1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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]

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) championship game, see 1997 Sugar Bowl.
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
98
TSNSeed
66
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

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
See also: Youngstown State Penguins football

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
See also: McNeese State Cowboys football

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
StatisticsYSUMSU
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 StatePassingDemond Tidwell11–20, 110 yds, 1 TD
RushingJake Andreadis16 car, 47 yds
ReceivingTim Tyrrell4 rec, 54 yds
McNeese StatePassingBlake Prejean14–28, 143 yds, 1 INT
RushingWilliam Davis19 car, 59 yds
ReceivingDonnie Ashley4 rec, 45 yds

[1][3]

References
  1. "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. "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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