GAME 2
West Virginia.........38 Youngstown State......21
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Youngstown State West Virginia
SCORING AND STATISTICAL SUMMARY
1 2 3 4 F 0 14 0 7 21 7 7 17 7 38
1st WVU
Ka’Raun White 53 pass from Skyler Howard (Mike Molina kick)
2nd
YSU YSU WVU
Martin Ruiz 1 rush (Zak Kennedy kick) Alvin Bailey 74 pass from Ricky Davis (Kennedy kick) Shelton Gibson 54 pass from Howard (Molina kick)
3rd
WVU WVU WVU
Daikiel Shorts Jr. 11 pass from Howard (Molina kick) Molina 32 FG Gibson 57 pass from Howard (Molina kick)
4th
YSU
Trent Hosick 15 rush (Kennedy kick)
WVU
Kennedy McCoy 21 pass from Howard (Molina kick)
YSU WVU First Downs 21 30 Rushes/Yards 41/185 46/235 Passing Yardage 220 389 Passes 15/32/1 20/33/1 Punts 8/356/44.5 4/197/49.2 Fumbles/Lost 1/0 0/0 Return Yardage 130 68 Penalties/Yards 5/64 6/49 Time of Possession 31:49 28:11
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Sept. 10, 2016) - West Virginia used five touchdown passes, including three of more than 50 yards to defeat Youngstown State, 38-21, at Milan Puskar Stadium. Quarterback Skyler Howard threw all five touchdown passes, which tied his career-best, and his 389 yards passing were the secondbest of his career. He finished the day with 20 completions and added 50 yards rushing. Youngstown State played the Mountaineers to a draw in the first half. However, the 91 degree temperatures for the day could have taken a toll on the Penguins as the Mountaineers depth dominated YSU to the tune of 24-7 in the second half. West Virginia struck first with 3:16 left in the first quarter on a 53-yard pass play from Howard to Ka’Raun White to end an 80-yard drive. Youngstown State came back to score the next 14 points to take a 14-7 lead at the 10:13 mark of the second quarter. The Penguins’ first score came early in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Martin Ruiz, capping a 72-yard drive. YSU took the lead on a Ricky Davis 74-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Bailey that finished off an 80yard drive in just three plays. The Youngstown State game plan was working at this point with a
methodical approach and ball-control offense to keep the ball away from the Mountaineers. To counter, West Virginia had to strike when it had its chances and the big play worked on this day for the home team. A 54-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Shelton Gibson took care of the deficit with 3:15 left in the half. The Mountaineers had a chance to take the lead into the locker room, but a last-second missed field goal by Mike Molina kept the gamed knotted at 14. Third-quarter action saw the Mountaineers rack up 17 points to take a 31-14 advantage. West Virginia’s first possession in the quarter provided a nine-play, 86-yard drive and ended on a Howard 11-yard pass to Daikiel Shorts Jr. Leading 21-14, West Virginia scored on its next two possessions as Molina made good on a 32-yard field goal. That scoring drive covered 65 yards, and the Mountaineers were starting to tally big numbers on the offensive side of the ball as their depth continued to wear down the Penguins in the scorching heat. Taking advantage of their scoring chances, WVU’s last touchdown of the third was a 57yard touchdown pass from Howard to Gibson as the duo connected on their second score in the game. YSU’s backup quarterback, Trent Hosick, entered the game in the fourth quarter and engineered a nine-play drive that ended on his 15-yard scoring run, cutting WVU’s lead to 3121 with 8:44 left to play. The Mountaineers added a score with 3:18 left to play, when Howard went to the air one more time and found true freshman tailback Kennedy McKoy for a 21-yard reception, the first TD of McKoy’s WVU career. Aside from Howard’s numbers, tailback Rushel Shell III was strong with 84 yards rushing and a 5.2 average. Gibson turned in a career day with 171 yards receiving, followed by Shorts. Jr. with 93 and White with 88 receiving yards. Defensive back Rasul Douglas led the defensive effort with 11 tackles, while AlRasheed Benton pulled in the first interception of his career. For Youngstown State, Davis finished with 189 yards passing, and his top target was Bailey with three catches for 92 yards. Davis also led the Penguins in rushing with 62 yards and a 4.8 yards per carry average. Jameel Smith led the Youngstown State defense with 12 stops. Final numbers showed West Virginia with 235 yards rushing and 389 passing to total 624 yards of total offense. Youngstown State’s final numbers came in at 185 yards on the ground and 220 passing for 405 total yards. The victory gave West Virginia a 2-0 record all-time against Youngstown State and upped the Mountaineers’ record to 17-0 all-time against FCS teams and 6-0 vs. the FCS under head coach Dana Holgorsen.
WVU RUSHING: Shell III 16-84, Howard 8-50, Crawford 12-40; WVU PASSING: Howard 20-33-1-389; WVU RECEIVING: Gibson 6-171, Short 6-93, White 5-88; WVU TACKLES (TFL/QS): Douglas 11 (1/0), Benton 7, Harper 6; WVU INTERCEPTIONS: Benton. YSU RUSHING: Davis 13-62, Ruiz 11-48, McCaster 12-41, Hosick 4-37; YSU PASSING: Davis 11-260-189; YSU RECEIVING: Bailey 3-92; YSU TACKLES (TFL/QS): Smith 12, Alexander 7, Dellovade 7; YSU INTERCEPTIONS: Thompson. Attendance - 56,261
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