YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (SDSU) — Second-ranked South Dakota State blitzed Youngstown State with 21 points in the third quarter, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit and coming away with a 35-30 victory in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.

Behind four second-half touchdowns by running back Julius Loughridge, the Jackrabbits improved to 5-0 overall. YSU, ranked 18th by the Football Championship Subdivision coaches and 24th in the Stats Perform media poll, dropped to 3-2 overall.

After forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive of the second half, the Jackrabbits needed only two plays to draw to within 17-14. On the first play of the drive, Mason went up top to Alex Bullock for a 51-yard pass play and Julius Loughridge carried in from 3 yards on the ensuing play.

YSU’s 43-yard field goal attempt on the next possession sailed wide right and the Jackrabbits went back to work on the offensive end to take the lead with their second scoring drive of the quarter. That drive followed much of the same recipe as Mason connected with Bullock deep over the middle for a 38-yard gain and Loughridge stutter-stepped his way around left end two plays later for a 14-yard touchdown run.

Bullock picked up much of the slack in the absence of leading receiver Lofton O’Groske by recording 10 catches for 162 yards.

Loughridge scored his third touchdown of the quarter on a 2-yard run with 2 minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the stanza. He accounted for all 57 yards on the drive, including gains of 23 and 27 yards, as he finished the third quarter with 93 yards on 11 attempts.

The Penguins made it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter as Brungard hit Max Tomczak for a 29-yard touchdown pass. YSU had a chance to take the lead after getting the ball back at its own 13 with 6:49 remaining, but the SDSU defense came up with a much-needed stop and then put the ball back in the hands of Loughridge for a game-sealing drive.

Once again Loughridge did all the heavy lifting as he picked up yards in chunks before bursting through the line one final time for a 24-yard touchdown run. The Houston native ended the night with 176 yards on 25 carries.

YSU again made it a one-score game with 38 seconds remaining on a Brungard-to-Tomczak touchdown for the third time on the night, this time from 2 yards out. The two-point try was broken up and the Penguins’ attempt at an onside kick rolled out of bounds, allowing SDSU to gain possession and run out the clock.

Youngstown State grabbed the early lead after taking advantage of a short field after the Jackrabbits failed on a fourth-down attempt near field on the opening drive of the game. Quarterback Beau Brungard found Tomczak behind the Jackrabbit defense for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

The Penguins pushed their advantage to 14-0 with a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Brungard. The YSU quarterback ended the night 29-of-44 passing for 275 yards and also led the Penguins with 130 rushing yards on 22 carries.

SDSU got on the board with its longest scoring drive in terms of yards later in the second quarter. Mason ran for 34 yards to get the Jackrabbits across midfield, then found tight end Greyton Gannon open in the right corner of the end zone for 4-yard touchdown pass that capped a nine-play, 90-yard march.

The momentum was short-lived, however, as Brungard broke two tackles on a 74-yard run to the Jackrabbit 8 to jump-start the next Penguin drive. However, the SDSU defense held, limiting YSU to a 29-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka that made the score 17-7 going into halftime.

YSU finished with a 431-400 advantage in total offense, with Tomczak catching eight passes for 92 yards.

Mason completed 14-of-29 passes for 180 yards and picked up another 40 yards on the ground on five attempts.

Cullen McShane led the Jackrabbit defense with a game-high 12 tackles, followed by fellow linebackers Chase Van Tol with eight tackles and Joe Ollman with seven stops. Ollman also recorded a sack.

D.J. Harris was credited with a team-high 10 tackles for YSU.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return home to face Northern Iowa next Saturday (Oct. 11) on Hobo Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

NOTES

• SDSU leads the all-time series, 19-7, and has won the last seven meetings
• The Jackrabbits recorded their 100th victory in MVFC play since joining the conference in 2008, improving to 100-35 (.741 winning percentage)
• SDSU is now 24-1 in MVFC games since the start of the 2022 season
• The Jackrabbits improved to 11-7 in MVFC openers
• SDSU faced its largest halftime deficit since trailing Montana State, 10-0, in a Sept. 9, 2023, game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in which the Jackrabbits rallied for a 20-16 victory
• Mason threw his first collegiate interception, which came on his 124th pass attempt of the season and 176th of his career
• McShane’s 12 tackles tied a career high first set Sept. 6 at Montana State
• After not punting in each of the last two games, Max Pelham averaged 49.8 yards on four attempts in Saturday’s contest