Youngstown State at Towson
Sept. 20, 2025 | Johnny Unitas Stadium
Towson, Md. | 6 p.m.

Broadcast Information
TV – Flo Sports/Monumental Sports Network (Guy Haberman, Yogi Roth and Rhett Lewis)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN (Bob Hannon, TBA)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App

Penguins
2025 Record: 2-1
Last Game: Michigan State 41, YSU 24
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Sixth Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @ysufootball

Tigers
2025 Record: 2-1
Last Game: Maryland 44, Towson 17
Head Coach: Jonathan Smith (Second Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @Towson_FB

Series History
All-Time Series: YSU leads 3-0
Last Meeting: Youngstown State,  27-17 (1991)
In Towson: YSU leads 2-0

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Sept. 20 | 6 PM	Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, Md.	Flo Sports	570 WKBN	Live Stats

    The No. 24 (AFCA FCS Coaches Poll) Youngstown State football team closes out the non-conference portion of the season with a trip to Towson. The matchup is the first tilt between the Penguins and Tigers since November 1991. Kickoff for the contest is set for 6 p.m. from Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game is available on the Flo Sports ($), WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    • YSU dropped its first game of the season falling 41-24 at Michigan State last Saturday. The Guins hung tough against the Spartans trailing by a touchdown at halftime and 10 points in the fourth quarter. 
    • Scoring touchdowns for the Penguins were Jaden Gilbert (one-yard run), RK Dandridge (three-yard reception) and Flash Wilson (19-yard reception). Gilbert added a pair of explosive plays with a 66-yard run and a 39-yard catch against the Spartans.
    • QB Beau Brungard threw for a season-high 242 yards completing 24-of-34 passes. He had a career-high-tying two touchdown passes. 
    • WR Max Tomczak caught seven passes for 78 yards in the contest. He now has a reception in 36 straight games. His 169 career receptions now rank second in school history while his 2,193 yards move him into fourth place all-time.
    • LB Preston Zandier recorded a career-high 11 tackles at Michigan State. Zandier had six solos and five assisted stops. He is the fourth Penguin this year with at least 10 tackles in a game.
    • YSU has six takeaways in the three games compared to just one turnover. The Guins are tied for fifth in the FCS at plus-1.67 per contest.
    • Towson (2-1) will be playing its first home game of the season on Saturday after opening with three road games. Last time out, the Tigers dropped a 44-17 decision at Maryland. Towson opened the year with wins at Norfolk State and Morgan State. Two of the three road games were played in Maryland.
    • YSU has won all four meetings in the series, but the teams have not played since Nov. 23, 1991. The Guins won that meeting by a score of 27-17. The Guins also won in Towson, 13-0, in November 1990.
    • The Penguins have a bye next week before opening Missouri Valley Football Conference play at home against South Dakota State on Oct. 4.

Defense With Six Takeaways

    The Penguins have forced six turnovers through three games, which is one shy of last years caused total in 12 contests.
    YSU forced four turnovers in the season opener vs. Mercyhurst with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. That marked the most turnovers forced in a game by YSU since Nov. 19, 2022 (Southern Illinois).
    Against RMU, the Guins turned a late second-quarter fumble into a TD. At Michigan State, the Guins recorded their third INT of the season.
    Last year, the Guins had three interceptions and four recovered fumbles.

Multiple FCS Category Leader

    QB Beau Brungard leads the FCS in rushing yards (426) and rushing yards per game (142) while ranking tied for second in rushing touchdowns (six). Additionally, he ranks third in yards per carry at 8.19 and total touchdowns (six) . 
    The next closest FCS QBs are at 6.21 per carry, 273 rushing yards and 91 yards per contest.

Stopping the Run

    YSU's defense ranks 10th in the FCS in rushing defense surrendering just 92.7 yards a game after three contests.
    Against RMU the Guins limited the Colonials to 41 yards on 27 carries. Robert Morris had 20 of those on one carry as YSU allowed just 21 yards on the 26 other attempts.
    In the opener, YSU limited Mercyhurst to 63 yards on 24 carries. The Lakers had 31 yards on two carries and were held to 32 on the other 22 attempts.

First-Time Starters

    The Penguins has had 17 first-time starters so far this year after three games.
    On offense, WR Flash Wilson, guards Joe Sferra and Isaac Perkins, TB Jaden Gilbert and TE Austin Bray started for the first time. On defense, DBs Dathan Hickey, Justin Wimpye and Dayne Hodge, LB Carston Marshall and defensive lineman Ebony Curry Jr., Thomas Jolly and Collin Vaughn started for the initial time. 
    Against Robert Morris, LB Graydon Rollins, WR Mike Solomon and TE Alex McDonald were first-time starters. At Michigan State, WR RK Dandridge and TB Tahir Mills started.

National Honors Times Two

    The Penguins have had the Stats Perform National FCS Players of the Week on offense and defense already this season.
    QB Beau Brungard was named the national Offensive Player of the Week following his record-setting performance against Robert Morris. DB Dathan Hickey took top national Defensive honors following the opening game vs. Mercyhurst.
Tomczak Moving Up Charts
    WR Max Tomczak enters the game ranked second in school history with 169 receptions and fourth with 2,193 yards. 
    His 163 career receptions rank him only behind Jim Ferranti (180). Ferranti owns the school record with 3,103 yards set back in 1979.
    A year ago, he had 73 grabs for 904 yards and four touchdowns. He had 56 catches for 669 yards in 2023 and 26 for 430 yards in 2022. In three games this season, he has 190 yards on 14 receptions.
    He has caught a pass in a school record 36 consecutive contests. Tomczak also has at least four receptions in 18 of his last 21 games.

Hickey Garners Honors

    Senior DB Dathan Hickey picked up conference and national honors for his performance in the win over Mercyhurst in the opener.
    He was named the Stats Perform's National Defensive Player of the Week and the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week.
    Hickey's YSU debut was impressive as he was credited with 13 tackles to go along with a key fourth quarter interception and a forced and recovered fumble in the second quarter.
    A transfer from Yale, Hickey had not played a collegiate game in 706 days prior the season opener. 
    In three games this year he has 20 tackles (13 solos and seven assists). He leads the team in solo tackles and ranks second in total tackles.
    Hickey became the first Penguin to earn the MVFC defensive honor since Alex Howard on Nov. 7, 2022.

Brungard Shows Off Skills

    Junior QB Beau Brungard set the school  and conference record for rushing yards against Robert Morris.
    On just 10 carries, he had 264 yards and scored four touchdowns. The 264 yards tied for the third-most in a game in school history and broke the MVFC record of 245 set in 2001.
    In the opener vs. Mercyhurst, he rushed for 145 yards on a career-high 28 carries with two touchdowns.
    Brungard rushed for 998 yards on 159 carries and scored 16 touchdowns in 2024. He averaged 83.2 yards per game.
    Six times in 14 career starts he has rushed for more than 100 yards. And four times in his career has he been the MVFC Player of the Week.
    For his career, he has rushed for 1,553 yards on 239 carries (6.5 yards per rush) with 25 touchdowns. He has thrown for 2,727 yards completing 273-of-405 passes (67.4 percent).
    At Michigan State, he completed 24-of-34 passes for a season-high 242 yards and two scores. It was the fifth time in his YSU career he's thrown for more than 200 yards.

Specialists Own Experience

    The Penguins' specialists group features an impressive array of experience.
    YSU has third-year starters in punter Brendon Kilpatrick and placekicker Andrew Lastovka. New to the lineup is long snapper Byron Floyd, who started for two seasons at Pitt and one at Buffalo, before transferring into the program.
    Kilpatrick was selected as the FCS Punter of the Year by the Augusta Sports Council in 2024. 
    Lastovka has made 31 field goals in 28 career contests. Floyd has started 41 games (25 at Pitt, 13 at Buffalo and three at YSU).
    Lastovka has made 61 straight PATs dating back to Nov. 18, 2023. Kilpatrick is averaging 49.6 yards a punt on eight kicks this year. Five of his eight kicks are longer than 50 yards.

O-Line Features Consistency

    YSU's offensive line has three starters from last season in tackles Desmeal Leigh and Shane Keenan and center Van Keen.
    Leigh has the most starting experience on the team with 28 starts. Keenan has started the last 15 contests and moved to right tackle this year after playing guard in 2024.
    Keen started 10 times last season and has now started 11 straight contests at center.
    The Guins added Colgate transfer Isaac Perkins who started 15 games and fourth-year junior Joe Sferra will be on the line. Both have been in the starting linuep each of the first three games.

Hodge, Hickey Lead Back End

    DBs Dathan Hickey and Dayne Hodge have made  instant impacts and bring a good wealth of experience to the secondary. In three games at YSU, Hodge owns the team lead with 23 tackles while Hickey is second with 20 stops.
    Hickey missed the campaign last season with an injury, but had appeared in 28 games throughout his career at Yale. From the 2022 season to this year, he played in only five games after appearing in 23 from 2018-21.
    Hodge played in 28 games and started 19 contests at safety for Tulsa since 2021. 
    In 2024, he played and started 11 games. Hodge finished second on the team with 60 tackles (30 solos and 30 assists) with three pass breakups. In 2023, he played in all 12 games and started eight contests and registered 57 stops.

Tomczak on Senior Bowl List

    WR Max Tomczak is a member of the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 list.
    Tomczak is one of just five FCS players on the list that includes 276 players from Power Four programs. He is joined by UIW WR Jalen Walthall, North Dakota State WR Bryce Lance, Stephen F Austin DB Charles Demmings and Harvard QB Jaden Craig.

The Wright Stuff

    TB Ethan Wright is close to returning the lineup after suffering and Achilles injury at Southern Illinois last November.
    In 2024, Wright started at tailback on seven occasions for the Penguins en route to being named to the MVFC All-Newcomer squad.
    In 32 career games played at UC from 2020-23, he had 215 yards on 44 attempts and caught five passes for 44 yards. In 11 games at YSU, he has 136 carries for 677 yards and 18 receptions for 114 yards.

2025 Team Captains

    YSU has elected five team captains for the 2025 season. 
    The five players voted captains for the year are QB Beau Brungard (12), TB Ethan Wright (2), Punter Brendon Kilpatrick (40), DE Michael Voitus (42) and DB Dathan Hickey (11).
    Voitus has been named a team captain for the second straight year.

Returning All-MVFC Performers

    The Guins bring back four All-MVFC players from a year ago.
    Highlighting the group is first-team WR Max Tomczak and QB Beau Brungard, who earned first-team accolades as an all-purpose player.
    Punter Brendon Kilpatrick was a second-team honoree while OT Desmeal Leigh was an honorable-mention pick.    

Preseason Accolades

Max Tomczak | WR
    • Senior Bowl Top 300
    • East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List
    • 2nd-Team Phil Steele Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team Stats Perform Preseason All-America
Desmeal Leigh | OL
    • Third-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
Brendon Kilpatrick | Punter
    • FCS Punter of the Year Watch List
    • Third-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team Stats Perform Preseason All-America
Dathan Hickey | DB
    • East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List

Numbers of Note

• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 160-50 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 32-95.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 181-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 160-24 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 185-35 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 99-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 215-24 when leading entering the fourth.
• 95-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.