Macomb, Ill. – The Youngstown State football team pulled off a miraculous comeback beating Western Illinois 28-27 on a windy and sunny afternoon at Hanson Field.
YSU trailed 27-17 with just over three minutes left, but Colt McFadden came on to drill a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Penguins an improbable one-point win.
The Penguins improve to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the MVFC while Western Illinois falls to 0-7 and 0-4.
TB Jaleel McLaughlin led the way for the Penguins rushing for 207 yards on 32 carries – the fourth 200-yard effort of his career – tying the school record set by P.J. Mays.
After falling behind by 10, the Guins found a sense of urgency that willed them to the victory.
YSU used two big passing plays to get within two points.Mitch Davidson connected with a wide-open Brandon Alexander for 48 yards before finding Bryce Oliver for a 40-yard score with 2:29 remaining. On the extra-point try, Paddy Lynch found Trenton Gillison for a two-point conversion to make it 27-25.
The defense forced a three-and-out and an incompletion on third down allowing the Guins to save a timeout. WIU punted the Penguins' 17 with 51 seconds left. The Penguins marched down the field and were able to call timeout with four seconds left at the WIU 25-yard line.
McFadden came on to drill the game-winner as a flag was on the Leathernecks for an illegal substation setting off a wild celebration.
The Guins took a 3-0 lead on their initial possession of the game. Colt McFadden came on to make a 25-yard field goal after the YSU drive stalled at the Western seven-yard line.
Western took its first lead of the season following an impressive 97-yard drive that last 5:30. WIU QB Clay Bruno scrambled to his right and found Taj Sanders along the back of the end zone at the 13:00 mark of the second quarter.
That would be the last score by either team until the final seconds of the first half.
Down 10-7, the Guins moved 85 yards in just 1:02 to grab the lead just before halftime. McLaughlin scooted 14 yards through the WIU defense and found paydirt with just 16 seconds left in the half.
The Leathernecks tied the contest at 10 on a 40-yard field goal by Mason Laramie with 9:32 left in the third quarter. Another Laramie field goal, this time from 30 yards helped the Leathernecks retake the lead at 13-10 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
The Guins briefly retook the lead at 17-13 on a 14-yard scoring run by Dra Rushton. After YSU converted a 4th-and-1 following a defensive offside penalty, Demeatric Crenshaw handed the ball off to Rushton who sped around the left side and found the end zone with 8:37 remaining.
But the Leathernecks answered right back to go in front at 20-17. In just 1:24, WIU moved 75 yards and went on top following a 25-yard scoring strike from Bruno to Naseim Brantley.
After forcing a YSU turnover, the Leathernecks added to their lead going in front 27-17 with 3:09 left. On third-and-four from the five, Bruno again found Brantley for a five-yard scoring toss with 3:09 left in the game.
The Penguins return home to take on South Dakota next Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff for the contest against the Coyotes is set for 2 p.m.
