By Teziah Howard / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University football team ended its season in dramatic fashion against the University of Northern Iowa on Nov. 16. The Penguins captured a one-point win over the Panthers in overtime.
The game featured a total of 77 points, resulting in a 39-38 victory for YSU. Sophomore Beau Brungard led the game and Penguins’ passing attack with 256 yards and two touchdowns.
The Penguins closed out their season at 4-8 overall and 3-5 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. Aside from the win over UNI, the Penguins defeated Valparaiso University in week two 59-25 and defeated Indiana State 21-14 down the road.
The Penguins opened their 2024 season where the 2023 season ended, in Villanova, Pennsylvania. As the month of August came to a close, Youngstown State played against Villanova University.
The season prior featured less of a dogfight than the 24-17 Week One loss for the Penguins, but the team was quick to bounce back inside Stambaugh Stadium the very next week.
Early season adversity had the Penguins in high hopes for a turnaround, but unfortunately YSU would not hold a winning streak for the remainder of the season. After each win, YSU dealt with consecutive losses.
In week nine, YSU hosted the top-ten ranked University of North Dakota. The game could not be decided through four quarters, as the Penguins took the Fighting Hawks to overtime and held a goal-line stand to secure the victory over UND 41-40.
The Penguins faced adversity early in the season when they traveled to Pittsburgh to play at Acrisure Stadium against Power Four opponent University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers outscored the Penguins by 56 points.
Although the Penguins struggled on paper, there were bright spots in their level of play. The MVFC released its list of All-Conference nominees on Monday.
Brungard was a first-team selection who started all 12 games and finished the season with 3,191 total offensive yards. Brungard put up 2,141 yards through the air while rushing for nearly 1,000 yards. He also was awarded MVFC Offensive Player of the Week three separate times.
Junior Max Tomczak joined Brungard in first-team selections for YSU. Tomczak hauled in 73 receptions for 904 yards and four touchdowns. In conference play, he had 53 receptions for 658 yards and two touchdowns.
Head Coach Doug Phillips spoke highly of Tomczak and mentioned his viewpoint on where the wide receiver stands in the league amongst other receivers.
“[Tomczak] has been doing it all year and I still think he is the best receiver in this league,” Philips said.
Second-team selections were Jaison Williams, Sam Merryman and Brenden Kilpatrick. Williams received a 98% pass-protection efficiency rating, while Merryman helped the YSU kicking squad lead the nation in net punting.
The Penguins will look to recover and regroup for the offseason. The football team will have a grace period before starting spring workouts in January 2025.
Youngstown State begins its new campaign Aug. 28, 2025 against Mercyhurst University at Stambaugh Stadium.
