Youngstown State at Southern Illinois
Nov. 9, 2024 | Hancock Stadium
Carbondale, Ill. | 1 p.m. Eastern/Noon Central

Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ 
Radio Network – 570 WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App

Penguins
Record: 3-7, 2-4 MVFC
Last Game: at Illinois State (L, 23-16)
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Fifth Season)
X: @ysufootball

Salukis
Record: 2-7, 0-5 MVFC
Last Game: Missouri State (L, 38-17)
Head Coach: Nick Hill (Ninth Season)
X: @SIU_Football

Series History
All-Time Series: YSU leads 20-14-1
At SIU: Tied 8-8-1
Win Streak: YSU, 3 games
Last Meeting: Youngstown State, 31-3 (2023)

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Nov. 9 | 1 PM Eastern	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, Ill.	ESPN+	570 WKBN	Live Stats

    The Youngstown State football team plays its final road game of the season this Saturday at Southern Illinois. Kickoff at Saluki Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Eastern time/Noon Central time. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    YSU (3-7 overall, 2-4 in the MVFC) suffered a 23-16 setback at Illinois State last Saturday at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill. The Penguins led 2-0 after an early safety before the Redbirds went on top by a pair of scores in the second half. The Guins tried to rally, but came up just short.
    The Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter when Jaylen Castleberry sacked Redbird QB Tommy Rittenhouse for a safety. The Redbirds scored the final nine points of the first half to take a 9-2 lead at intermission.
    The teams traded touchdowns on the opening drives of the third quarter.  ISU went ahead 16-2 following an 11-yard run by Rittenhouse. The Guins answered with a one-yard run by Tyshon King to get within a touchdown. 
    Later in the third quarter, the Redbirds went back on top by two scores when Rittenhouse connected with Javon Charles on a four-yard toss.
    The Penguins took advantage of a late ISU turnover to get back to within a touchdown when Beau Brungard connected with Max Tomczak on a seven-yard scoring toss with 4:34 left. However, ISU was able to run out the clock to preserve the win.
    Southern Illinois (2-7, 0-5) dropped a 38-17 contest at Missouri State last Saturday. The Salukis trailed 24-0 in the second quarter before battling back to get within 10 points in the third quarter. The Bears closed out the game with two running scores to seal the victory.
    SIU has battled through injuries at quarterback during the season. True freshman Jake Curry has started the past three games while graduate assistant coach Michael Lindauer has seen action the past two weeks.
    YSU has won the past three contests and six of the last eight meetings in the all-time series. Last year, the Penguins picked up a 31-3 victory at Stambaugh Stadium. This is YSU's first trip to SIU since November 2021. The Penguins picked up 35-18 win on Nov. 20, 2021. Youngstown State leads the all-time series by a 20-14-1 margin.

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 six 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 10 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 10 games at YSU, he has 123 carries for 630 yards and 18 receptions for 114 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 799 yards on 121 carries and scored 11 touchdowns this year. He is averaging 79.9 yards per game and an impressive 6.6 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 late 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 44 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 48 games played during his career, he has been credited with 98 tackles (63 solos).

Three Set Tackles Highs

    Against Illinois State, three YSU defensive players registered career highs in tackles.
    DJ Harris had a team-high and career-high 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops. Jaylen Castleberry was credited with a career-best 10 total tackles and eight solos. Makai Shahid had eight tackles in the contest.
    Harris entered the game with 26 tackles on the season. He also had his first career interception against the Redbirds.

Tomczak Stepping Up

    WR Max Tomczak is having a great 2024 campaign. Through 10 games he has 53 receptions for 649 yards and three touchdowns.
    He's had at least four receptions in every game this season, including a season-high-nine against South Dakota. At Illinois State he had eight catches for 73 yards and a TD.
    Against Valpo, he had a career-high two touchdown grabs on four catches for 98 yards.
     He caught a career-high 56 passes for 669 yards in 2023.
    For his career, Tomczak has 135 receptions for 1,748 yards and six scores.

Traugh Emerges At WR

    Redshirt freshman WR Cyrus Traugh has emerged as a go-to receiver this season. 
    Through 10 games, Traugh has 29 receptions for 345 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.

The King Penguin

    TB Tyshon King has six rushing touchdowns in 2024 and 15 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 439 yards on 111 carries. He had a team-leading 59 yards on 12 carries at Illinois State. Earlier he had a season-high 67-yard performance against Duquesne.

Two With 50 Starts

    LS Sam Merryman and OT Jaison Williams started their 50th career games last Saturday at Illinois State.
    Both made their first career starts in February 2021 at North Dakota State. 

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-14 attempts this season. He is now 27-of-34 on field-goal tries in his career.
    P Brendon Kilpatrick is averaging 46 yards per punt on 34 kicks this season. He has 12 punts of 50 yards or more, highlighted by two 65-yard boots. Additionally he has placed a 15 inside the 20-yard line.
    He would rank seventh nationally, but is only averaging 3.4 punts per game, just below the NCAA's minimum qualifications of 3.6 attempts a contest. YSU leads all of FCS in net punting.

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, 14 different players have made their first career starts on defense for the Penguins.
    Most recently, DB DJ Harris started at Illinois State. 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. Castleberry has 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 (50 starts), Aidan Parker (48 starts), left guard David Metzler (33 starts) and left tackle Desmeal Leigh (23).
    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 seven contests along the line, including a starting at center the last six 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 35:50. YSU has the national lead by more than a minute over North Dakota State (34:24).
    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
22 | 10-or-more plays
29 | 8-or-more plays

By Time
12 | 3 minutes or less
13 | 6-plus minutes
24 | 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 158-49 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.