anyone was there, but I didn’t get it high enough. I shouldn’t have thrown it. It was just a bad read.”

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