Youngstown State Football wins in overtime, eyes Michigan State next

Youngstown State football notched a win in overtime over Incarnate Word. The Penguins now prepare to go on the road to play Michigan State next week.

Head coach Doug Phillips is in his second year as the head of the Youngstown State football program.

Last season, the Penguins played their season starting in late February. They lost six of their seven games with their only win coming against South Dakota but three of their six losses were by only single digits.

This offseason was not much better for Youngstown State football, as the Associated Press reported that the Penguins were put on probation for two years and received recruiting sanctions by the NCAA after the school and the NCAA agreed there were several rules violations that had taken place under former coach Bo Pelini.

However, the Penguins seemed to be now heading in the right direction as they won their season and home opener against Incarnate Word in thrilling fashion.

In a high scoring first half, Youngstown State went into halftime with a 24-21 lead. The Penguins rushing attack was the story in the first half with senior running back Jaleel McLaughlin rushing for 155 yards in the first half that included a 72 yard touchdown run to give Youngstown State before the half.

The Penguin’s passing game did not fare well in the first half freshmen quarterback Demetric Crenshaw threw for only 47 yards prior to halftime. He did completed six of his seven first-half passing attempts and did throw a touchdown pass early in the game.

Senior placekicker Colten McFadden made his only first-half field goal attempt and made all three of his extra-point attempts. Youngstown State’s special teams played well overall prior to the end of the first half that included a first-half punt block that led to a Penguin scoring drive.

Incarnate Word was led by sophomore quarterback Cameron Ward who led the offense in the first half for the Cardinals passing for 189 yards with two touchdowns through the air on 11 for 20 passing. Senior running back Kevin Brown had 73 yards with one touchdown on the ground in the first half for Incarnate Word.

The Penguins started the second half with a solid drive that ended with another McLaughlin rushing touchdown to give Youngstown State a 31-21 lead. The Cardinals would respond with a rushing touchdown but missed the extra point making it a four-point lead for the Penguins. After a short punt, Incarnate Word had great field position at the Penguins 39 yard line.

On fourth and 10, the Cardinals got the first down and on the following play senior receiver Darion Chafin caught his second touchdown of the game to give Incarnate Word a 34-31 lead going into the fourth quarter.

With just under five minutes in the game, and the Cardinals in their own territory went for it on fourth and one. The Penguins defense came up big and stopped Incarnate Wood giving Youngstown State the ball in Cardinals territory.

Then with 2:15 left in the game, Crenshaw on a nine-yard quarterback sneak found the end zone to give Youngstown State a 38-34 lead. However, with 39 seconds left in the game, Incarnate Word scored a touchdown on a throw from Ward to Trevor Begue to give the Cardinals a 41-38 lead. Youngstown State on a 41-yard field goal attempt with only two seconds left in regulation forced overtime.

In overtime, Youngstown State’s defense sacked Ward forcing a third down and long. On fourth down, the Penguins defense forced a fumble and recovered. Youngstown State ran the ball on their first possession in overtime to set up a potential game-winning field goal. McFadden connected on the 27-yard field goal attempt to win the game for the Penguins 44-41.