YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) Beau Brungard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two, leading Youngstown State to a 43-10 rout of Mercyhurst in a Football Championship Subdivision season opener on Thursday night.
Brungard, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player in FCS, had 98 yards rushing in the first half as the Penguins built a 29-3 lead. He accounted for three touchdowns – two on the ground and one passing. His second touchdown pass, 27 yards to Bryan Hunt, gave the Penguins a 36-3 lead to open the third quarter. He added a short touchdown pass to Jaden Gilbert with under 10 minutes left in the fourth before coming out of the game.
Brungard finished with 232 yards passing, completing 20 of 29 throws, and was intercepted once. He had 119 yards rushing on 21 carries. Gilbert had five carries for 89 yards, which included a 50-yard run. The Penguins, ranked No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS top 25, had 484 yards on offense, with 232 passing and 252 rushing.
After driving 65 yards for a 24-yard field goal on the opening possession of the game, the Lakers didn’t cross midfield until the middle of the fourth when they reached the YSU 34-yard line before being stopped on fourth down.
A blocked punt by Kaleb Platz set up the Lakers for a 53-yard drive to their only touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Alex Gevaudan to Sha’lik Hampton.
Gevaudan threw for 212 yards, including the short touchdown, and was intercepted twice.
The game was Tom Sydeski’s debut as coach of the Lakers. He replaced Ryan Riemedio, who is now defensive coordinator at Youngstown State.
Youngstown State visits Kentucky on Sept. 5 and Mercyhurst visits New Mexico State on the same day.
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