For Pitt, ‘a win is a win’
Pitt running back James Conner runs past Youngstown State safety LeRoy Alexander Saturday for a first-quarter touchdown.
Pitt defensive back Lafayette Pitts pressures Youngstown State quarterback Hunter Wells during the third quarter Saturday at Heinz Field.
PITTSBURGH – There was not a grand celebration as Pitt walked off the wet grass at Heinz Field Saturday afternoon.
A few players raised their helmets in unison when the clock struck 0:00, but first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi was anything but excited. Relieved was more like it.
Playing without junior wide receiver Tyler Boyd, the Panthers had 458 yards of total offense and barely escaped an upset bid from Youngstown State, settling for a 45-37 win to start the Narduzzi era.
“A win is a win is a win,” Narduzzi said.
“There are pretty wins and ugly wins. Today’s win is probably somewhere in between.”
Junior running back James Conner left in the second quarter with an injury and stood on the sideline for the remainder of the game with an ice pack taped to his right knee. Though Running back Qadree Ollison paced the Panthers’ offense, breaking the school record for rushing yards in a game by a freshman with 207 and scoring a touchdown, it was a largely disappointing showing.
Junior quarterback Chad Voytik completed just 9 of 14 passes for 72 yards, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown and losing a fumble in the third quarter. His lone touchdown was a 55-yard pass to junior tight end Scott Orndoff, a Waynesburg native and Seton-La Salle graduate, that was intended for freshman Elijah Zeise.
“I would say it wasn’t my best game,” Voytik said candidly.
Regardless, the Panthers (1-0) walked away with a victory over a Football Championship Subdivision program.
Narduzzi searched for the silver lining.
Ollison had a breakout performance, the Pitt offense scored on three of four drives with Conner in the game and the defense came up with two fourth-quarter stops. But Voytik and junior quarterback Nate Peterman, who played two series in the first half, each turned the ball over and the defense allowed 407 total yards.
“We put points on the board. We didn’t start as fast as we wanted to start and we obviously didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” Narduzzi said. “It’s not very often you win a football game being minus-three in the turnover category, and I think that’s huge the way we pulled a win off without taking care of the football.”
Despite the Panthers counting on two freshmen on the offensive line and four inexperienced wide receivers, including South Fayette graduate Zach Challingsworth, who made his first career start as a redshirt sophomore, the Panthers led 24-13 at halftime, aided by cornerback Avonte Maddox’s 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdownwith 38 seconds left in the second quarter.
Conner rushed for 79 yards on eight carries with two first-quarter touchdowns but left after being tackled by Youngstown State defensive back Kenneth Durden.
Narduzzi said that if it were a conference game, Conner would have returned and his exit was a precaution. That did not stop the Panthers from relying on the runnning game.
Sophomore Chris James had seven carries for 36 yards before leaving with an injury, but Ollison, a Niagra Falls, N.Y., native who redshirted last season, gave the Penguins problems with runs of 46, 52 and 71 yards.
“It was a great first game if you ask me,” Ollison said. “Most importantly, we got the win. Coach Narduzzi is always preaching next man up. Among the running backs, we always talk about having each other’s backs and I just wanted to fill in for those guys.”
Youngstown State’s offense had 124 total yards in the first half, settling for two field goals, but it took advantage of Pitt free safety Reggie Mitchell leaving with injury. Using a spread formation, the Penguins used misdirection plays throughout the second half.
Running back Jody Webb, who ran for 127 yards, scored on runs of 27 and 75 yards. Quarterback Hunter Wells also threw a 77-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Webb’s second touchdown, with 4:24 remaining, drew Youngstown State to within eight points, but the Panthers’ defense buckled down late, stopping the Penguins on fourth down twice, including a 4th-and-1 at Pitt’s 19-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.
“A victory is a victory,” said Pitt senior linebacker Nicholas Grigsby, who had two of the Panthers’ six sacks. “We have to execute more, but at the end of the day, it’s a victory. We gave up big plays where guys weren’t in the right place at the right time, but we’ll clean that up.”