<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=06sGVU_0vlT5uJ200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=06sGVU_0vlT5uJ200" width="1763" height="1175" ><figcaption>Junior tight end Lance Mason carries the ball in the redzone during Missouri State's home opener on Saturday, Sept. 14. Photo by Matthew Huff, @huff.photography_</figcaption></figure>Returning home from their first road win of the season, the Missouri State University football team is ready to open its conference play against the Youngstown State University Penguins on Saturday, Sept. 28, while also hosting its Family Weekend celebration. Here’s everything you’ll need to know to be up to date on both teams before they battle it out at Plaster Stadium. The Getting There Bears With early season troubles, the Bears still have not gotten it all locked down for the success that they desperately need. However, they showed in the meeting at UT Martin last week that they seem to be on the road to figuring some of those problems out. The Bears pulled together well enough to play a powerful end to the first half and an even better third quarter. Old problems — worst of all being the penalties — flared up in the final quarter and prevented them from truly dominating the Skyhawks, but if they get those issues worked out, they stand a chance at having a pretty good team for Missouri Valley Football Conference play. Senior quarterback Jacob Clark is the most notable member of the team as of now. He was slated to be the exciting new starting quarterback for Missouri State at the start of last season, but his shoulder injury just four games in knocked him to the sidelines for the rest of the year. He was a figure of cautious optimism starting this season off, but has proven himself to be one of the strongest — physically, with fortitude and with his game intelligence — quarterbacks the Bears have had. The senior field general has been consistently improving his passing, regularly approaching school record numbers in passing yards and completion percentage. Clark also has only thrown two interceptions this season, for a Bear career total of only four. Another player we’ve been watching with excitement is senior wide receiver Hunter Wood, who in just four games has almost matched his receptions and receiving yard totals of all last season. Also available for Clark to hand the ball or throw to is senior running back Jacardia Wright, who is on track to have his best season yet. He’s already rushed 287 yards and scored five touchdowns — just one less than all last season. In addition, he’s added up 193 receiving yards, so far. The defense for Missouri State has faced more consistent trouble than any other group on the team, but even for them, there’s serious potential to be tapped. Senior defensive end Darion Smith, who had five tackles against Montana Grizzlies players in the first game of the season, is one of the most notable names on the Bears’ D-line. Junior safeties Dylan Simmons and J.J. O’Neal, senior linebacker Tahj Chambers, and redshirt freshman linebacker Michael Teason have consistently given their all to their respective positions and kept opponents from achieving what they’ve wanted to do. Meet the 2024 Youngstown State Penguins The Youngstown State football team has had a fair amount of success in the MVFC, but they’re off to a rough start this year. Going 1-3 in their non-conference slate, the Penguins have plenty of ground to make up and fight for. They’re currently dead last in the MVFC going into conference play. Their first game of the season Aug. 29 was a loss to the Villanova University Wildcats, where the Penguins tried to rally in the second half, but came up short and fell 24-17 after trailing in the first, 17-3. Starting Penguins quarterback sophomore Beau Brungard had a 78.6 percent passing yard efficiency in the team’s only win thus far, over the Valparaiso University Beacons. Brungard is much more effective at rushing than the Bears’ Clark on paper, but his passing yards are significantly lacking compared to Missouri State’s man. If the Bears can set their receivers and running backs up, they’ll make quick work of the Penguins. That’s not to say the Penguins don’t have competitive players to run the ball for Brungard; they do. Senior tailback Ethan Wright has a total of 236 rushing yards in the first four games of the Youngstown State season with one touchdown. Wright also has 55 receiving yards. Senior tailback Tyshon King has made it into the end zone three times while rushing this season. He’s rushed a total of 136 yards. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Cyrus Traugh also found himself in the end zone with the football three times this season, with 173 receiving yards and a total of 11 receptions. Junior wide receiver Max Tomczak is probably the most dangerous wide receiver that the Bears’ D-line needs to look out for. He has 246 receiving yards with 20 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. On the Youngstown State D-line, sophomore linebacker Michael Wells is among those looking to hit the Bears hard. He had 10 tackles in total, with the most in a game being four, and a single forced fumble. Furthermore, the Bears will need to be wary of junior defensive back Stephon Hall. With 14 tackles — including five in the Penguins game with Atlantic Coast Conference members Pittsburg — and two passing blocks and a fumble recovery, Hall is going to be a major help for the Youngstown State football team. It’ll certainly be a battle, because while the Football Bowl Subdivision-bound Bears have more to lose in this game, the Penguins have more to gain. Matchup history As of last week, the Bears have no more unfamiliar opponents left on their schedule. They’ve played Youngstown State 24 times in the past; this weekend will be the 25th. The Bears-Penguins matchup has come together most seasons that the two have been in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State leads the Bears 17-7, and since 2014, the record is 6-2 in favor of the Penguins. The most recent fight between the two was last season at Youngstown, Ohio, where the Bears fell 44-28. In that most recent meeting, the Penguins’ then-starting quarterback, senior Mitch Davidson, threw a career-high 390 yards against the Bears. Missouri State’s then-junior quarterback Jordan Pachot threw 341 yards for two touchdowns. Though it won’t be a new opponent for the Bears, it will be one for their starting QB. Clark was supposed to be the starting man for Missouri State last year, but his season ended a month before the Youngstown game. “It’s cool, being able to play a team like Youngstown that I didn’t get to play last year is exciting,” Clark said. “Being able to see that I’m healthy, able to get through four games … (I’ve) been feeling really good.” In his career at Missouri State, Clark has only faced one MVFC opponent in Southern Illinois — the game in which his season ended due to injury. Nevertheless, the Penguins and the rest of the Valley have plenty to look out for in him.Challenges along the way The Bears are indeed finding their way, but they are not quite there. The personal fouls need to be cut back, and the defense especially needs to learn more restraint. Several times this season, plays have ended, guys have been run out of bounds, tackles have been broken up and, inevitably, someone wearing maroon and white will shove, hit, grab, throw, etc. an opponent, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and the Bears lose yardage. There isn’t any success to be found fighting on the field, and in many of those cases, they’ve resulted in opponents scoring on the Bears. Head coach Ryan Beard has described his approach to talk in the locker room and at practice, and it boils down to taking things a week at a time. “How do we go 1-0 next week?” is something Beard has repeated many times this season. It’s a good sentiment and certainly prevents an unimpressive record from weighing down any spirits while also not letting any heads get too big. However, it might not be strong enough to get the message across that this is a problem and is not conducive to winning. Not in the MVFC, and especially not on the national stage in the FBS. Only more games will tell how that message really gets received. The Bears open conference play at home on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. The game will also celebrate the Missouri State Family Weekend, and students get in free using their BearPass. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Missouri State Radio Network with Art Hains and Corey Riggs. Follow W. Paul Bohlen on Twitter, @wpbohlenSubscribe to The Standard's free weekly newsletter here.</div></body>

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Football to host Youngstown State for Family Weekend, MVFC opener

Returning home from their first road win of the season, the Missouri State University football team is ready to open its conference play against the Youngstown State University Penguins on Saturday, Sept. 28, while also hosting its Family Weekend celebration. Here’s everything you’ll need to know to be up to...