Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU's Andrew Lastovka is carried by his teammates following his game winning kick as the Penguins beat the Redbirds 41-38 on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — What a difference a week makes.

Last week in a tie game, Youngstown State (4-2, 2-2 MVFC) had the ball with just over two minutes to go. The Penguins moved the ball and picked up two first downs, but weren’t able to finish the drive and win the game. Instead, South Dakota walked it off with a game-winning field goal.

This time, with a tie game once again on Saturday against Illinois State (4-3, 2-2 MVFC), YSU reversed its fortunes.

Getting the ball with about four minutes to go, the Penguins drove 55 yards down the field as time ticked off the clock. With five seconds left, brimming with confidence, redshirt freshman kicker Andrew Lastovka trotted out onto the field after warming up. He lined up the kick, completed his pre-kick routine and was ready.

“It’s the same routine I do every time I get out on the field,” Lastovka said. “Whether it’s an extra point or a long field goal — start with leg swings, just to get loose, then hit a few balls into the net and try to lock in.”

Sam Merryman snapped the ball, Brendon Kilpatrick caught it, put it on the turf and Lastovka’s kick sailed through the air and split the uprights to give YSU a 41-38 walk-off victory over the Redbirds on Homecoming at Stambaugh Stadium.

“Every field goal is a big field goal, but that one definitely felt good,” Lastovka said. “Defense came up with a big stop to force a field goal, so we knew it would come down to us. Getting that operation — it was the smoothest operation of the year, and I was happy to see it go through. … Off my foot, I knew it was good.”

Head coach Doug Phillips added, “We said this was a playoff-caliber game. It was a must-win for both programs, both teams — just like every game in the Missouri Valley. It came down to seconds and kicking the winning field goal, and we end up this week being on the winning side.”

When Lastovka woke up in YSU’s team hotel Saturday morning, he had a hunch that Saturday’s game might come down to him.

“Our long snapper was telling me, ‘This is the day,'” Lastovka said. “He said this was the day, and he was right. Today was the day.”

The Penguins walked off Beede Field on Saturday with significantly different emotions than they did last week walking off the field at the DakotaDome.

“Our team fought, we’re a bunch of fighters,” quarterback Mitch Davidson said. “Coming out last week, the way we lost it left a sour taste in our mouth. We don’t want to lose like that. Coming into this game, we knew it was a must-win. … You can never be too high or too low. I love being the team to walk off with the game-winning field goal.”

Both offenses for the Penguins and Redbirds were on fire in the first half. The two teams exchanged punts on three of the game’s first four possessions, but after that, they combined to score touchdowns on six straight possessions.

By halftime, with the game tied at 28, YSU and ISU had combined for 673 total yards of offense. In the end, the Penguins finished with 470 total yards, while the Redbirds had 441.

“Going into the last week, it was just we have to work harder as an offense,” Davidson said. “I truly believe we have one of the most explosive offenses in the FCS.”

Lastovka kicked his first field goal of the day after Troy Jakubec picked off Redbirds quarterback Zack Annexstad, but then Illinois State took its first lead of the game.

With just under six minutes left in the third quarter, Annexstad connected with Camo Nelson on a touch pass jet sweep for a three-yard touchdown to give the Redbirds a 35-31 lead.

Lastovka may never have gotten his chance at the end had it not been for a key Penguins drive to start the fourth quarter. Trailing for the first time and needing a score, the Penguins’ offense answered the call.

YSU marched 44 yards in 13 plays, converting two fourth downs along the way, as Davidson hit Dra Rushton for a six-yard strike. The drive ate up almost eight minutes of clock.

“We sat in the huddle going into that drive and said it starts up front. Those O-linemen, they played well — they played their butts off,” Davidson said. “We knew all week it would start with those guys up front. We knew if they held up in the pass game, we were going to complete shots downfield, which we did. No. 2, if they held up in the run game, we were going to break some big ones and we did. Tyshon King and Dra Rushton had a couple of explosive runs for us, so that was huge for our line.”

Rushton and King each hit the century mark against Illinois State. King led the way with 148 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, while Rushton added 109 yards on 19 carries. It was the first time since Oct. 9, 2021 that YSU had two players rush for more than 100 yards in the same game.

On the ensuing Redbirds drive, the Penguins’ defense forced ISU into a punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave it a fresh set of downs. The drive would result in Illinois State tying things up 38-38 on a 35-yard field goal with 4:18 left.

YSU struggled to stop Illinois State most of the afternoon, but when it needed it most, the Penguins got the stop they needed, which set up the ensuing drive that led to Lastovka’s game-winner.

“They ran the ball on us better than any team has run it, but they did a great job of spreading it out, too,” Phillips said. “So now you’re trying to defend pass, you’re trying to defend the run. I thought (ISU) did a great job, but when we needed a stop, I’m proud our defense came up with the stop.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com

Youngstown State 41, Illinois State 38

AT STAMBAUGH STADIUM

BY QUARTERS

ISU 7 21 7 3–38

YSU 14 14 3 10–41

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: ISU: 26, YSU: 23; Rushes/Yards Rushing: ISU: 29-203, YSU: 50-267; Yards Passing: ISU: 238, YSU: 203; Comp-Att-Int: ISU: 23-36-1, YSU: 16-25-0; Penalties: ISU: 6-75, YSU: 5-55; Fumbles-Lost: ISU: 0-0, YSU: 0-0; Total Yards: ISU: 441, YSU: 470; Offensive Plays: ISU: 65, YSU: 75

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Passing: ISU: Zack Annexstad 23-for-36 238 yds 5 TDs INT; YSU: Mitch Davidson 16-for-25 203 yds 4 TDs

Rushing: ISU: Mason Blakemore 17 carries 128 yds; YSU: Tyshon King 24 carries 148 yds TD, Dra Rushton 19 carries 109 yds

Receiving: ISU: Daniel Sobkowicz 11 rec. 170 yds 3 TDs; YSU: CJ Charleston 4 rec. 81 yds TD

Scoring summary

First quarter

YSU: 1-yd TD run by Tyshon King (PAT good) 8:30 (7-0)

ISU: 27-yd TD pass from Zack Annexstad to Daniel Sobkowicz (PAT good) 1:16 (7-7)

YSU: 72-yd TD pass from Mitch Davidson to CJ Charleston (PAT good) 0:17 (14-7)

Second quarter

ISU: 7-yd TD pass from Zack Annexstad to Daniel Sobkowicz (PAT good) 13:50 (14-14)

YSU: 15-yd TD pass from Mitch Davidson to Bryce Oliver (PAT good) 10:42 (21-14)

ISU: 5-yd TD pass from Zack Annexstad to Rylan Crawford (PAT good) 9:13 (21-21)

YSU: 33-yd TD pass from Mitch Davidson to Joey Farthing (PAT good) 8:08 (28-21)

ISU: 31-yd TD pass from Zack Annexstad to Daniel Sobkowicz (PAT good) 0:29 (28-28)

Third quarter

YSU: 22-yd FG by Andrew Lastovka 10:17 (31-28)

ISU: 3-yd TD pass from Zack Annexstad to Camo Nelson (PAT good) 5:58 (31-35)

Fourth quarter

YSU: 6-yd TD pass from Mitch Davidson to Dra Rushton (PAT good) 7:57 (38-35)

ISU: 35-yd FG by Ian Wagner 4:18 (38-38)

YSU: 37-yd FG by Andrew Lastovka 0:00 (41-38)