Correspondent photo / David Dermer. Yale's Billy Eastep (5) and Phoenix Grant (8) celebrate in the final minutes, while YSU's Luke Hensley looks on, during the Penguins' 43-42 loss to the Bulldogs in the FCS playoffs on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — All season long, even through eight wins, Youngstown State has struggled to put together a full 60-minute game on both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

On Saturday, it came back to bite the Penguins at the worst possible time.

Yale completed an epic second-half comeback, scoring 29 straight points and pouncing on a complete meltdown by the Penguins, to hand YSU a backbreaking 43-42 defeat in the first round of the FCS playoffs at Stambaugh Stadium.

“You see a pattern there, coming from last week into this week, where you’re playing great defense, great offense and you jump out to such a big lead,” YSU head coach Doug Phillips said. “That’s probably the most difficult thing as a head coach because you feel like you not only let your players down, but you let your city down, your alumni, your fans. That’s the toughest thing when you go see our young men in (the locker room), and some of them have played their last game for Youngstown State.”

Even as YSU took a 35-7 lead at halftime and a 42-14 lead midway through the third quarter, Yale never withered in the second half, even in the face of overwhelming adversity in its first FCS playoff appearance.

“That was a really incredible moment. That will definitely go down as a very special game in my heart,” Yale captain and running back Josh Pitsenberger said. “But I think that’s just a credit to the program. There was not a doubt within the locker room at halftime that we had what it takes. We were just focused on us. Everyone bought into that moment and gave it everything they could. We just left it all on the field.”

The first half seemed as though the Penguins could do no wrong, as they raced ahead to a 35-7 advantage.

YSU’s offense scored touchdowns on five of its seven possessions, while the defense had three takeaways. The Penguins outgained the Bulldogs 358-132, as Beau Brungard had five total touchdowns (three rushing, two passing).

Dayne Hodge and Justin Wimpye each picked off Yale quarterback Dante Reno, as Carston Marshall’s strip sack on Reno resulted in a 44-yard fumble return by Hodge that set up the Penguins’ last touchdown before halftime.

Even when the Bulldogs scored on their opening possession of the second half, it looked as though YSU still had things well in hand, as Brungard led a quick scoring drive to answer and keep the Penguins on top 42-14.

But then everything went wrong from that point on for YSU.

Yale scored the first of what would be four unanswered touchdowns and opted to go for two, despite it still being a three-possession game. After a YSU penalty, the Bulldogs converted the try with a pass, which made it a 20-point game.

“That’s what we were hoping for at that point,” Yale defensive coordinator Sean McGowan said. “That was kind of the analytics that go into it. I think (recruiting coordinator) Alex Kurtz and (head) coach (Tony) Reno do a great job with that piece of it. That was a huge piece at that point in time to make that decision.”

That two-point conversion ended up looming large. At the time, it may not have been the typical call to make, but in hindsight, it proved to be a game-deciding decision for the Bulldogs.

On the ensuing drive, things started to slip away from the Penguins as receiver Kylon Wilson fumbled at the end of a 12-yard reception and the Bulldogs recovered in plus territory.

The Bulldogs capitalized on the takeaway with a touchdown, and then shortly thereafter, scored another touchdown that made it a one-possession game after Andrew Lastovka’s second missed field goal of the afternoon.

Finally, Pitsenberger gave Yale its first lead of the day on a 56-yard touchdown run with just under three minutes left. He was the hero of the day for the Bulldogs, rushing for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries.

“That’s something we saw all year, getting a good lead, and then teams come back in the second half,” Brungard said. “Up to this point, it hasn’t bitten us in the butt. This time, we let it get the best of us. We just gotta get rid of that complacency at halftime and find a way to finish.

“I think too many guys just didn’t have their heads in the game in the second half. Just lost focus. We were looking on to next week. So that’s on the leadership of this football team. That’s on me. I gotta have my guys ready to play in the second half.”

Brungard and the Penguins’ offense still had a chance to go down the field for the game-winning drive. But it fizzled as quick as it came, as four straight incompletions resulted in a turnover on downs.

In the immediate aftermath of what had transpired, it still didn’t quite feel real for the Penguins.

“It’s just a surreal moment — a nightmare kind of,” Brungard said while choking back tears after the game. “I never in a million years would have thought that this could have happened.”

While the full body of work from this season reflects a complete turnaround from this time last year, when YSU finished the season at 4-8, the Penguins will carry the sting of Saturday’s defeat for a “long time into the offseason.”

“I hope people can remember the fight, the toughness and the resilience that this group made this year to flip that (record),” Phillips said. “None of us wanted it to end. There’s an end time, but didn’t feel like it would be this weekend.

“It hurts, but we’re not going to lay down. We’ll get up and the sun rises tomorrow morning. We gotta find a way to get better and to win those football games. Gotta dig down deep – myself, staff, players – and figure out how you give up such a big lead.”

Yale 43, No. 15 Youngstown State 42

AT STAMBAUGH STADIUM

BY QUARTERS

Yale 0 7 15 21 — 43

YSU 14 21 7 0 — 42

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: Yale: 26, YSU: 21; Rushes/Yards Rushing: Yale: 45-193, YSU: 24-174; Yards Passing: Yale: 216, YSU: 317; Comp-Att-Int: Yale: 21-39-2, YSU: 23-35-0; Penalties: Yale: 5-43, YSU: 9-88; Fumbles-Lost: Yale: 1-1, YSU: 2-1; Total Yards: Yale: 453, YSU: 491; Offensive Plays: Yale: 84, YSU: 59

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Passing: Yale: Dante Reno 21-for-38 260 yds 3 TDs 2 INTs; YSU: Beau Brungard 23-for-35 317 yds 3 TDs

Rushing: Yale: Josh Pitsenberger 32 carries 209 yds 3 TDs; YSU: Beau Brungard 17 carries 90 yds 3 TDs

Receiving: Yale: Lucius Anderson 8 rec. 138 yds TD; YSU: Max Tomzcak 6 rec. 105 yds 3 TDs

Scoring summary

First quarter

YSU: Tomczak 23 pass from Brungard (Lastovka kick) (11:35) (7-0)

YSU: Brungard 6 run (Lastovka kick) (6:17) (14-0)

Second quarter

YSU: Tomczak 6 pass from Brungard (Lastovka kick) (10:40) (21-0)

Yale: Pitsenberger 4 run (Piper kick) (7:38) (21-7)

YSU: Brungard 1 run (Lastovka kick) (6:10) (28-7)

YSU: Brungard 6 run (Lastovka kick) (0:16) (35-7)

Third quarter

Yale: Mermans 4 pass from Reno (Piper kick) (9:21) (35-14)

YSU: Tomczak 7 pass from Brungard (Lastovka kick) (7:37) (42-14)

Yale: Pitsenberger 1 run (2-pt pass) (2:41) (42-22)

Fourth quarter

Yale: Anderson 11 pass from Reno (Piper kick) (14:54) (42-29)

Yale: Smith 4 pass from Reno (Piper kick) (5:19) (42-36)

Yale: Pitsenberger 56 run (Piper kick) (2:47) (42-43)