Valparaiso opened up the road portion of the 2011 football schedule on Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown, Ohio dropping a 77-13 decision to Youngstown State.
Eric Hoffman (Manitowoc, Wis./Lincoln H.S.) scored his second rushing touchdown of the season from 11 yards out with 4:44 to play in the second quarter to put the Crusaders on the scoreboard.
Bobby Wysocki (Calumet City, Ill./Thornwood H.S.) added a nine-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes remaining in the game for Valpo’s other score.
Youngstown State (1-1) jumped out to a 35-0 lead after the opening quarter and held a 63-6 advantage at the break.
“I challenged our guys to step up and play with a higher level of intensity at halftime,” head coach Dale Carlson said. “I think we did a little better job from that standpoint in the second half. I am happy we responded and moved the ball a little bit.”
Adaris Bellamy, Jamaine Cook, and Jordan Thompson each had two rushing touchdowns for the Penguins while Kurt Hess completed 12-of-13 passes for 204 yards and two scores through the air. Bellamy rushed 23 times for 181 yards.
Hoffman completed 14-of-30 passes for 112 yards while Nick Malantis (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta H.S.) completed one pass to Dale Cook (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) for 63 yards. Cook also had seven carries for 39 yards.
“Cook got a chance today and he did some good things for us,” Carlson added.
Pat Derbak (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg H.S.) and Grant Bushong (Ionia, Mich./Ionia H.S.) led the Crusader defense with nine tackles each.
Valparaiso (0-2) will remain on the road next Saturday afternoon traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa. to face Duquesne. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CDT.
