Sept. 20, 2008

Football: Penguins Defeat Second-Ranked North Dakota State in Thrilling Fashion

    Youngstown – The Youngstown State football team had their backs up against the wall on many occasions Saturday evening, but found a way to win a game that came down to final seconds against North Dakota State winning 32-24 at Stambaugh Stadium.

    In a battle of wills, the 24th-rated Penguins outlasted the second-ranked Bison and like last week, the offense, defense, and special teams all made their contributions to the victory.

    YSU (2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference) used a final defensive stand to hang on for their first win against top-five FCS team since beating third-ranked Illinois State in 2006.

    The Penguins led 32-24 with 2:21 left in the game and North Dakota State needing 74 yards to tie the game.  The Bison made it to the YSU 16 rather swiftly, but a chop block penalty slowed its momentum and pushed it back 15 yards to the 31. 

    After a completion to the 15-yard line, North Dakota State took their last timeout with 39 seconds left in the game on 3rd-and-9.

    They moved the ball to the YSU 4, but NDSU quarterback Nick Mertens' threw his fourth interception of the game in the end zone to De'Angelo Wilson. For Wilson it was his second interception of the game.

    The last time a Penguin had multiple interceptions in a game was when Jason Perry had two against Missouri State in 2006.

    YSU took the opening kickoff and wasted little time putting points on the scoreboard and an early lead.  After taking the kickoff to their own 32 yard-line, junior quarterback Brandon Summers found sophomore receiver Dominique Barnes for a 46-yard gain to the Bison 32 yard-line.

    YSU was set up with a first and goal on the Bison's one-yard line after running back Jabari Scott ran for 20 yards, but a strong defensive performance by the Bison stopped the Penguins from reaching the end zone on three consecutive plays.

    The Guins settled for a field goal as senior placekicker Brian Palmer put YSU up 3-0 after connecting on an 18-yard field goal. 

    The defense for the Penguins set-up the next score as cornerback Wilson intercepted a Mertens pass and returned it to the YSU 34-yard line.

    Four plays later Summers crossed the goal line on a 12-yard scramble. Palmer added the extra point to put the Penguins up by 10. The touchdown for Summers was his first rushing touchdown as a Penguin.

    On the next drive, the Bison drove to the Penguin six-yard-line. After a penalty that pushed the Bison back to third and 16, North Dakota State chose to attempt a field goal on fourth down.  Wilson came up with another big play as he blocked the 29-yard field goal attempt to keep the Bison off the board.

    Following a three and out for the Bison, YSU took over with just over four-minutes before half time on their own 44-yard line. Following six consecutive rushes the Penguins took a timeout with the ball on the North Dakota State 14-yard line and 1:07 on the clock.  On the next play Summers connected with Donald Jones in the end zone to put the Penguins up 16-0. For Jones, it was his first career touchdown as a Penguin. 

    With just under a minute before half, the Bison put their first points up on the board on a Shawn Bibeau 37-yard field goal.  The drive consisted of seven plays, which covered 53 yards and only took 41 seconds off the clock.

    On the opening drive for the Bison after the half, they marched down to the Penguin 18-yard line. The YSU defense however came up big again as Mertens' pass was tipped by  linebacker Jordan Edwards and intercepted by safety Brandian Ross.

    Unfortunately for the Penguins they could not capitalize on the turnover as seven plays later, Summers was picked off by Bison cornerback John Richardson at the YSU 48.

    The turnover did not phase the Penguins defense as they got another turnover when defensive end Jaimie Frasure stepped in front of a screen pass by Mertens and returned it to the North Dakota State 40..

    Taking the momentum back, five plays later the Penguins went on to add to their lead when Summers found receiver Ferlando Williams in the back corner of the end zone on a stellar throw and catch from 12-yards out.  Palmer's kick sailed through the goalpost to make the score 23-3.

     On the ensuing possession after the score, NDSU quickly cut into the Penguins lead on an eight-play, eighty-yard drive capped off by an 18-yard completion by Mertens to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher. The touchdown made the score YSU 23-10.

    The Penguins then took the ball and were driving until Summers ran on a third-down play that would of been good for a first-down but fumbled on a hit by linebacker Ramon Humber and recovered by Richardson.

    On the next play, running back Tyler Roehl rushed for a 19-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 23-17. 

    With momentum starting to shift in favor of North Dakota State, the YSU offense had to answer, and they did. To start the fourth quarter the Penguins drove the ball 77 yards over seven plays that was highlighted by a 14-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kamryn Keys. The touchdown for Keys was his first as a Penguin.

    YSU went for two to try and extend the lead to 14, but the two-point conversion failed on an incomplete pass from Summers making the score 29-17.

    Having a sense of urgency the Bison held the Penguins to a three-and-out and forced a YSU punt that went out of bounds on their own 45. With a short field, the Bison quickly put six point on the board after Roehl scored from the 3-yard line. The drive took only four plays and just 1:20 off the clock cutting the YSU advantage to 29-24.

    Trying to run out the clock and force North Dakota State to use their time outs, the Penguins put together a 10-play drive that covered 51 yards and took 4:35 seconds off the clock. The drive consisted of all runs and Palmer hit a field goal from 40 yards to give the Penguins an eight-point lead at 32-24 with 2:29 left.

    YSU used a strong ground attack in the game and both Scott and Keys eclipsed the century mark in rushing. Keys totaled 146 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Scott finished the game with 120 yards on 17 carries.

    The last time two Penguins rushers ran for more than 100 yards was last season at Indiana State when Scott ran for 149-yards and Kevin Smith rushed for 122.

    Summers finished the game totaling 101 yards through the air on 7-12 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.  On the ground Summers racked up 80 yards on 16 carries that included a touchdown.

    Also kicker Palmer extended his streak of consecutive field goals made as he made two against the Bison, making the streak 14 in a row.

    Next week the Penguins will host the unbeaten Liberty Flames, who are currently  ranked 23rd in the FCS polls. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.