The Youngstown State football team plays its final road game of the spring season on Saturday at No. 15 Missouri State. Kickoff at Plaster Field is set for 3 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Central time. The game is available live on WBCB, ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
The Penguins (1-5) dropped a tough 27-24 contest at Western Illinois last Saturday. YSU nearly overcame three turnovers and two WIU special-teams touchdowns to pick up its first MVFC road win since November 2017.
Trailing 7-0 following a WIU punt return for a touchdown, TB Jaleel McLaughlin raced 73 yards for a touchdown tying the contest late in the first quarter. YSU took a 14-7 lead when TB Christian Turner scored on a three-yard run late in the second. But WIU answered just 38 seconds later on a 43-yard scoring toss from Connor Sampson to Tony Tate. The Guins scored on the final play of the first half as QB Mark Waid threw a one-yard touchdown pass to London Pearson taking a 21-13 halftime lead.
To open the second half, YSU added a field goal on its opening drive to go on top 24-13. However, Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to pull WIU within 24-19. After a YSU turnover set the Leathernecks up at the Penguins' 35-yard line in the quarter, Sampson found Tate for a 28-yard score and that proved to be the game winner.
Missouri State (4-4, 4-1) was off last week after its contest against North Dakota was cancelled. In the Bears' previous contest, they picked up a 30-27 victory over Southern Illinois on March 27. MSU trailed 19-7 at halftime before eventually grabbing a 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter. SIU scored with 5:34 left to go in front 27-20. With 2:04 remaining, Celdon Manning scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to tie the game. After a defensive stop, MSU moved 50 yards in 1:42 and Jose Pizano kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired for the walk-off victory.
This is the 21st all-time meeting between the teams and first since November 2017. YSU won that contest on a rainy day at Stambaugh Stadium by a score of 38-10. The Penguins have won the last four meetings, including two straight in Springfield.
Last Time Out: WIU 27, YSU 24
The Penguins dropped a tough 27-24 contest at Western Illinois last Saturday. YSU led by 11 points in the second half, however WIU scored the final 14 points for the come-from-behind victory.
Trailing 7-0 following a WIU punt return for a touchdown, TB Jaleel McLaughlin raced 73 yards for a touchdown tying the contest late in the first quarter. YSU took a 14-7 lead when TB Christian Turner scored on a three-yard run late in the second. But WIU answered just 38 seconds later on a 43-yard scoring toss from Connor Sampson to Tony Tate. The Guins scored on the final play of the first half as QB Mark Waid threw a one-yard touchdown pass to London Pearson taking a 21-13 halftime lead.
To open the second half, YSU added a field goal on its opening drive to go on top 24-13. However, Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to pull WIU within 24-19. After a YSU turnover set the Leathernecks up at the Penguins' 35-yard line in the quarter, Sampson found Tate for a 28-yard score and that proved to be the game winner.
Last Time vs. Missouri State
Tevin McCaster rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns and the YSU special teams and defense all chipped in with big plays as well as YSU defeated Missouri State 38-10 on Nov. 18, 2017, at Stambaugh Stadium.
McCaster carried 27 times to spearhead an offensive attack that amassed 284 yards on the ground. He was one of three Penguins to have a rushing touchdown on the day joined by Joe Alessi and Ricky Davis.
YSU jumped out a to 24-0 halftime lead in the contest and was never threatened in the second half. The Guins closed out the contest with a pair of fourth quarter rushing touchdowns.
Tough Schedule
The Penguins will be playing a ranked foe for the fifth time in seven games this spring with the contest against No. 15 Missouri State.
The Penguins opened the season at No. 1 North Dakota State. In week two, YSU played its home opener against then No. 5 UNI. The Guins next played 11th-ranked Southern Illinois at home. YSU traveled to eighth-ranked South Dakota State on March 13.
The only unranked foes for YSU this spring have been South Dakota and Western Illinois.
New Faces Step Up
In the first four spring contests, 20 players made their initial starts for the program. Against North Dakota State in the opener, the Penguins had 13 players start their first-ever games in a YSU uniform.
On offense, TE Jake Benio, TB London Pearson, WR Malick Mbodj, WR Natavious Payne, OT Henry Yoboue, C Mike McAllister, OG Aidan Parker and OG Jaison Williams all started. On defense, DT Ty Eddington, FS Quincy Lenton, DB Keyon Martin, LB Grant Dixon and DT Vinny Gentile all made their initial start vs. NDSU.
YSU had two first-time starters in the contest vs. UNI - Derek Hite and Patrick Minenok - and four against SIU - D'Marco Augustin, Mark Waid, Jaleel McLaughlin and Dylan Wudke. At SDSU, just one player - TE Andrew Ogletree - made their first career start.
The last two contests have not featured any first-time starters.
Record Night For Coates
Senior WR/PR Jake Coates now holds the school record for career punt return yards with 556. Coates broke the mark last Saturday at WIU with three returns for 30 yards.
The previous mark had been held by Trent Boykin since 1994. A standout wide receiver for the Guins, Boykin had 534 yards in his career from 1991-94.
Coates also owns the school record with 86 career punt returns. In 2019, he returned 32 punts for a school-record 353 yards this season, an average of 11 yards per return. He was named second-team All-MVFC as a kick returner, the first Penguin to earn all-league first or second team honors as a kick returner since Jerald Burley in 2001.
At NDSU, Coates had the first receiving touchdown of his career on a 12-yard reception. He also had a 28-yard catch against WIU.
Big Games For Shifty Jaleel
In the past four contests, Penguins fans and the MVFC have caught glimpses of the speed and moves that TB Jaleel McLaughlin brings to the table.
McLaughlin has rushed for 536 yards in the past four contests, highlighted by a 166-yard effort against South Dakota. He is averaging 134 yards per contest in the previous four games.
He had a season-high 28 carries against South Dakota. He carried the ball 26 times for 124 yards and scored twice against Southern Illinois. He had 22 rushes for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns at South Dakota State, including a season-long 42-yard run. He scored on a career-long 73-yard run vs. the Leathernecks.
In his first two games, he had 16 carries for 57 yards.
Waid Gets the Nod
QB Mark Waid has started the past four games for the Penguins.
Waid completed 20-of-28 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown at Western Illinois. The completions, attempts and yards were all career highs.
He made his first career start against Southern Illinois. He rushed 23 times for 73 yards and a touchdown while completing 10-of-22 passes for 94 yards. Waid's 23 rushes were the most by a quarterback since Jeff Ryan had 27 attempts vs. New Haven on Oct. 24, 1998.
At South Dakota State, he rushed for 41 yards on 11 attempts while passing for 55 yards. Against South Dakota he had 74 yards rushing on 16 carries and a TD.
This season, Waid has 283 yards on 87 carries and scored two touchdowns. He has completed 62-of-97 passes for 527 yards and three scores.
Linebackers Playing Well
The Penguins starting linebacking duo of Grant Dixon and Griffin Hoak lead the Penguins in tackles through six games.
Both players have 43 total tackles so far this year. Each player has 28 solo stops and 15 assisted tackles. Also, they each have three TFLs. Hoak has two sacks while Dixon has one. Dixon also has an interception.
Dixon has had 10 tackles on two occasions while Hoak has been credited with nine on two occasions - South Dakota and Southern Illinois.
Long-Drive Champs
YSU has had seven scoring drives of 12-or-more plays this season. Also the Penguins have had five drives of over seven minutes during the campaign.
Against South Dakota, YSU had a 13-play touchdown drive and a 12-play drive that resulted in a field goal. At SDSU, YSU had a scoring drive that took 10:14 off the clock and featured 18 plays. Against SIU, YSU's long scoring drives were 19, 18 and 13 plays. The 19-play drive against SIU took 10:05.
The Penguins had a 15-play scoring drive in the opener at North Dakota State.
Overall, YSU's 17 scoring drives this spring have averaged 10 plays each.
Sack Attack
After not recording a sack in the first four games, the Penguins have six sacks in the past two games, including five sacks in the victory over South Dakota. LB Griffin Hoak had two while LB Grant Dixon, DE James Jackson and DT Chris Fitzgerald all had one apiece.
It was the first sacks in the careers of Hoak and Fitzgerald. It was the second career sack for Jackson (2019 - WIU) while it was Dixon's first sack at YSU and first since 2019 vs. Dayton when he was at Marist.
Mid-Year Transfers
YSU picked up some key reinforcements in January to help bolster the program at some key positions. The Guins had additions from Division II, FCS, Junior College, Group of Five and Power Five and another country.
The Guins added punter Paddy Lynch (Australia), LB Grant Dixon (Marist), DT Ty Eddington (Eastern Michigan), DB Quincy Lenton (Florida), LB Dorian Holloway (Cincinnati), TB Jaleel McLaughlin (Notre Dame, Ohio), TE Andrew Ogletree (Findlay), OL James Morrow (Butler County) and OL Nick Rosen (Lehigh).
Team of Graduates
The Penguins have an impressive amount of college graduates on this year's squad.
QB Joe Craycraft, TB Christian Turner, TB London Pearson, DE James Jackson, PK Colt McFadden, DB Zaire Jones, DB Patrick Minenok, OL Jordan Velez, WR Sam St. Surin and OL Henry Yoboue have all earned their undergraduate degrees from YSU.
Two Campbell Award Nominees
The Penguins can boast one thing not many other programs can - two 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame semifinalists.
YSU's nominee for the honor was senior TB Christian Turner. The other Campbell semifinalist on the team is Grant Dixon who transferred from Marist.
Up Next
The Penguins end the spring season on Saturday, April 17, with a home tilt against North Dakota. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for noon.
