YSU hopes to build on a key win during the final stretch | News, sports, jobs

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU defensive end Michael Voitus (42) and defensive tackle Nehemiah Dukes (44) pressured North Dakota’s Quincy Vaughn on the final play in last week’s win at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — Above the tunnel leading from the Youngstown State locker room to the Beede Field turf at Stambaugh Stadium, two signs hang: “Football is a 60-minute game” and “Finish.”

Both are part of the Penguins’ mantras, something the coaching staff has emphasized with the team all season.

Now that YSU has seen the results of those efforts after an overtime win over then-No. 7 North Dakota this past week, a renewed sense of belief surrounds the program.

“We’ve preached and we’ve believed, but what the win does is it gives you the belief that we can do it if we put everything together,” head coach Doug Phillips said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “I always say you need that ‘W’ to get that belief. We haven’t lost faith, but you keep telling them we have to play 60 minutes. You play for 60 minutes, you get what your work deserves. When you leave the field, you look at the scoreboard and it tells you if you played with great effort and executed.”

It wasn’t a perfect effort: YSU turned the ball over twice and gave up some big plays, while North Dakota quarterback Simon Romfo was able to make efficient plays in the pocket.

“I told our kids, we have to come out even hungrier, we have to come out wanting to be better,” Phillips said. “We have to correct the mistakes because it wasn’t perfect on Saturday night. We were able to take care of some things that might have broken on Saturday and do it a little bit differently, but we have to make those corrections.

Still, the Penguins did things against the Fighting Hawks that they previously struggled to do on a consistent basis all season: They made some key defensive stops in the second half and the offense consistently moved the ball and ended drives with touchdowns.

“I think it shows a lot of guys that we are the team we say we can be,” left guard Aidan Parker said. “When you’re going through a tough time, like the last few weeks, things get tough. But when you get a big win like that, it shows that we are who we say we can be, and we just have to keep working to get there.”

YSU hopes the win provides a springboard for the rest of the year as the Penguins close out the final three games of the regular season.

“I tell our kids, you know how you felt about Saturday night – they should feel that, they should sing the fight song, you should want more,” Phillips said. “Everyone wants more once they taste it. Our job now is to get them focused again and improve in the areas we need to improve.”

That continues this week as the Penguins travel to Normal, Illinois to take on No. 21 Illinois State for the start of a two-game roadstand.

“It’s a hostile environment,” Phillips said. “Their student section is right behind your couch. The last time we were there, I told our boys, you have to ignore everything. You have to focus on the things you can control, and that lies between the white lines. We started that conversation this week.”

YSU had some battles with the Redbirds in recent years.

The Penguins have a slim lead in the series with Illinois State, 16-15, but YSU has won the last two meetings by a total of just five points. Last year, the Penguins needed a game-winning field goal as time expired to beat the Redbirds 41-38, and in 2022, YSU scored the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left for a 19-17 victory.

Illinois State quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is a lot like Penguins quarterback Beau Brungard in his ability to use his legs. While Rittenhouse has thrown for 1,420 yards in eight games, he has added 375 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

Rittenhouse’s ability to run and throw is paired with tailback Wenkers Wright, who has had a breakout season with 640 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, who torched the YSU secondary for 170 receiving yards and three touchdowns in last season’s matchup, is also back for the Redbirds. But he is paired with fellow receiver Xavier Loyd, who leads the team in receiving with 622 yards and three touchdowns.

“They are physical, strong and hard-nosed,” Phillips said. “They have a quarterback who can run the ball just as well as our quarterback, and he can throw the football. They have three phenomenal wide receivers who will be a big challenge for us on our backend. Up front, they’re a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent – they’ll be big, they’ll be physical. I think they’re going to be 6-foot-4, 6-foot-4 at the tackle spots.

“Coach (Brock) Spack is a defensive guy. They will bring different pressures from different areas. They do some moves. So it really is a nice challenge. … You look at the history of their program, winning football games in the playoffs. So you’re going into Normal against a team that, as they enter November, is thinking about the playoffs.”

Do you have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.