By Cameron Niemi / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University football team finished spring camp at its annual Red vs. White Spring Game at Stambaugh Stadium on April 12.
The white team won the scrimmage, 21-7, over the red team. The scrimmage featured two 15-minute halves and another 30-minute period with a running clock.
Spring ball started March 15. Since then, the team has had 15 practices and a few scrimmages leading up to the red vs. white game.
The white team featured sophomore quarterbacks Beau Brungard and Max Blanc.
Brungard served as last year’s backup quarterback. He appeared in 10 games and went 14-of-20 passing for 108 yards with one interception. Brungard rushed 28 times for 129 yards and scored three touchdowns.
The red team also had two quarterbacks — sophomore Brady Shannon, a transfer who played baseball at the University of Central Florida and redshirt freshman Bryce Schondelmyer, who was on the team last season.
Brungard and Shannon started for their respective teams and took the majority of the snaps throughout the game.
The white team scored the first points of the game as senior tailback Tyshon King ran in the touchdown. King was last year’s leading rusher for the team, as he averaged 5.4 yards per carry and racked up over 1,000 yards, scoring nine touchdowns.
The white team extended its lead to 14-0 as sophomore tailback Stephan Byrd ran in a three-yard touchdown. Byrd is a transfer from the University of Cincinnati.
Blanc led the white team on the following scoring drive as he connected with sophomore wide receiver Joey Farthing for a 30-yard touchdown, making the score 21-0.
Farthing caught nine passes last season for 222 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Schondelmyer led the red team on its only scoring drive of the game. He completed five passes, with one to junior wide receiver Luke Hensley in the front corner of the endzone for a touchdown.
Both red and white team defenses played stout throughout the game, as multiple players recorded sacks. Despite the effort, there was only one turnover by the defense and a forced fumble, which was recovered by senior Devin Johnson.
Head coach Doug Phillips, who is entering his fifth season, said it benefits the team to have the quarterback battle taking place throughout camp.
“Our quarterback room, I feel good about it. For us, it’s about having a guy ready to go through 12 games — no matter who that person is — [who] can you take the field and win football games with,” Phillips said.
Phillips also said he was happy with the defense’s performance.
Brungard said the scrimmage was great work for the team as it prepares for the fall season.
“We had a lot of expectations coming in of what we wanted to get done, and I think we did. We’re still not there yet, but we are gonna keep striving to get where we need to be,” Brungard said. “We got a lot done and we’re in a better place than when we started.”
The Youngstown State football team will return to practice in late July. The Penguins will kick off the season on the road at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 against Villanova University, which eliminated YSU from the FCS Playoffs in the 2023 season.
YSU will have its home opener at 2 p.m. on Sept. 7 against Valparaiso University.