1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game
Youngstown State Penguins McNeese State Cowboys
(12–2) (13–1)
Gateway Southland
10 9
Head coach: 
Jim Tressel		 Head coach: 
Bobby Keasler
TSNSeed
48
TSNSeed
76
1234 Total
Youngstown State 0307 10
McNeese State 3060 9
DateDecember 20, 1997
Season1997
StadiumFinley Stadium
LocationChattanooga, Tennessee
RefereeRon Buckner (SoCon)[1][2]
Attendance14,771[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the McNeese State Cowboys. The game was played on December 20, 1997, and was the first I-AA title game contested at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 10–9.[3]

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1997 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[4]

Youngstown State Penguins

Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (4–2 in conference).[5] Seeded eighth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated ninth-seed Hampton, first-seed Villanova, and third-seed Eastern Washington to reach the final. This was the fifth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won three titles (1991, 1993, and 1994) against one loss (1992).

McNeese State Cowboys

McNeese State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (6–1 in conference).[6] The Cowboys, seeded sixth, defeated 11-seed Montana, second-seed Western Illinois, and fourth-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the first appearance for McNeese State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP YSU MSU
1 5:30 10 54 4:01 MSU 22-yard field goal by Shonz LaFrenz 0 3
2 2:19 14 52 6:22 YSU 21-yard field goal by Mark Griffith 3 3
3 8:08 5 28 2:51 MSU 37-yard field goal by LaFrenz 3 6
3 0:51 9 38 4:45 MSU 46-yard field goal by LaFrenz 3 9
4 8:08 9 66 3:54 YSU Renauld Ray 9-yard touchdown reception from Demond Tidwell, Griffith kick good 10 9
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 9

[1][7]

Game statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Penguins 0 3 0 7 10
No. 6 Cowboys 3 0 6 0 9
Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel
Statistics YSU MSU
First downs1211
Plays–yards60–20057–201
Rushes–yards39–7329–58
Passing yards127143
Passing: comp–att–int12–21–014–28–1
Time of possession31:3728:23
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Youngstown State PassingDemond Tidwell11–20, 110 yds, 1 TD
RushingJake Andreadis16 car, 47 yds
ReceivingTim Tyrrell4 rec, 54 yds
McNeese State PassingBlake Prejean14–28, 143 yds, 1 INT
RushingWilliam Davis19 car, 59 yds
ReceivingDonnie Ashley4 rec, 45 yds

[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Youngstown State vs McNeese State". ysusports.com. December 20, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Recipients Named For Seventh Annual Golden Whistle Merit Awards" (PDF). NCHSAA Bulletin. Vol. 65, no. 4. Summer 2013. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Youngstown Wins 4th Championship Penguins Use Improvised Play To Squeeze By Mcneese State". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. December 21, 1997. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ "I-AA football playoffs". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. November 24, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Youngstown State Penguins 1997 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ "McNeese State Cowboys 1997 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  7. ↑ "NCAA I-AA Championship". The Advocate. Newark, Ohio. December 21, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved February 21, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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