YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Indiana State football played one of its most complete games of the season Saturday afternoon in Youngstown, picking up its second consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference road win in a 43-17 victory over Youngstown State at a rainy and overcast Stambaugh Stadium.
 
The win marked the first time since 2014 that an ISU football team had won consecutive MVFC road games as the Sycamores improved to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Penguins fell to 3-5 on the year and 2-3 in MVFC action.
 
Quarterback Ryan Boyle passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-29 through the air and 68 rushing yards to lead Indiana State past the Penguins, but it was the performance of redshirt freshman Dante Hendrix that stole the show.
 
Hendrix, a Florence, Kentucky native, caught two touchdowns on seven receptions for 186 yards, setting career highs in yardage, receptions, touchdowns and all-purpose yards while picking up a career long 60-yard catch in the second quarter.
 
Hendrix used a 22-yard touchdown catch -- the first of his career -- in the second quarter put the Sycamores on top for the first time at 13-10 and ISU did not look back, outscoring Youngstown 30-7 to finish the contest.
 
After Youngstown State was pinned at their own three-yard line following a Travis Reiner punt, YSU marched down the field on their opening using several strong run plays from Tevin McCaster to setup a 25-yard touchdown reception to Jermiah Braswell from Montgomery VanGorder.
 
The Sycamores answered the Penguins with two-straight field goals off the foot of Jerry Nunez, the first a 41-yard connection and the second a 30-yard kick to pull within one point at 7-6. Youngstown State added a field goal from Grant Gonya in the second quarter before Nunez hit a 45-yarder to help the Sycamores go into the locker room leading 16-10.
 
Both teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, first when Hendrix picked up his second touchdown catch of the afternoon -- a 22-yard score before McCaster capped off a YSU drive with a two-yard rushing score to go into the fourth quarter with Indiana State on top 23-17.
 
Unlike last weekend at Southern Illinois, the Sycamores continued to pile on the points in the fourth quarter, scoring 21-unanswered points to roll to the victory.
 
Boyle, an Urbandale, Iowa product, connected with sophomore tight end Zach Larkin for 15 yards -- the first career touchdown catch for Larkin. After the Sycamore defense picked up another stop of the Penguins, sophomore Titus McCoy ran in a touchdown from 23-yards out. McCoy wrapped up the game with 57 yards on 18 carries.
 
Defense continued to shine for the Sycamores as both Pishon Powell and Jonas Griffith each tallied a sack in the game. Griffith also recovered a fumble and returned it 80-yards for a score late in the fourth to cement the Indiana State win.
 
Griffith finished with a team-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops and a pass breakup. It marked the fourth-straight double-digit tackles game for the redshirt junior and the sixth of the season. Powell added nine stops for the Trees and Katrell Moss picked up seven tackles. Cade Peratt had seven stops and a tackle-for-loss in the win.
 
In total, Indiana State finished with 476 yards of total offense which marked the third-highest output of the season. ISU finished just 3-for-12 on third down but racked up 20 first downs.  
 
McCaster lead Youngstown with 165 yards on the ground with a touchdown on 22 attempts.
 
Indiana State returns to Memorial Stadium for the next two weekends as the Sycamores play host to South Dakota and Illinois State.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.