By Cameron Mitchell / The Jambar
As time expired in the matchup between Youngstown State University and Towson University, junior Andrew Lastovka drilled a 42-yard field goal to walk off the game 31-28, in favor of the ’Guins.
In Towson, Maryland, the game started defensively, until late in the first quarter when the Penguins put together an 11-play, 80-yard drive, which ended with a one-yard touchdown from junior Beau Brungard.
Entering the second quarter, the Tigers responded with their own four-play, 69-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run by graduate student Al Wooten II.
Towson kept the game alive by closing out the second quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass from graduate student John Dunmore, who connected with freshman Kemarrion Battles. By halftime, the Tigers led 14-7.
The Penguins came out of the locker room with a six-play, 23-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Brungard to junior Alex McDonald.
Towson responded with a scoring drive in the middle of the third quarter to make the score 21-14 for the Tigers. Dunmore caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from freshman Andrew Indorf.
The Tigers opened the fourth quarter with an 81-yard march downfield for Wooten II to score a touchdown from one yard out.
Youngstown State made it into the red zone in the middle of the fourth quarter with a defensive stop. Brungard punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to make the score 28-25 — still in favor of the Tigers.
With 37 seconds left in the contest, Youngstown State took over at its own 36-yard line. Brungard hit senior Mike Solomon for a four-yard pass and senior Max Tomczak picked up a first down.
After Brungard spiked the ball to stop the clock, Brungard fired at sophomore RK Dandridge for a 25-yard catch to the Tiger’s 28-yard line, and the Penguins called their final timeout with three seconds left in the game.
The score was tied up at 28, while Lastovka calmly punched in a 42-yard kick when the clock hit zero to win the game, 31-28.
To finish the contest, Brungard went 24-of-41, passed for 277 yards in the air and recorded a touchdown. He added 18 carries on the ground with 100 yards and two scores. Tomczak led the team in receiving yards with 116 yards.
Before the game, senior Dayne Hodge said he felt more pressure going into the game against Towson than conference play.
“This game is huge, each and every week is huge, but this game heading into the bye week — heading into conference play — you want this game for momentum and team morale,” Hodge said.
Following the game, Solomon said new players helped drive the team to a road-game victory for the first time since 2023.
“This year we brought in a lot of new transfers and new guys trying to rebuild the team’s chemistry and rebuild the team’s work,” Solomon said.
Youngstown State will have a bye week before returning home to start Missouri Valley Football Conference play against South Dakota State University at 6 p.m. Oct. 4 inside Stambaugh Stadium.
