By Zach Flesch / The Jambar
The No. 18 ranked Youngstown State University football team took on No. 2 South Dakota State University on Oct. 4, and fell in the final minutes, 35-30.
The ’Guins led by as many as 14 points and held a 17-7 advantage going into halftime, but South Dakota State rallied with three third-quarter touchdowns to take control 28-17 at the end of the quarter.
Junior Beau Brungard turned in another standout performance, as he recorded all four of Youngstown State’s touchdowns. Brungard threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-44 passing. He also rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, which marked the fourth time this season he surpassed 100 yards both in rushing and passing.
After the game, Head Coach Doug Phillips said the opportunities were there for the team, but penalties, scoreless drives and empty possessions led to the loss.
“We left a lot of points on the board in that first half and we know that could come back to hurt us,” Phillips said. “This hurts because we beat ourselves.”
Senior Max Tomczak had a record-setting night, where he caught eight passes for 92 yards and scored three touchdowns. He moved into second place on YSU’s all-time receiving yards list with 2,401 — three receptions shy of breaking the school’s all-time record of 186.
Tomczak also set a program record for most Missouri Valley Football Conference touchdown receptions and became only the second Penguin since 1979 to haul in three touchdown catches in a single game.
Defensively, the upperclassmen guided the team as senior DJ Harris led the Penguins with 10 tackles, and senior Dathan Hickey got his second interception of the season.
Youngstown State opened the game with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Brungard to Tomczak in the first quarter, then doubled its lead early in the second when Brungard finished an 80-yard drive with a four-yard rushing score.
After the Jackrabbits cut the deficit to one possession, Brungard broke loose for a 74-yard run, and set up a 29-yard field goal by junior Andrew Lastovka that gave the Penguins a 17-7 advantage at halftime.
Momentum shifted in the second half as South Dakota State rallied to take the lead with three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter.
Brungard and Tomczak connected for two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a two-yard strike with 38 seconds left to pull within five points. However, the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
Brugard said the team knows what to work on in practice as it heads into the next game on the road.
“We’re going to hold our heads high, and we’re going to have a good week of practice and we’re going to attack it going forward,” Brungard said. “We’re not going to sit and linger on this.”
Youngstown State will look to bounce back Oct. 11, when it visits No. 15 University of North Dakota. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
