Penguins win shootout over Salukis, 48-38

FINAL STATS

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In a shootout between two teams jockeying for playoff position, Youngstown State rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Southern Illinois, 48-38, on Saturday.

Everything was going SIU’s way early, as it took the No. 15-ranked Salukis (6-4, 3-3) just two plays to find the end zone. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback DJ Williams hit Jay Jones on a 58-yard bomb down the middle of the field. Then he delivered a sideline throw to running back Eddie Robinson for a 17-yard TD.

Southern eventually pushed its lead to 24-7 early in the second quarter, as Williams finished a 69-yard drive with a one-yard TD off right tackle, and later hit Vinson Davis III on a perfectly thrown corner route for a 23-yard touchdown.

The No. 21-ranked Penguins (6-4, 3-3) made some first-half mistakes, fumbling a punt that led to three points for SIU. At the end of the first quarter, an apparent YSU touchdown was ruled a dropped pass on review, and an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed them back 15 yards. On the next play, Vontrell Chairse sacked Beau Brungard forcing a punt.

SIU settled for a 24-14 halftime lead, after coming up empty on its final drive of the first half, when Paul Geelen’s 51-yard field goal try was wide left.

The second half was all Youngstown State, as the Penguins (6-4, 3-3) scored touchdowns on all five of their second-half drives.

“We got off to a good start, but coming out of halftime, I felt like the way the game was going, we were going to have to push it into the high-30s,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “We did that last year against these guys, and tonight it wasn't enough. We just weren't able to stop them at all, to gain some momentum. If you're gonna have that type of game, you gotta keep scoring touchdowns yourself.”

Brungard piloted a YSU offense that totaled 648 yards — the fifth-most yards SIU has allowed in school history. He passed for 345 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 104 yards and two more scores.

“I felt like we did a good job initially on him,” said linebacker Colin Bohanek. “After that, he got out of the pocket a lot, and we couldn't get him down to the ground when we needed to. Defensively, what we put out there tonight is not up to our standard, and we are a way better defense than that.”

Brungard’s work overshadowed an impressive day by Williams, who passed for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 55 yards and one rushing TD.

Southern’s offense piled up 537 total yards, averaging 7.6 yards per play. The problem was, YSU averaged 9.3 yards.

Robinson led SIU’s ground game with 85 yards and he averaged 7.7 yards per carry. Saluki tight end Ryan Schwendeman led the team with five catches for 96 yards in his first action since being injured at North Dakota State in Week 7.

“I thought we came out shooting, got out to a nice lead, but just weren't able to keep up with the other offense on the field,” Schwendeman said.

The Penguins secured a crucial win with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Both teams likely need to win-out to make the playoffs.

“There's no doubt the guys in our locker room know that we can win those, and they're good opponents, and the games could also be like this,” Hill said. “The effort, the concentration, the focus has to remain the same.”

YSU finishes with Indiana State and Northern Iowa, while SIU takes on a formidable pair of Top 25 teams in South Dakota and Illinois State.

“The season is on the line with these two games,” said SIU cornerback Jeremiah McClendon, who led the team with 13 tackles and recovered a fumbled punt in the first half. “We have to stay together as a team and just pull these out.”

Next Saturday’s game will be Senior Day at Saluki Stadium for a host of seniors, including Bohanek.

“This one stings, this one hurts,” Bohanek said. “This has gotta fuel the fire for us to win out the next two games. We can't have a woe is me mentality.”

“Everybody's disappointed,” Hill concluded. “But this game will teach you that you got to show back up tomorrow and be the same guy, win or lose.”