YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State scored on its first six offensive possessions and rolled up more than 400 yards in the opening half to pull away for a 47-7 victory over Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.
YSU finished the day with 644 yards of total offense, including 338 rushing yards and 306 through the air, and moved the chains for 29 first downs to just five for the Bears. The Penguins’ dual threat ground game featured 100-yard games from Jody Webb (12 carries for 107 yards) and Martin Ruiz (18 carries for 100 yards), while Hunter Wells completed 15-of-25 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
The No. 21 Penguins (5-4, 3-3 MVFC), who racked up 222 yards of offense over the first 15 minutes of action, used two of Wells’s touchdown passes and a consistent ground attack to build a 24-0 first-quarter lead. While YSU’s early offensive attack yielded positive results for the home club, the Penguins defense was equally as dominant, limiting the Bears to 11 yards of total offense in the first quarter.
After a 34-yard Ruiz run set up a Zak Kennedy 20-yard field goal to open the scoring, Wells connected with Andrew Williams on the first of two scoring pass plays for the duo in the opening half, capping an eight-play, 63-yard drive to put the home club on top, 10-0. Webb’s 27-yard rush–one of four YSU runs of 16 yards or more in the opening period–highlighted the drive.
A David Rivers interception on the Bears’ next play from scrimmage put the Penguins on the offensive again, as YSU engineered another scoring march with the help of two critical MSU penalties that kept the drive alive. On first down at the MSU 27, Vashon Landers picked off a Wells pass in the end zone, only to see the turnover wiped away by one of three offsides penalties on the Bears defense in the first half. Then, on third-and-10 at the MSU 15, Wells fired incomplete to seemingly halt the drive, but yet another offsides call gave the Penguins another chance, which Wells cashed in with a 10-yard TD pass to Andre Stubbs.
Next, Webb’s 62-yard bolt to open YSU’s fourth offensive possession set up another quick strike for the Penguins. Yet another MSU offsides penalty on third down in the red zone aided the Penguins cause, as Ruiz ran it in from three yards out to stretch the margin to 24 points.
MSU moved the chains for the first time on its initial drive of the second period, using a 17-yard Lambert-to-Deion Holliman pass to spark the offense. The Bears’ junior quarterback also hit Malik Earl and Holliman again for gains of seven and 10 yards, respectively, before the YSU defense stopped the drive.
Wells kept the Penguins offensive momentum burning, firing a strike to Williams over the middle before the senior receiver broke away from a Bears defender and streaked to the end zone for a 72-yard scoring play.
YSU regained the ball on the first play of the ensuing drive, as Jaylin Kelly intercepted Lambert at the Penguins 48. Wells moved the ball to the MSU 15 with a 21-yard completion to Darien Townsend, before Ricky Davis carried it in from a yard out for a 38-0 margin with 6:05 remaining in the opening half.
Missouri State’s defense found itself on the short end of a wide time of possession disparity, as YSU ran off 29 offensive plays to the Bears eight in the first period. The Bears defense did come up with a key takeaway to set up MSU’s lone touchdown of the day, as Tre Betts stepped in front of a Wells pass and returned it 44 yards to the YSU 21 late in the first half.
Lambert found a wide-open Zac Hoover in the end zone for a 20-yard scoring pass to put the Bears on the scoreboard with just 42 seconds left in the half.
YSU kept the pressure on in the third period, adding to its lead courtesy of a five-yard run by Webb and a 43-yard field goal from Kennedy which made it a 40-point margin.
MSU was limited to 107 total yards on only 40 offensive plays and faltered on third down, converting just one of its 10 attempts in the game. On the flip side, YSU was virtually unstoppable on third down, cashing in on 13-of-17 tries.
Holliman accounted for a game-high 178 all-purpose yards for the Bears, topping the 100-yard mark for kickoff returns for the fifth time this season. The sophomore also reeled in a team-best three receptions for 28 yards.
Defensively, Dylan Cole led the Bears in tackling for the ninth straight game with a game-high 12 stops, including two for losses.
The Bears (1-8, 0-6 MVFC) return to Springfield for their final home contest of the season next Saturday (Nov. 14), when the host UNI in a 2 p.m. game at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
— MSU Athletics —