YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – No. 4/4 Youngstown State staged a late rally to knock off visiting No. 9/11 North Dakota 31-28 Saturday at Stambaugh Field. Fighting Hawk quarterback
Jerry Kaminski threw, caught and rushed for a touchdown to help the visitors lead by as many as 14 on a pair of occasions.
However, reigning Walter Payton Player of the Year Beau Brungard led the home team on a fourth-quarter comeback that he capped with his third touchdown pass of the game to Lynn Wyche-El on a fourth-and-20.
Kaminski went 18-for-33 through the air for 195 yards, caught a nine-yard pass and rushed for another 44 yards in UND's second straight road setback by three points to a top-10 opponent. Brungard went 19-for-29 for 268 yards with all three of his scoring tosses going to Wyche-El.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening drives of the game. Brungard connected on a 49-yard scoring strike to Wyche-El to put the home team ahead 7-0. Kaminski would cap UND's touchdown drive with a six-yard pass on fourth down to
Haydn Stay but the Penguins would block the extra-point attempt to maintain a 7-6 lead.
On YSU's next drive,
Ben Kamara forced a Wyche-El fumble that
Ethan Boll recovered, setting up the Fighting Hawks inside YSU territory at the 34. UND would stick to the ground for all four plays of the ensuing drive with
Matt Lawson starting it with a 31-yard rush up the middle. Chuck Langama would finish it with a two-yard carry that gave UND its first lead at 13-7.
The Penguins mounted another drive inside the UND red zone but
Grant Noland would break up a fourth-down pass to staul the drive, allowing UND to hold onto its lead. Noland's pass break-up was his 15th of the regular season, setting a Fighting Hawks' single-season record.
From there, UND put together a 19-play, 91-yard touchdown drive taking 8:55 off the clock. Kaminski caught a 9-yard pass from back-up signal caller
Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson. The Fighting Hawks picked up two fourth downs on their longest drive of the season and secured the two-point conversion when
Korey Tai found long snapper Sam Kline open on a trick play to extend the advantage to 21-7.
After forcing YSU to punt for the first time, the Fighting Hawks would march down the field again as a 36-yard complete from Kaminski to Tai set up UND inside the YSU red zone. The Penguins would force a field goal attempt and they would block their second kick of the game to keep their deficit at 14 going into halftime.
The Penguins forced their first turnover on UND's opening drive of the second half when Mike Wells intercepted a deflected pass from Kaminski. Wells returned it to the UND 8-yard line and YSU scored two plays later to cut their deficit in half to 21-14.
The UND offense regrouped with Kaminski capping this touchdown drive with an 11-yard carry to put his squad up 28-14.
The teams would trade punts for the first time on their next possessions before the Penguins went into their bag of tricks. Brungard would find Bryan Hunt on a crossing route, who would pitch it to a crossing Wyche-El. He would finish off the final the last 16 yards for his second touchdown of the game to pull YSU within 28-21.
The YSU defense would hold again, while Brungard moved the offense once again into the UND red zone but the Fighting Hawks would limit the Penguins to a 37-yard field goal to keep a lead of 28-24.
After forcing another punt, the Penguins were pinned deep in their own territory needing a touchdown to potentially win the game. The UND defense forced a fourth down and apparent punt by the Penguins with less than five minutes to go on the clock but YSU would execute a fake punt, netting a first down to keep the eventual game-winning touchdown drive alive.
Brungard would face another fourth down from YSU's 20-yard line and would find Wyche-El on a post route as he hauled his sixth pass of the game, finishing with a game-high 148 receiving yards.
North Dakota returns home for its annual Military Appreciation Day next Saturday vs. (9/10) Illinois State. Kickoff against the Redbirds is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Midco Sports and will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus and ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
- With the loss, the Fighting Hawks are now 5-2 all-time against Youngstown State, who has now won back-to-back home games vs. UND (2024 and 2026)
- UND is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season and now 4-19 all-time against top-5 foes at the FCS level
- The Penguins were the third straight top-10 opponent that UND has faced and this marks the sixth road game out of the last eight for the Fighting Hawks, who finished with a 2-4 road record in the regular season
- Grant Noland set a regular season record with his 15th pass break-up of the season in the first quarter. His record setting pass break-up also gave the Fighting Hawks their first red zone stop since the Portland State game (Sept. 12) – a span of six-plus games and 19 opponent tries
- Noland had two pass break-ups in the contest and also finished with a career-high 10 tackles, including five solo stops
- Kaminski's six-yard scoring pass to Haydn Stay in the first quarter moved him into third place on UND's all-time regular season charts with 48 touchdown passes, breaking a tie with offensive coordinator Danny Freund and 2001 National Championship signal caller Kelby Klosterman
- Kaminski became the second FCS quarterback this season (Northern Arizona's Ty Pennington vs. Montana; Oct. 10) to have a rushing, passing and receiving touchdown in a game
- Javance Tupou'ata Johnson's touchdown pass to Kaminski in the second quarter was the first of his UND career.
- Matt Lawson matched his career-high with 99 rushing yards (Oct. 17 vs. South Dakota State)
How It Happened
First Quarter
11:26 – YSU | Lynn Wyche-El 49-yard pass from Beau Brungard (Andrew Lastovka kick). 8 plays, 84 yards, 3:34
7:53 – UND |
Haydn Stay 6-yard pass from
Jerry Kaminski (Kick blocked). 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:26
5:44 – UND |
Charles Langama 2-yard rush (
Kenten Laughman kick). 4 plays, 34 yards, 1:41
Second Quarter
7:03 – UND | Kaminski pass from
Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson (Tai pass to Kline). 19 plays, 91 yards, 8:55
Third Quarter
13:25 – YSU | Jaden Gilbert 5-yard rush (Lastovka kick). 2 plays, 8 yards, 00:38
8:33 – UND | Kaminski rush 11-yard rush (Laughman kick). 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:52
2:09 – YSU | Wyche-El 15-yard pass from Brungard (Lastovka kick). 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:36
Fourth Quarter
10:28 – YSU | Lastovka 37-yard field goal. 9 plays, 70 yards, 3:21
2:04 – YSU | Wyche-El 20-yard pass from Brungard (Lastovka kick). 12 plays, 86 yards, 6:09
For more information on North Dakota Football, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
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