Youngstown State Penguins defensive lineman Deamontae Diggs (92) walks off the field as South Dakota Coyotes offensive lineman Kaden Weatherby (62) celebrates after a game winning 41 yard field goal by Will Leyland as time expired during their game Saturday afternoon in Vermillion, South Dakota. (David Dermer/Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Staff report

It was nearly the sort of storybook ending that defined much of the 2022 campaign.

Instead, however, Youngstown State was dealt its second excruciating conference loss on the road in three weeks, a 34-31 decision at South Dakota inside the DakotaDome.

Trailing 31-10 roughly halfway through the third quarter, YSU stormed back to tie things up and, after forcing a punt, took possession at its own 17 with 2:27 to play.

The Penguins (3-3, 1-2 Missouri Valley) began marching and advanced to their own 42 before things stalled due to a facemask penalty along the offensive line. That, coupled with two runs for little to no gain and a false start penalty, forced Youngstown State to punt, which was fair caught at the Coyotes’ 39 with just 19 seconds left.

Even without any timeouts and less than 20 seconds to work with, South Dakota (5-1, 3-0 Missouri Valley) moved into field goal range, as YSU was hit with another costly penalty, this time a defensive pass interference on USD’s first play of the drive, and then Aidan Bouman found Makai Lovett for a 22-yard gain to the YSU 24.

After a spike and a Penguin timeout, USD’s Will Leyland came on for a 41-yard field goal, which he sank as time expired.

As it’s often been this season, penalties were of particular concern for YSU. The Penguins were flagged 10 times for 75 yards compared to four penalties for 30 yards against South Dakota. Youngstown State also coughed up two fumbles.

YSU entered halftime down 17-3 and trailed by 21 after Bouman hit Carter Bell for a 56-yard touchdown that put the ‘Yotes up 31-10 with 7:10 left in the third quarter.

From there, Youngstown State rallied.

Max Tomczak hauled in a 66-yard pass from Mitch Davidson on YSU’s ensuing drive, and then Dra Rushton added a one-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to pull the Penguins to within 31-24. With 5:48, Youngstown State tied things up as Bryce Oliver caught a six-yard pass from Davidson.

However, in the end, YSU couldn’t sustain that momentum and suffered its second road loss in conference play. Two weeks ago, Youngstown State fell to Northern Iowa in the UNI-Dome 44-41.

Rushton tallied 116 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Davidson went 15-for-26 for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Tomczak had six receptions for 134 yards and a score, while Joey Farthing caught a 65-yard touchdown pass.

Both teams moved the ball well, as USD racked up 475 yards of offense, while YSU wasn’t far behind with 445.

For USD, Bouman completed 24 of 29 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. The typically potent Travis Theis was kept ot just 33 yards on 10 runs. JJ Galbreath caught six passes for 101 yards and a score, while Bell racked up 131 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions.

Youngstown State returns home next week to face Illinois State. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

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