Youngstown St. holds off second-half charge in 31-21 win over W. Illinois

Youngstown St. scores early in 31-21 win

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Kevin Smith ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and Youngstown State held off a second-half rally to beat Western Illinois 31-21 on Saturday.

The Penguins (4-2, 2-1 in Missouri Valley Conference) built a 31-0 lead by halftime but didn’t score again. Touchdown runs of 1-yard each by Smith and Dana Brown, and short scoring tosses by Brandon Summers put Youngstown St. up big.

Wil Lunt brought the Leathernecks (1-4, 0-2) back with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Justin Rideau, then a 12-yarder to close out the scoring. Dre Gibbs had a 15-yard scoring run and finished with 155 yards.

Mike Stieren forced the first fumble of his career to open the fourth quarter, giving the Leathernecks a possession that resulted in Western’s second scoring drive of the game.

Lunt finished his first career start with 92 yards on 8 of 16 passing.

Summers finished with 134 yards on 12 of 18 passing.