Youngstown State improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Gateway, while ISU drops to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in conference action.

It did not take Youngstown long to take the lead as the Penguins scored on their first possession going 58 yards on three plays in 50 seconds.  After the Sycamores failed to get a first down, YSU took over and again went down the field pushing the score to 14-0 after a two-yard TD by Monquantae Gibson. 

The ISU defense held Youngstown on their next two possessions, but then the Penguin rushing attack started to take its toll.  YSU put together an impressive 12-play, 90 yard drive that took 5:28 off the clock to push the lead to 21-0.  After the next ISU drive stalled, the Penguins used a nice punt return to get the ball in great field possession as they only needed 22 yards to punch in its next score.  The final tally of the first half came with just 27 seconds remaining in the period to and gave YSU a 35-0 lead

The Sycamores moved the ball quite effectively in the first half as they registered 150 yards of total offense, but were unable to sustain a scoring drive.  ISU also was hurt by an interception and three penalties. 

The second half turned into a defensive struggle as the only scoring was a YSU 39-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter and a 24-yard TD run with 1:27 remaining in the game to push the final score to 45-0.

The Sycamores finished with 269 total yards of offense, which included 210 yards through the air.  Senior QB Blayne Baggett was 15 of 26 for 177 yards.  Carl Berman was the main receiving target as he hauled in five catches for 109 yards.  Martuan Sample led the Sycamore ground game with 55 yards on seven carries.

YSU rolled up 567 total yards, including 379 yards on the ground.  Marcus Mason was the game’s leading rusher as he gained 153 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.  The Penguins were also efficient through the air as two QB’s combined for 17 completions in 20 attempts for 188 yards and two TD’s.

COMPLETE GAME STATISTICS