Youngstown State University
Illinois State
Penguins Set to Visit Illinois State on Saturday
10/29/2024 1:32:00 PM | Football
Youngstown State at Illinois State
Nov. 2, 2024 | Hancock Stadium
Normal, Ill. | 3 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Central
Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (Kurt Pegler, Clay Harbor)
Radio Network – 570 WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App
Penguins
Record: 3-6, 2-3 MVFC
Last Game: vs. North Dakota (W, 41-40 - OT)
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Fifth Season)
X: @ysufootball
Redbirds
Record: 5-3, 2-2 MVFC
Last Game: Murray State (W, 40-32)
Head Coach: Brock Spack (16th Season)
X: @RedbirdFB
Series History
All-Time Series: YSU leads 16-15
At ISU: ISU leads 9-6
Win Streak: YSU, 3 games
Last Meeting: Youngstown State, 41-38 (2023)
| Opponent | Date | Location | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Saturday Nov. 2 | 3 PM Eastern |
Hancock Stadium Normal, Ill. |
ESPN+ | 570 WKBN | Live Stats |
The Youngstown State football team begins November with a trip to 19th-ranked Illinois State on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff at Hancock Stadium is set for 3 p.m. Eastern time/2 p.m. Central time. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
YSU (3-6 overall, 2-3 in the MVFC) is coming off a thrilling 41-40 overtime win over No. 7 North Dakota last Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium. The game featured six lead changes before the Guins made a stop on two-point try by the Fighting Hawks to seal the victory.
QB Beau Brungard rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another in the win. He had 176 yards on a career-high 18 carries in the contest.
YSU scored on the first drive of the contest to go on top 7-0, before UND took a 13-7 lead in the second quarter. Two Brungard touchdowns, including a 28-yarder with just six seconds left in the first half gave the Guins a 21-20 halftime lead.
Trailing 27-21, the Penguins went in front 31-27 following a Brungard scored and Andrew Lastovka field goal. Down 34-31 with 12 seconds left in regulation, Lastovka sent the game to overtime with a 35-yard kick.
In OT, Tyshon King scored on a one-yard run on fourth and goal to open the session. The Fighting Hawks crept within 41-40 on a one-yard pass from Simon Romfo to Bo Belquist. UND decided to go for the win, but the Guins stopped the two-point try to and set off a wild celebration.
Brungard (offense) and Lastovka (special teams) were recognized as MVFC Offensive Players of the Week for their standout efforts.
Illinois State (5-3, 2-2) was idle last Saturday. The Redbirds beat Murray State, 40-32, on Oct. 19. The Redbirds rolled to 633 total yards against the Racers, ISU's most in a game since November 2014. QB Tommy Rittenhouse passed for 347 yards and rushed for 128 and two scores in the victory.
The two most recent meetings in a tightly-contested series have been decided in the final seconds. Last year, Lastovka kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired for a 41-38 YSU win. In 2022, the Guins scored the winning TD with 10 seconds left for a 19-17 at Hancock Stadium. The Penguins own a 16-15 all-time edge in the series that dates back to 1979.
The Wright Stuff
TB Ethan Wright has been a huge addition after transferring from Cincinnati this fall.
Wright has started at tailback each of the past five games for the Penguins.
In the win over North Dakota, he had a season-high 93 yards on 16 carries. Against Indiana State, he had 81 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns at Missouri State, he rushed for 76 yards on a season-high 17 carries and added a touchdown.
In six of nine games this year, Wright has rushed for 61 yards or more.
In 32 career games played at UC from 2020-23, he had 215 yards on 44 attempts and caught five passes for 44 yards. After nine games at YSU, he has 110 carries for 577 yards and 17 receptions for 109 yards.
Brungard Shows Off Run Skills
Sophomore QB Beau Brungard has set the school single-season record for rushing yards by at quarterback.
Brungard has rushed for 777 yards on 109 carries and scored 11 touchdowns this year. He is averaging 86.1 yards per game and an impressive 7.1 yards per rush.
He broke the previous mark of 638 yards set by Jeff Ryan in 1999.
Against North Dakota, he rushed for 176 yards on a season-high 18 carries. His two big runs were both key as his 46-yard scamper late in the game set up the tying field and his 28-yard score came with just six seconds left in the first half.
Three times this season he has rushed for more than 100 yards. On two occasions - vs. Valparaiso and North Dakota - he had three touchdowns and was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Johnson Sets Career High
Senior LB Devin Johnson has set a career-high for tackles this season with 40 stops. His previous career best was 25 in 2022.
In the win over North Dakota, Johnson had a career-high eight tackles, highlighted by five solo stops. He's had at least three tackles in each of the past eight games.
In 47 games played during his career, he has been credited with 94 tackles (62 solos).
Tomczak Stepping Up
WR Max Tomczak is having a great 2024 campaign. Through nine games he has 45 receptions for 576 yards and two touchdowns.
He's had at least four receptions in every game this season, including a season-high-nine against South Dakota last Saturday.
Against Valpo, he had a career-high two touchdown grabs on four catches for 98 yards.
He caught 56 passes for 669 yards, and, in 2022 had 26 catches for 430 yards and two TDs.
For his career, Tomczak has 127 receptions for 1,675 yards and five scores.
Traugh Emerges At WR
Redshirt freshman WR Cyrus Traugh has emerged as a go-to receiver this season.
Through nine games, Traugh has 28 receptions for 341 yards and a team-high four touchdowns.
He had a breakout performance at Pitt with two touchdown receptions and four catches for 89 yards. At Pitt he had scoring catches of 44 and 25 yards accounting for both of YSU's touchdowns in the game.
His first career touchdown grab came at Villanova in the season opener. He hauled in his first MVFC touchdown against North Dakota last week.
The King Penguin
TB Tyshon King has five rushing touchdowns in 2024 and 14 for his YSU career. He scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime on fourth-and-goal vs. North Dakota.
This year he has rushed for 380 yards on 99 carries. He had 65 yards on 15 carries against North Dakota and had a season-high 67-yard performance against Duquesne.
In his first season at YSU last year, King rushed for 1,011 yards on 187 carries and scored nine touchdowns en route to earning second-team All-MVFC honors.
Specialists Keep Excelling
The Penguins' specialists are two of the most talented at the FCS level.
PK Andrew Lastovka, who was 17-of-20 on field-goal attempts in 2023, has made 10-of-13 attempts this season, including a season-long 46-yard boot at Pittsburgh. He is now 27-of-33 on field-goal tries in his career.
P Brendon Kilpatrick is averaging 47.4 yards per punt on 29 kicks this season. He has 12 punts of 50 yards or more, highlighted by two 65-yard boots. Additionally he has placed a 13 inside the 20-yard line.
He would rank third nationally, but is only averaging 3.2 punts per game, just below the NCAA's minimum qualifications of 3.6 attempts a contest. YSU leads all of FCS in Net Punting.
Rugged Schedule
YSU has had to face one of the toughest slates in the country in 2024. YSU has played then No. 1 South Dakota State, No. 4 South Dakota, No. 6 Villanova, No. 7 North Dakota and now faces 19th-ranked Illinois State.
Also, YSU has faced now nationally-ranked Missouri State, a Duquesne team that's one spot out of the top 25 and Pittsburgh which is 7-0 for the first time since 1982.
Specialists Earns MVFC Honors
Brendon Kilpatrick and Andrew Lastovka have both been named MVFC Specialists of the Week this year.
YSU is the only MVFC program to have both of its specialists earn weekly honors in 2024.
Kilpatrick was named the Missouri Valley Football's Special Teams Player of the Week following the Penguins' 21-14 win over Indiana State.
Lastovka was named the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week after YSU's 41-40 victory over North Dakota.
New Faces on Defense
This season, 13 different players have made their first career starts on defense for the Penguins.
Most recently, CB Payton Edwards (Indiana State transfer) and DB Andrew Centofanti started at Missouri State. The week before, LB Preston Zandier started at Pitt. Against Duquesne, DT Tyler Bukur, DT Nehemiah Dukes and CB Jordan Rudolph were starters.
Against Villanova, first-time starters were SS Stephon Hall, FS Makai Shahid, DB Kerion Martin and CB Isaiah Hackett, LBs Mike Wells and Devin Johnson and DTs Joe Brown and Jaelen Crider.
Previous starters were CB Jaylen Castleberry, DE Dawan Martin and DE Hunter Allen. Allen and Castleberry have started every game so far this year.
Father-Son QB Starters
QB Beau Brungard joined his father, Mark, as starting quarterbacks for the Guins.
Beau Brungard, a third-year sophomore, started for the first time in his career at Villanova. He has started every game for YSU so far this season.
Mark made his starting debut on Sept. 2, 1993, at Western Michigan. Ironically both of those were season-opening Thursday night road games.
O-Line Features Experience
YSU's offensive line has a plethora of experience with three players starting more than 30 games.
That group features right tackle Jaison Williams (49 starts), Aidan Parker (47 starts), left guard David Metzler (33 starts) and left tackle Desmeal Leigh (22).
New to the lineup this year is Shane Keenan who has started nine times at right guard. Van Keen, who started twice at center in 2023, started the past six contests along the line, including a starting at center the last five games.
Grinding Down the Clock
The Guins, who ranked first in the FCS in time of possession averaging 35:06 per game in 2023, are currently first in the country again with an impressive TOP average of 35:43. YSU has the national lead by almost a minute over North Dakota State (34:45).
The Guins have held the ball for more than 40 minutes in three games this season (Duquesne, Missouri State and South Dakota State).
Scoring Drives Breakdown
By Plays
11 | 7-or-fewer plays
20 | 10-or-more plays
27 | 8-or-more plays
By Time
12 | 3 minutes or less
13 | 6-plus minutes
23 | 4-plus minutes
Williams Garners Multiple Preseason Accolades
Veteran OL Jaison Williams was named to multiple preseason FCS All-American teams.
Williams was tabbed a preseason Second-Team All-American by FCS Football Central/SI.com and a third-team All-American by Stats Perform.
In 2023, he earned second-team all-conference honors after being named Honorable-Mention All-MVFC in 2021 and 2022.
Five Earn All-MVFC Honors
YSU had five preseason All-MVFC selections. Garnering first-team accolades were OL Jaison Williams and TB Tyshon King.
Additionally, WR Max Tomczak was a second-team pick while long snapper Sam Merryman and placekicker Andrew Lastovka were honorable-mention selections.
2024 Team Captains
YSU has elected five team captains for the 2024 season. The five players voted captains for the upcoming year are Jaison Williams (54), Tyshon King (10), Michael Voitus (42), Devin Johnson (45) and Logan Pasco (34). Williams and King are the offensive captains, Voitus and Johnson are the defensive captains and Pasco is the special teams captain.
Numbers of Note
• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 158-48 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 32-94.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 179-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 159-23 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 183-34 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 97-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 213-23 when leading entering the fourth.
• 95-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.
