Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU running back Tyshon King scores a touchdown in overtime against UNI on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium to set up the Penguins' game-winning two-point conversion. 

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State’s start on Saturday against Northern Iowa mirrored last week’s against Southern Illinois in a myriad of ways.

The Penguins moved the ball with ease on offense, got stops on defense and surged ahead to an early double-digit lead. But it also gave up that lead and let the Panthers back into the game, just like last week.

This time, however, YSU was able to close it out with a win as the Penguins defeated UNI 39-38 with a game-winning 2-point pass in overtime to send out its 14 seniors with a victory.

“Déjà vu. Don’t think that you don’t feel that. But the best thing is that we overcame it, which we haven’t (in the past),” head coach Doug Phillips said. “Our kids come to work every day. They’re resilient, they’re persistent. They could have caved. We say the ‘the good, the bad and the ugly.’ There’s a lot of good and there’s some bad with some ugly, and we’ve gotta fix the bad and ugly this offseason.”

After a back-and-forth, scoring-filled fourth quarter, YSU and UNI were tied 31-31 at the end of regulation. By winning the coin toss to start overtime, the Penguins elected to go on defense first.

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to get into the end zone, as Tye Edwards rumbled in from seven yards out. Then it was YSU’s turn on offense.

On the second play of the possession, while playing on an injured ankle sustained during a sack in the second quarter, quarterback Beau Brungard scrambled for 18 yards. But the play was called back for a personal foul penalty.

Three plays later, the Penguins were faced with a 4th-and-1, but Brungard again powered through the injury to pick up the first down with a 7-yard run. Tyshon King then scored a touchdown with a 9-yard carry on the very next play.

“I’m on a little bit of medicine right now, so it feels better than it’s going to in a little bit,” Brungard said regarding his ankle. “All I gotta say about that is God performed a miracle. Coming into halftime, I really couldn’t put pressure on it. It hurt really bad. I just prayed hard — Lord, get me through the second half and allow me to finish this second half with my teammates, especially those seniors, so I get to play one more half with them. So all praise to the Lord for getting me through that second half.”

At that point, YSU was faced with a decision — go for two and win or lose the game on a single play or kick the extra point and send the game to a second overtime.

“It’s week 12, not having that bye week and last week in the fourth quarter, you start seeing things,” Phillips said. “I felt like that first drive that they had, where their backs are breaking a tackle here or there — I felt like if we have an opportunity to win it, we’re going to take full advantage of it.”

As the Penguins decided to go for two, they first came out with one play called, “Saluki,” according to Phillips. But Northern Iowa called a timeout.

In the huddle, YSU was still steadfast in its decision to go for the win. But the Penguins instead called a different play, a bootleg for Brungard that gave him two options — a pass to Tomczak in the flat or a pass to tight end Austin Bray at the goal line.

“Even on a bad foot, his bad foot is still better than some,” Phillips said.

The Panthers had Tomczak covered, so Brungard threw it up to the 6-foot-5 Bray and he came down with the ball in the end zone.

“We thought they were going to make some adjustments to how we were lined up,” Brungard said. “They played it well, they covered it. Luckily I’ve got a 6-foot-5 tight end. I just put it up there for him, and he made a great play. So I just give all the props to him.”

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU junior tight end Austin Bray catches the game winning two-point conversion during a 39-38 win over UNI on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.

In the first half, YSU jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns from Brungard.

However, UNI scored touchdowns on its final possession of the first half and the first possession of the second half to tie the game. A YSU muffed punt ended up in the Panthers’ hands, and riding that momentum, UNI took its first lead off a 29-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Aidan Dunne to Edwards in the third quarter.

A long, sustained drive to start the fourth quarter helped the Penguins tie the game when Brungard hit Cyrus Traugh over the middle of the field for a 22-yard touchdown.

The rest of the fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, as Andrew Lastovka kicked a 51-yard field goal, UNI’s Sergio Morancy returned a kickoff 97 yards, Brungard hit Max Tomczak for a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown and the Panthers drove down and kicked a game-tying 32-yard field goal in the final seconds to send it to overtime.

“Your A+ players gotta make plays in these games, and I thought our A+ players made those plays in the second half when we needed them most,” Phillips said. “We haven’t been good at handling when that adversity strikes us, and I thought our kids hung in there, played for 60-plus minutes and found a way to earn a hard-fought Missouri Valley Football Conference win at home.”

BRUNGARD’S RISE

Brungard’s ankle injury took away a significant part of YSU’s offense in the second half — his running and scrambling ability.

The Penguins adjusted their approach and their play calling and Brungard became a pocket passer. As a result, he posted one of his best and most efficient outings as a passer this season.

He finished by completing 31-of-36 of his passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, while still also rushing for two touchdowns in the first half before the injury.

“We knew we were going to have to sit in the pocket and throw the ball,” Phillips said. “We had to adjust and we had to adapt to what our players could do, and I thought we made great adjustments.”

Brungard’s mistake-free passing performance was an indication of how far he’s come this season in his first year as YSU’s starter.

“If I were to look at myself from game one to now, that’s a totally different player,” Brungard said. “Just mentally, where my eyes are, feeling comfortable with the pass rush — just from all that and all that experience from every single game, I feel like I’ve grown. I’m a totally different player from back then, and I’m hopefully going to carry that into next year.”

GOING OUT ON A HIGH

Saturday’s win was a positive ending to what’s ultimately been a disappointing season for YSU’s 14 seniors that were honored with their families before kickoff.

“I was excited to go out with a W,” senior right tackle Jaison Williams said. “Big struggles this year, but to finish out the way we wanted, it felt special. It’s a special group of guys here. The season may not have been the way we wanted it to, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

This graduating senior class contains three players who have each started at least 50 games for the Penguins, including Williams (52), long snapper Sam Merryman (52) and left guard Aidan Parker (50).

WHAT’S NEXT?

After finishing the season 4-8 overall, YSU isn’t getting into the FCS playoffs.

But now the Penguins can get a headstart into the offseason, take stock of where things stand within the program and begin to address the things that need fixing after a down year.

“That’s the thing we gotta figure out over the next nine months before we get back into next season,” Phillips said. “We want to win them all, and we didn’t do that this year. I’m disappointed for the seniors, but I’m glad we’re able to send those guys out as winners. But our fans deserve better, deserve more, our community, our university — it’s my job to find out how we can get back to winning a lot more games than what we did this past year.”