YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – After trailing 38-14 early in the third quarter, Missouri State cut its deficit to 10 but could not complete the road comeback here Saturday, falling 44-28 at Youngstown State in Valley play.
The Bears (3-5, 2-3 MVFC) accrued 436 yards of total offense, including a career-high 341 passing yards from Jordan Pachot who was 25-of-38 with a pair of touchdowns.
Raylen Sharpe led all MSU receivers with 8 catches for 109 yards, while Jmariyae Robinson added 6 grabs for 77. Jacardia Wright had 7 carries for 72 yards to lead all Bear rushers.
In a third quarter dominated by the Bears’ defense, Missouri State had the ball in Youngstown State territory with an opportunity to cut into a 38-28 deficit and plenty of time remaining. But on the second play of the fourth quarter, Pachot’s pass from the YSU 33, intended for Terique Owens in the end zone, was picked off by the Penguins for a touchback.
The Bears outgained YSU 164 to 93 in the third quarter, while the MSU defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs to get back in the game.
After the pick by Troy Jakubec in the end zone, it took Youngstown State 11 plays and six minutes, but the Penguins ultimately capitalized on the MSU mishap. A 29-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka made it 41-28.
A third-down sack forced Missouri State to punt on the ensuing possession, and the Penguins (5-3, 3-2 MVFC) chewed up another four minutes before Laskovka booted through his third field goal of the day, this time from 44 yards, to extend YSU’s cushion to 16 points.
Missouri State took over with 2:13 to play and drove all the way to the Youngstown one-yard iine before the game clock — and any Missouri State comeback hopes — expired.
YSU quarterback Mitch Davidson finished 26-of-33 for 390 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Missouri State’s third-quarter heroics were highlighted by a 29-yard TD strike to Jacardia Wright on MSU’s opening drive of the second half, and then a 7-yard pass to Lance Mason on the Bears’ next possession that got the visitors within 10 points.
Todric McGee rang up 11 tackles on the afternoon to pace the MoState defense, while Jared Lloyd added 10 total stops. MSU outgained the Penguins 253-186 in the second half.
The Bears set a blistering pace on the game’s opening possession of the afternoon. Missouri State capitalized on a 55-yard kickoff return by Jayden Becks to set up a short field and needed just four plays to punch it in and take the early lead. Jakairi Moses carried twice for 36 yards to give the visitors first-and-goal at the YSU 9. After an incompletion, Pachot then tucked it in, and carried it in himself from there to paydirt, giving the Bears a 7-0 advantage just over a minute in.
Youngstown State responded with back-to-back scoring marches of 75 and 72 yards to gain a 14-7 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. Touchdown passes of 10 and 2 yards from Davidson put the Penguins up by seven.
Early in the second quarter, the visitors bounced back with their longest scoring drive of the season. Starting from their own 2-yard line, the Bears responded with an impressive, nine-play, 98-yard scoring march that was accentuated by a 45-yard touchdown dash by Wright with 8:18 to go before the intermission. A key third-down completion to Raylen Sharpe kept the drive alive, allowing Wright the opportunity to make it a 14-14 game three plays later.
However, the final eight minutes of the first half belonged to YSU. The Penguins kept the Bears’ offense in check and then ran off 17 unanswered points from there to lead 31-14 at the game’s midway point. Davidson hit Bryce Oliver with long TD strikes of 51 and 20 yards to give the Penguins a 14-point cushion. Then after a blocked punt on Missouri State’s last possession of the second quarter, YSU threw a 40-yard strike to Oliver to set up a 24-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka as time expired.
YSU racked up 185 of its 335 total first-half yards on its last three possessions and converted 5-of-6 third downs in the opening 30 minutes. Oliver had 6 catches for 169 yards, all in the first half.
MoState had a respectable 183 yards, including 82 on the ground, but ended four of its six first-half drives on punts.
MoState returns home next week to entertain Illinois State at 2 p.m., before concluding the home slate the following Saturday (Nov. 11) against UNI.
