BROOKINGS, SD – September 19: Youngstown State Penguins at South Dakota State Jackrabbits football at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on September 19, 2026 in Brookings, South Dakota. (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)
BROOKINGS, S.D. – Josiah Johnson ran for a career-high 238 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lift South Dakota State to a 27-20 victory over Youngstown State as a pair of top-10 squads opened Missouri Valley Football Conference action Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
In winning before a Dairy Drive crowd of 18,541, the Jackrabbits improved to 3-1 overall. SDSU entered the matchup ranked second among Football Championship Subdivision teams in the Stats Perform media poll and third in the coaches’ poll. Youngstown State, which was ranked ninth in both polls, dropped to 2-2 overall.
Johnson established the Jackrabbits’ rushing attack on the opening drive of the game, picking up nine yards on his first carry of the night before capping an 11-play, 84-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
SDSU was on the doorstep of going up two scores on its next possession, but the Penguins’ Maximillian Johnson lodged the ball loose from backup running back Corey Blair Jr. near the goal line and YSU recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
The Penguins cashed in on the ensuing drive with a 39-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka, then took a momentary 10-7 lead later in the second quarter when reigning Walter Payton Award winner Beau Brungard connected with tight end Alex McDonald on an 11-yard touchdown pass to complete a nine-play, 94-yard drive.
The trio of Johnson, quarterback Chase Mason and wide receiver Grahm Goering accounted for all of SDSU’s 71 yards on its next drive as the Jackrabbits quickly responded to take the lead for good. Mason hooked up with Goering on pass plays of 10 and 19 yards and Johnson added 24 yards on four attempts before Mason burst up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds remaining in the opening half.
SDSU swung the momentum further in its favor when Joe Ollman picked off a Brungard pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by freshman defensive tackle Bergan Tetzlaff on YSU’s first play of its next possession. Ollman’s 9-yard return set up the Jackrabbits at the opposing 26, but SDSU had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Tristan Alvano after Mason was shaken up on the final offensive play of the drive and did not return.
With backup Josh Holst in to run the offense to start the second half, the Jackrabbits went up two scores on Johnson’s second touchdown of the night. Johnson kick-started SDSU’s first possession of the second half with a career-long 39-yard run before Holst completed a crucial pass to Lofton O’Groske for four yards on fourth-and-3 to the YSU 30.
Three plays later, Johnson found a hole up the middle and scored from 16 yards out.
YSU drew back to within 24-17 as Lynn Wyche-El made a juggling catch in the right corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown from Brungard on a play that was originally ruled incomplete before being overturned by replay.
Alvano’s second field goal of the game, a season-long 43-yarder on the final play of the third quarter again put the Jackrabbit lead at two scores heading into the final 15 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, the Jackrabbit defense came up with a pair of stops, including turning over YSU on downs in SDSU territory early in the period.
In the closing minutes, however, YSU quickly opted for a field goal after a 45-yard pass from Brungard to Wyche-El moved the ball to the SDSU 16 at the two-minute timeout. Lastovka nailed a 34-yard field goal, but the Jackrabbits easily recovered the onside kick and were able to run out the clock, thanks in large part to back-to-back runs of 29 and 13 yards by Johnson on the first two plays of the final drive.
SDSU ran for 308 yards and finished with a 461-349 advantage in total offense. Mason completed 9-of-13 passes for 137 yards while Holst completed 3-of-8 attempts for 16 yards. O’Groske was the top Jackrabbit receiver with seven catches for 94 yards.
Brungard tallied 324 yards of total offense, throwing for 292 yards while completing 27-of-35 passes and rushing for a team-high 32 yards on 13 carries. Wyche-El hauled in seven receptions for 114 yards.
Dontay Johnson registered a career-high eight tackles to lead the Jackrabbit defense. Jes Krcil followed with seven tackles and senior safety Noah Thompson added a career-best six stops.
Cam Smith was credited with a game-high 15 tackles for Youngstown State.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return to nonconference play by hosting Eastern Illinois in the annual Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
NOTES
- SDSU leads the all-time series, 20-7, and has won the last eight meetings
- The Jackrabbits improved to12-7 in MVFC openers with eight consecutive victories Dairy
- SDSU remained undefeated in Dairy Drive games, upping its record to 13-0 in the annual contest
- The Jackrabbits are now 104-39 (.727 winning percentage) in league games since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008
- SDSU now holds a 78-58 record versus ranked FCS opponents since joining the subdivision in 2004
- The Jackrabbits have scored on their first offensive possession of the game in three of four games this season (2 touchdowns, 1 field goal) and all four of their initial drives of the second half (3 TDs, 1 FG)
- Ollman’s interception was the first of the season by any SDSU player
- SDSU has scored after all five of the turnovers it has forced this season, totaling 31 points (4 TDs, 1 FG)
- Johnson became the first Jackrabbit to rush for more than 200 yards in a game since Isaiah Davis in an FCS playoff game against UC Davis on Nov. 27, 2021
- Johnson’s 30 carries were the most by an SDSU player since Zach Zenner rushed 32 times versus North Dakota State in an FCS playoff game on Dec. 6, 2014
- The Jackrabbits converted both of their fourth-down attempts in Saturday’s game and are now 8-for-8 in that category so far this season