By Teziah Howard / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University football team applied pressure to No. 4 University of South Dakota football team Oct. 19. In a 10-point affair, Youngstown State fell to the Coyotes 27-17.
The Penguins fired off a 14-point lead early in the second quarter, but the Coyotes battled back when they tied the game with four minutes to go before halftime.
With the loss, the Penguins drop to 2-6 with a 1-3 record in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Coyotes improved to a 6-1 record, while being undefeated in the division.
Despite the loss, YSU took over in key statistics. The turnover battle and time of possession were won by the Penguins as they held the ball for nearly 34 minutes to the Coyotes’ 26.
The Penguins picked up 22 first downs, while the Coyotes trailed with 19. South Dakota only mustered 69 more yards than Youngstown State.
YSU junior Max Tomczak led the team with nine receptions for 90 yards. Senior transfer, Ethan Wright, rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries.
South Dakota’s offensive attack was led by their quarterback-running back tandem of redshirt sophomore Charles Pierre Jr. and redshirt junior Aidan Bouman. Pierre Jr. put up 153 rushing yards on 21 carries, while Bouman completed 12 of his 18 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown.
Pierre Jr. gave the Coyotes their first lead of the matchup, when he went off to the races for a 50-yard score late in the third quarter. The Penguins would trail the Coyotes for the remainder of the game.
On the defensive side, three Penguins tallied six tackles. One of those leading tacklers was junior defensive end and captain Michael Voitus. Voitus said his team has been infamous for their second-half performances.
“I feel like in the past we’ve been a team that has come out after half and played well,” Voitus said. “It seemed as though it was flipped tonight.”
Head Coach Doug Phillips is in his fifth year as the leader of the Penguins football program and Phillips praised the resilience of South Dakota.
“South Dakota is a great football team. They have explosive players and we asked our kids to play fast and to play physically,” Phillips said.
Phillips added that he felt proud of the way his defense played, but said that it can’t just look good on paper.
“I think we saw a different defense than we have in previous games and I’m proud of that but there’s no moral victories,” Phillips said.
After Saturday’s loss, the Penguins will return to the Ice Castle on Oct. 26 for a matchup against the No. 7 University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.
