by YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Deng Deng caught seven passes for 84 yards, but No. 4 Youngstown State rallied from two 14-point deficits to beat No. 9 North Dakota 31-28 on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.
Deng finished with seven receptions for 84 yards and no touchdowns, with a long of 15, as North Dakota’s passing game worked underneath against the Penguins. Quarterback Jerry Kaminski threw, caught and rushed for a touchdown in the same game, finishing 18-of-33 for 195 yards through the air.
North Dakota led 21-7 at halftime after a 19-play, 91-yard touchdown drive capped by Kaminski’s 9-yard touchdown catch from backup Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson, with a trick-play two-point conversion from Korey Tai to long snapper Sam Kline. Youngstown State cut it to 21-14 on the opening drive of the second half, North Dakota answered to go back up 28-14, and the Penguins closed the third with a hook-and-ladder touchdown to make it 28-21.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Penguins. Andrew Lastovka’s 37-yard field goal cut it to 28-24, then a fake punt — Mike Wells rushing 26 yards on fourth-and-4 from inside the Youngstown State 20 — kept the final drive alive. Beau Brungard capped it with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Wyche-El on fourth-and-19 with 2:04 left, and Max Johnson’s interception with 1:15 left sealed it.
Kaminski also ran for 44 yards, and Matt Lawson ran for 99 yards on 17 carries for the Fighting Hawks. Brungard went 19-of-29 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, all to Wyche-El, who finished with six catches for 148 yards.
The loss drops North Dakota to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, while Youngstown State improves to 7-2 and 5-1. North Dakota returns home to host Illinois State on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. CT at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks for Military Appreciation Day.
