Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State football team dropped a 28-25 decision to Duquesne Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Penguins fall to 1-2 while the Dukes improve to 1-2 on the season.
Sophomore quarterback Beau Brungard passed for 193 yards while completing 19-for-29 attempts and rushed for another 39 yards with a touchdown.
Senior running back Tyshon King rushed for a team-high 67 yards with two touchdowns while senior Ethan Wright posted 61 yards on the ground.
Latrell Fordham caught six passes for 50 yards while Max Tomczak had five catches for 62 yards.
The Penguins defense forced the Dukes to turn it over on downs on the first possession of the game and Andrew Lastovka's 45-yard field goal gave YSU a 3-0 lead at the seven-minute mark.
A 72-yard run by Duquesne's JaMario Clements, who ran for 204 yards, set up a three-yard touchdown plunge by Shawn Solomon, Jr., for a 7-3 lead with 6:05 left in the first.
Youngstown State scored 14 straight points to take a 10-point lead, 17-7, late in the second quarter.
The Penguins marched 71 yards in 13 plays to regain the lead on a Brungard one-yard touchdown keeper with 13:23 to go in the second quarter. Brungard ran for 29 yards and threw for 13 more on the drive.
Youngstown State put together another long drive to extend the lead to 10 points with a 15-play 76-yard drive. King capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining before the half.
Duquesne trimmed the Penguins lead to three, 17-14, just before the half on a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by a three-yard touchdown from Darius Perrantes to Tedy Afful.
The Dukes picked off Brungard in the end zone then marched 80 yards to retake the lead, 21-17, at the 1:21 mark of the third. Perrantes connected with Afful on a five-yard touchdown pass, marking the second score for the duo.
After a YSU punt, Clements raced 75 yards for his second touchdown of the game and pushed the Duquesne advantage to 28-17 with 1:47 remaining.
King scored for the second time to cap a quick 75-yard drive, and the Penguins added the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 28-25 with 23 seconds left.
Duquesne recovered the on-side kick attempt to seal the victory.
Youngstown State visits Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium.
