By Teziah Howard / The Jambar
The spring football season concluded after the Youngstown State University Red-White Spring Game. The scrimmage was held early morning April 12 inside Stambaugh Stadium.
Both sides showed flashes, but the offense took the win with a final score of 34-18. The offense found the endzone a total of nine times, while the defense came away with three turnovers.
The defense recorded the first big play of the game during the first offensive possession with an interception. The offense reached the end zone for the first time when redshirt freshman Antuan Gardner scored from one yard out.
The longest play of the day was an 89-yard touchdown pass from junior Beau Brungard to junior Kylon Wilson. Wilson, a transfer from Slippery Rock University, recorded 1,524 all-purpose yards during the 2023-24 football season.
Freshman Malachi Lewis threw for three touchdowns, while Brungard threw for two.
Lewis adds size to the team’s quarterback room coming in at 6 feet, 4 inches and weighing 195 pounds. In high school, Lewis was an All-Dade County selection and won Most Accurate Passer at the 2024 Miami Elite 11. He also threw for 2,220 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior.
In the spring game, Lewis completed seven passes, threw for 123 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Brungard picked up where he left off in his sophomore campaign. Last season, Brungard earned First-Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection as an all-purpose player. He started all 12 games, threw for 2,141 yards and was two yards shy of eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards.
Brungard completed 10 passes on 17 attempts, while throwing for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Wilson led the way in the receiving game with 148 yards on three receptions.
Sophomore Makai Shahid, senior Jeremiah Robinson and freshman Jussiah Williams-West all recorded interceptions during the contest.
Shahid is from Gahanna, and played in all 12 games last season. He made nine total starts and tallied 56 tackles, which ranked second on the team.
Robinson transferred from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2024 and played in 10 games last season.
Williams-West is a 6-foot-3 freshman from Dayton. He was a First-Team All-Ohio Division I selection, First-Team All-Greater Western Ohio Conference, as well as a First-Team Division I All-Southwest District pick.
With the conclusion of the spring game, the YSU football team will look toward summer and training camp for the fall season.
The team will open its season against Mercyhurst University at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 inside the Ice Castle.
