YSU finishes season in Fargo

The Penguins will try for their sixth victory against North Dakota State.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — The last time the Youngstown State football team played in Fargo, N.D., Ron Jaworski was the Penguins’ starting quarterback.

The Penguins (5-5, 3-4 Missouri Valley Football Conference) will play their final game of the season today when they meet North Dakota State in a 2 p.m. kickoff at the Fargodome.

It will be just the fourth meeting between the two teams with the Penguins holding a 2-1 advantage. Both wins have come in Youngstown.

The last time the Penguins were in Fargo was on Sept. 23, 1972, a game which the Bison won 16-10 in a game played at Dacotah Field, long before the Fargodome was built.

The Penguins led 3-0 in the game before North Dakota State scored 16 unanswered points. YSU’s final score came on a touchdown run by Jaworski in the third quarter.

Last year the Penguins posted a 32-24 victory at Stambaugh Stadium, a game that saw the then-No. 2 ranked Bison fall in the rankings and eventually finish with a 6-5 season.

In the 2008 game YSU senior cornerback De’Angelo Wilson intercepted a Bison pass in the end zone with just 22 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory.

The Fargodome, which was opened in 1993, has a seating capacity of 18,700, which has been sold out many times over the years. The Bison are averaging over 11,000 fans per game this season despite a 3-7 record.

While the Penguins and Bison are far removed from any postseason playoff contention, two teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference are still in contention.

Southern Illinois, which clinched the MVFC championship last week and ended the season with a perfect 8-0 conference record, is already assured of the playoffs as the conference’s automatic bid.

South Dakota State (7-3, 6-1) needs a victory over Western Illinois today to assure itself of the No. 2 spot in the standings and most likely a playoff spot. Northern Iowa, which visits Illinois State, is 7-3, 5-2 and a win will keep the Panthers alive for an at-large bid into the playoffs.

Seven of nine conference teams will be in action today. Missouri State (6-5, 4-4) and Indiana State (1-10, 1-7) have completed their seasons.

Southern Illinois (9-1, 8-0) will complete its regular season in a non-conference game against Southeastern Missouri State in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Cape Girardeau, Mo. The teams haven’t met in four years, but the Salukis won the last meeting in 2005, 58-23.

South Dakota State (7-3, 6-1), coming off a near upset of Minnesota (a 16-13 loss) will try to wrap up a playoff berth against the Leathernecks (1-9, 0-7). The Jackrabbits won last year 24-22, but WIU leads the series 4-2 and five of the six meetings have been decided by seven points or less.

Northern Iowa (7-3, 5-2) has dominated its series with Illinois State (5-5, 4-3) leading the series 17-8, winning the last three in a row and five of the last six, including a 31-17 win last season. The Redbirds’ only win over that span was a 38-3 rout in 2005 in Normal.

mollica@vindy.com