After a tough road loss at Youngstown State bringing the team to 1-1, Butler looks forward to matching up against Taylor University in their first home game this Saturday, September 18th.

Playing under the lights in front of a crowd of 18,025, the Bulldog football team lost to Youngstown State 31-7 Saturday.

The Penguins offered the Bulldogs some of the toughest competition they will face all year.

“One of the first things we said when I took over the program was that we were going to upgrade our non-conference schedule,” head coach Jeff Voris said. “The tough competition gives us a much clearer barometer of where we are entering conference play.”

After forcing two early Youngstown punts the Butler offense struggled to make up much ground on the offensive end of the ball, netting only 44 total yards in their first three possessions with two punts and an interception.

The interception proved costly for the Bulldogs, as Youngstown State then marched down the field in seven plays and scored a touchdown on an eight yard run from Penguin freshman tailback Jordan Thompson.

Thompson was part of Youngstown’s three-pronged running attack which included freshman Adaris Bellamy and sophomore Jamaine Cook. The trio rushed for a combined 218 yards and three touchdowns.

Bellamy put the Penguins up 14-0 on the next drive.

The Bulldog offense answered right back with an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped off by a three-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Andrew Huck to junior Jeff Larsen.

The score cut the Penguin’s lead in half at 14-7.

“At that point [being down 14-7], we just tried to consistently move the ball,” Voris said. “They played us differently than they played Penn State the week before.

“The biggest thing, no matter who you play, is to keep the ball in front of you and make them earn it.”

The Bulldog’s touchdown would be their final points of the game as the explosive Penguin defense kept Butler off the board from halftime onward.

The second half was filled with missed opportunities for the Bulldogs, who drove into Youngstown territory four times but could not manage to put any points on the board.

After missing a 28-yard field goal, Butler had two turnovers on downs.

The Penguins took advantage of Butler’s mistakes.

Youngstown had an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown on their second possession of the half to build up their lead to 24-7.

Youngstown scored again on their next drive off of a 25-yard run from Bellamy for his second score of the game.

The touchdown put the Penguins up 31-7 and sealed the win for Youngstown.