Youngstown Wins Historic Debut, 13-10 Over Boardman

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Shane Lux | August 22, 2026

Boardman Township – History made.

The Youngstown Defenders scored their first win in program history since the Youngstown City School District combined East and Chaney High Schools, with a 13-10 victory over home-standing Boardman High School.

In a low-scoring defensive battle, the defenders took a 13-3 lead into the fourth quarter before holding off a late Spartans rally to secure their first victory in school history.

In a bizarre sequence that saw the Youngstown defense force a four-and-out- yes, a four-and-out that saw a mix-up by the officiating crew that led to Boardman punting on “5th down”- Youngstown drove 81 yards

Scoring on Triston Pollard’s 2-yard run, on 4th-and-8 from the 12-yard line a play prior, quarterback Asuante Mickel connected with Chris Bricker on a 10-yard completion to the Boardman 2-yard line.

Mickel ran for 36 yards on the drive’s opening play, one of the few big plays the evening saw. He rushed for 71 yards and completed 13 of 23 passes for 121 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“It was the first game, and we wanted to come out and get the victory with the chip on our shoulder,” he said. “It is a good feeling; we just want more. We want more wins; we’re hungry.”

Boardman was able to close the gap with their lone touchdown drive of the night, when Frank Butto capped a 10-play, 54-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run with 6:58 to play.

The Spartans got the football back with 2:52 to play, but on 4th-and-14 at their 43-yard line, Mike Stanley intercepted Luke Miller with 1:57 to play, securing the Defenders’ first win in program history.

Youngstown dominated all-around defensively, never allowing a play longer than 13 yards and limiting Boardman to 151 offensive yards.

Though Boardman cracked the scoreboard first on a 35-yard field goal by Oswaldo Salinas early in the second quarter thanks to a short field, the Spartans could manage much out of their Wing-T.

The Defenders eventually answered in time when they drove 40 yards in six plays, with Deshaun Matlock catching a 13-yard touchdown pass from Mickel on 4th-and-12 that put them ahead for good.

Youngstown will now travel to Warren G. Harding next Friday night.

Game Highlights

Youngstown 13 Boardman 10

Score by Quarters

Youngstown – 0 6 7 0 – 13

Boardman – 0 3 0 7 – 10

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

B – Oswaldo Salinas 35 yd field goal, 9:13 – 8-12

Y – Deshaun Matlock 13 yd pass from Asuante Mickel, (kick failed), 4:16 – 6-40

Third Quarter

Y – Triston Pollard 2 yd run, (Austin Brown pat), 8:09 – 9-81

Fourth Quarter

B – Frank Butto 12 yd run, (Salinas pat), 6:58 – 10-54

Individual Stats

Rushing: Y – Triston Pollard 9-42, Mickel 11-71, Sidney Davis 6-35, Keith Franklin 2-2, Team 2-0. Totals: 30-150. B – Butto 18-81, Isiah Payne 3-18, Jordan Hodge 1-3, Aidan Moore 2-5, Coben Scarsella 1-0, Ryan Mitchell 10-46, Cash Fegler 3-(-5), Logan Miller 3-(-19). Totals: 41-129.

Receiving: Y – Metlock 2-11, Daylon Ferrell 5-60, Mike Stanley 3-23, Chris Bricker 1-10, Pollard 1-5, Kahlil Mason 1-12. B – Payne 1-8, Moore 1-(-2), Scarsella 2-16.

Passing: Y – Mickel 13-for-23, 121 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. B – Fegler 2-for-3, 6 yards, Miller 2-for-5, 16 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: B -Payne. Y – Stanley.