YOUNGSTOWN – From the first play, the Youngstown State football team was clicking.
No. 19 Northern Iowa tried its best to put some pressure on the No. 6 Penguins. However, YSU had plenty of room to work with, and the Penguins won 35-22 on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium in downtown Youngstown.
It was YSU’s fourth straight win and fifth in its last six games.
The Penguins (6-2, 4-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) started with a bang.
Donald Barksdale took the opening kickoff 93 yards right up the middle and down the left sideline for a touchdown. It was the first YSU kick return for a TD this season, and the first for the team since Kylon “Flash” Wilson took one to the house on Oct. 25.
“We’ve been waiting and waiting for the opportunity. We knew if we could get the opportunity, we could break one, not just this game, but any game,” YSU head coach Doug Phillips said of the kickoff return. “So to see Donald get the game going on that … it takes one-eleven to execute on that.”
Then UNI (3-3, 2-1 MVFC) quickly flipped the field after starting at its 30-yard line following the ensuing kickoff. Running back Ben Gordon took a pitch right to the YSU 43. The Panthers drove down to the YSU 5, but the Penguins defense held and Max Bartachek missed a 23-yard field goal attempt to keep UNI off the board.
YSU went up-tempo when the offense took over at its 20 for the offense’s first drive. It only needed 4:56 to put together an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The Penguins added to their lead when running back Antuan Gardner took a handoff wide left into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown with 4:39 to play in the first quarter.
UNI took over at its 25, and on the first play, quarterback Jaxon Dailey found tight end Kai Black for a 36-yard catch-and-run to the YSU 39. But the Panthers were forced to punt, and YSU started its next drive at its 20.
On the first play of the second quarter, YSU quarterback Beau Brungard connected with receiver Lynn Wyche-El for a 42-yard touchdown pass deep over the middle, extending the YSU lead to 21-0.
The Penguins forced a three-and-out on UNI’s next series, and they took over at their 30 after the punt. The combination of Brungard’s arm and legs powered the Penguins down to the UNI 2, and the Springfield graduate capped the drive with a 2-yard TD run on a scramble to the right, pushing the lead to 28-0 with 7:24 left in the half.
On the drive, Brungard ran for 24 yards and completed 3-of-3 passes for 41 yards.
Dailey got the Panthers on the board in the final minute of the half when he completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Black.
After starting at their 10, the Penguins got the ball down to the UNI 40-yard line as the second quarter ended. It was the only drive in which they didn’t score in the first half.
UNI received the second-half kickoff, and took it down the field to cut the deficit to 28-13. On fourth down, Dailey completed a 26-yard pass to tight end Brady McCullough for a touchdown. YSU’s Bilal Tucker blocked the point-after try.
The Penguins went three-and-out on their first drive of the third quarter. And after a punt return and a personal foul on YSU, the Panthers began their next possession at the YSU 37.
However, the Panthers only got to the YSU 28-yard line, and Bartachek converted on a 45-yard field goal to cut YSU’s lead to 28-16.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Brungard completed his second TD pass of the night, finding Bryan Hunt for a 16-yard score. The PAT gave YSU a 35-16 lead.
Northern Iowa added a 17-yard touchdown pass from Dailey to Ayden Price, but the two-point pass was no good and the Penguins led 35-22 with 3:59 remaining.
The Penguins recovered the onside kick and ran out the remaining time to clinch the win.
“That first half, it was ‘boom’, you get the ball back, you get a touchdown down, they miss a field goal, your offense is rolling and you’re up 28-0. But you have to understand, every team in this league is going to fight and try to come back,” Phillips said. “We were able to finish the game, and for that, I give our guys credit.”
Brungard ended the night 23 for 27 passing for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 80 yards and a score on 17 carries.
Wyche-El game-highs with eight receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown.
ROUNDING INTO FORM
The win marked the first time this season that the Penguins scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games. YSU scored 57 points against Indiana State last week.
YSU ended last season by scoring at least 30 in its final seven games.
“I do feel like our offense is getting to be consistent. That’s the thing that we’ve been working on, being consistent in our one-eleven,” Wyche-El said. “As long as you do your job, we’ll be alright.”
SITUATIONAL DEFENSE
YSU allowed 371 yards of total offense. Most of the damage was done during the second half, with Dailey finishing the game 28 for 49 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns.
However, the Penguins buckled down when it counted, especially in the first half.
Northern Iowa was held to 6 for 16 (37.5%) on third down.
“Still want to get off the field a little bit more, but winning third down is huge,” YSU linebacker Carston Marshall said. “Getting off the field, getting the ball back to our offense – which you know is great – is always the goal. Good number, but we can always improve on that, for sure.”
BYE WEEK PLANS
The Penguins will have their bye week on Saturday.
Phillips said the goal is to focus on fundamentals, as well as making sure the players recover physically with the final three games of the regular season to follow.
“We played that Week 0, so we’ve been going since the end of July. We’re almost at the end of October,” Phillips said. “So we’ll get some guys coming back off injury, get some guys rested up, but by the end of the week, we gotta ramp back up and get ready to play a great football game the following week.”
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