Lewis rushes for 132 yards in rout of Youngstown State

By Dale Grdnic

Dion Lewis enrolled at Pitt in January, and the freshman tailback has been ahead of the game ever since.

As an early enrollee, Dion Lewis had a chance to learn the Pittsburgh offense in the spring, and he absorbed it. Lewis secured the starting tailback spot then and reenforced it during training camp. And he did nothing in the Panthers' opening game to lose it.

Lewis ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 first-half carries and added another score on a catch to lead Pitt past Youngstown State 38-3 Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.

"We really were pretty simple with our running game,'' Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "I think we ran maybe four different plays the whole game. So, this was a good game for our offensive line. ... I thought our offensive line did a very good job running the ball, but I was not pleased with our protection.

"When we had to drop back and throw the ball ... it was not crisp enough. (But) Dion ran the ball well. He was a powerful player when he got here, but he's had a full offseason with Buddy Morris and is a lot stronger. He'll break arm tackles, and that's a big difference with him right now.''

Fifth-year senior quarterback Bill Stull was adequate, going 11-for-16 for 123 yards with two touchdowns and one poor interception, but the Panthers' offensive line, Lewis and the defense were dominant at times. Lewis, in particular, was just spectacular to watch.

"He ran the ball hard, and we were able to make some holes for him,'' redshirt junior left tackle Jason Pinkston said. "He's a tough, little guy, maybe difficult to see, at times, but definitely difficult to tackle. He can run through a tackle just as easily as he can run around a guy. He's going to be a real good back.''

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tino Sunseri also played hitting 5 of 8 passes for 80 yards and one six-yard touchdown toss to redshirt sophomore Aundre Wright, as did frosh tailback Ray Graham with six carries for 22 yards.

But none were as scintillating as Lewis in the first half. He finished with 129 yards on 20 carries, the most by a freshman in an opener since