The South Dakota State football team came back to win 35-30 over No. 24 Youngstown State on Saturday.
Quarterback Chase Mason completed 14 of 29 passes for 181 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Mason also added 40 yards on the ground.
Running back Julius Loughridge carried the ball 25 times for 176 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Receiver Alex Bullock caught 10 passes for 162 yards.
For the Penguins, quarterback Beau Brungard completed 29 of 44 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. Brungard also rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown.
All three of Brungard’s passing touchdowns were caught by senior receiver Max Tomczak, who finished with eight catches for 92 yards.
The Jackrabbits started the game with the ball but failed to convert on a fourth-and-2, giving the ball to the Penguins at the SDSU 47-yard line.
On the next drive, Brungard threw a 23-yard touchdown to Tomczak. After the extra point, Youngstown State led 7-0.
After an SDSU three-and-out, the Penguins mounted a 15-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 4-yard Brungard rushing touchdown, extending their lead to 14-0.
The Jacks got the ball back, but another fourth-down attempt failed, giving the ball back to the Penguins.
Youngstown State punted, pinning the Jackrabbits at their own 10-yard line. On the ensuing drive, a 34-yard scramble by Mason set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greyton Gannon, cutting the deficit to 14-7.
On the first play of the next drive, Brungard scrambled for 74 yards down to the SDSU 8-yard line. The SDSU defense held, and Youngstown State settled for an Andrew Lastovka 29-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-7.
With just over a minute left in the half, a Mason pass was intercepted. The Penguins took over at their own 47-yard line with a chance to score before halftime. But on first-and-10 from the SDSU 25, defensive end Dawson Ripperda forced a fumble on a sack of Brungard, and the ball was recovered by defensive tackle Logan Greene to end the threat.
SDSU took over at its own 46-yard line to start its first drive of the second half. On the first play, Mason completed a 51-yard pass to Bullock to the 3-yard line. Loughridge scored on the next play, bringing SDSU within three, 17-14.
After a missed 43-yard field goal by Lastovka, the Jackrabbits took over. A 38-yard completion from Mason to Bullock set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Loughridge to give SDSU its first lead of the game, 21-17.
Following a Penguin three-and-out, Loughridge broke free for a 23-yard run and, two plays later, a 27-yard run. He capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown, his third of the game, to put SDSU up 28-17 after scoring 21 unanswered points.
The Penguins answered in the fourth quarter when Brungard connected with Tomczak for a 29-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 28-24.
With five minutes remaining, SDSU took over at the Penguins’ 40-yard line. Loughridge soon found the end zone for the fourth time, putting SDSU up 35-24 with just over three minutes to play.
Youngstown State scored on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brungard to Tomczak with 40 seconds left. The Penguins failed the two-point conversion, and SDSU recovered the subsequent onside kick to secure the 35-30 victory.
Up Next
SDSU continues its conference schedule by hosting Northern Iowa for the Hobo Day game next Saturday.
