McLean County Times

No. 9 Illinois State fell to No. 25 Youngstown State in a close Homecoming game at Hancock Stadium, with the Penguins winning 40-35. The loss brings both teams to a 4-3 overall record and 1-2 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

Youngstown State opened the scoring with a field goal on its first drive, followed by another after a Redbird turnover. The Penguins extended their lead with a touchdown run by quarterback Beau Brungard, but failed on the two-point conversion.

Illinois State responded before halftime. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse connected with Javon Charles for a touchdown, then found Wenkers Wright for another score just before the break, giving the Redbirds a 14-12 lead at halftime.

The Redbirds extended their advantage early in the third quarter after Wright returned the kickoff 53 yards, setting up a touchdown pass from Rittenhouse to Eddie Kasper. Youngstown State answered quickly with Brungard throwing a touchdown pass to Mike Solomon.

Rittenhouse tied his career high with his fourth touchdown pass of the day late in the third quarter, finding Luke Mailander for an 18-yard score. However, Brungard led Youngstown State back, running for one touchdown and passing for two more—one each to Fresh Walters and himself on long plays—to take control of the game.

Illinois State narrowed the deficit late when Rittenhouse threw his fifth touchdown pass—a new career high—to Wright. Despite this effort, Youngstown State maintained possession and ran out the clock.

Several individual milestones were reached during the game:

- Daniel Sobkowicz became only the third receiver in school history to surpass 3,000 career receiving yards.

- CJ Richard Jr. recorded his first career interception.

- Eddie Kasper caught his first touchdown of the season.

- Luke Mailander scored his fourth career touchdown.

- Rittenhouse set a new personal best with five passing touchdowns—the most by an Illinois State quarterback since Matt Brown in 2012.

- For Youngstown State, Brungard totaled 528 yards of offense (328 passing and 200 rushing) and was responsible for five touchdowns.

Illinois State will next face South Dakota on Saturday at DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota.

For more information about tickets or merchandise related to Illinois State athletics, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or use the Illinois State Redbirds App.