YOUNGSTOWN - Defensive end Kyle Sirl is not a name that is usually talked about when naming the standouts on the YSU defensive unit.
He's not a starter. He's listed as second on the depth chart and came into Saturday's game against Albany with just two tackles on the season.
But against the Great Danes, he probably had the two biggest tackles of the game - both sacks of Albany quarterback Will Fiacchi and both coming on third down.
"It felt pretty good," Sirl said. "I've just been biding my time at practice. You know, I came in as a two, because of some injuries led me to step up and I knew I had to step up for my team."
The sacks couldn't have come at more needed times for the Penguins in their 31-24 victory against Albany.
His first sack came in the third quarter, and he was able to sack Fiacchi on a third-and-4, leading to an Albany punt. YSU scored on the next drive.
The second sack was probably the biggest defensive play of the night. During Albany's first drive off the fourth quarter, the Great Danes were at the YSU 33, and were facing a third-and-9. That distance had been trouble for YSU all game and over the season, but Sirl came up big, crashing into Fiacchi and ending the Albany drive.
"Kyle's a guy that has been in the program and he's a hard worker, he's a guy that's not the flashiest guy, but he is an overachiever," YSU coach Eric Wolford said. "He deserves all of his good fortune."
NOW WE'RE COOKING: Senior running back Jamaine Cook had been pretty quiet the first two games. But his named was called out often against Albany. Cook rushed for 183 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns in the YSU victory.
This is the 15th game in his YSU career that he's rushed for more than 100 yards, but the first of the 2012 season. He's now 10 yards away from passing Paris Wicks to become fifth on YSU's all-time career rushing list. He now has a career total of 3,091 yards.
STREAK SNAPPED: With the running game working quite well, and Albany doing a good job of keeping the YSU receivers in check, for the first time in 13 games, YSU quarterback Kurt Hess did not throw a touchdown pass.
However, he is still going strong as he has not thrown an interception in his last 100 attempts. The last time Hess threw a pick was against North Dakota State in 2011.
Also, with his 183 yards passing on Saturday, Hess cracked the 5,000-yard mark for his career, now standing with 5,060 yards. That makes him fifth all-time in YSU history.
WHAT BROWN CAN DO FOR YOU: Last season, kicker David Brown was called on very little to put up three points. Normally, his job was to kick a PAT. During all of the 2011 season, Brown was 3-of-4 on field goal attempts.
As of Saturday, he's already 3 of 3 on field goals, all within the 20-to 29-yard range. He's also leading the team in scoring with 25 points.
