GATEWAY CONFERENCE Down 10-0, YSU wins 24-17

Youngstown State's tying and winning scores were set up by Illinois State turnovers.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NORMAL, Ill. -- It's too bad the season is almost over for Youngstown State University, because the Penguins are finally playing decent football.
Saturday, the Penguins put on a second-half exhibition to rally to defeat Illinois State 24-17 in a Gateway Conference contest before perhaps 6,000 fans at Hancock Stadium.
The Penguins trailed 10-0 in the first half and 17-10 in the third quarter. A defensive turnover and a heads-up special teams play helped turn the game.
"The turnovers and the special teams play made the difference today," YSU head coach Jon Heacock said. "We ended the game with the football and that's always nice."
"It was a full team effort today and you knew it had to be for us to win," Heacock said.
Winning season
The Penguins assured themselves of a winning season as they improved to 6-4 on the year, and finished Gateway Conference play with a 4-3 record.
Next week, the Penguins are idle. They close the season at home against Samford University on Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.
Trailing 17-10 in the third period, the Penguins produced a big break when Matt Briggs pressured ISU quarterback Michael Souza.
Souza threw wildly into the arms of YSU defensive tackle Matt Mechling at the 20-yard line, and the big senior moved it to the ISU 10.
Four plays later, senior tailback P.J. Mays scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run and senior Jake Stewart kicked the extra point to tie the score.
On the ensuing kickoff, Stewart booted it high and short into the wind, and ISU had trouble fielding it. The ball bounced around before Brandon Brown recovered it for the Penguins at the Redbirds' 41-yard line.
This time, it took four plays again, but the last one was a big one. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Aaron Marshall tossed a 34-yard pass to senior wide receiver Gerald Burley for the winning score, with Stewart adding the placement.
Mays rushed for 146 yards on 32 carries and two scores, while Marshall was 8-of-13 for 108 yards and one touchdown.
The Penguins rushed for 215 yards and finished with 323 total yards, while the Penguin defense held Illinois State to 96 yards rushing and 198 total yards.
Scoreless final period
Neither team scored in the final period of play, but the Penguins kept the Redbirds off the scoreboard when they prevented a field-goal attempt.
Redbirds kicker Stephen Carroll was attempting a 37-yard kick into the wind, but the snap was poor and Carroll tried to pass. His throw was picked off by YSU senior Anthony Barone. On its final drive, YSU moved from its own 12 to the SIU 24, all on the ground behind Mays, junior Josiah Doby and junior fullback Keland Logan.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 10-0 advantage. Their first score came following a YSU punt, which was returned 29 yards to the Penguins' 41-yard line by Cerone Colvin.
The Redbirds could only drive to the YSU 39, but with the wind, Stephen Carroll boomed a 56-yard field goal. It was the 13th straight field goal kicked against the Penguins in the last five games without a miss.
The Redbirds, who had just 7 total yards in the first period, put together an 80-yard drive to score their first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Sha-ron Edwards with 9:52 remaining in the half.
The Penguins finally got the offense rolling in the second quarter, as Marshall hit Phillip Larmon with a 16-yard pass to open the drive from their own 28. With the help of a pass interference penalty, the Penguins drove to the ISU 25.
Marshall hit Mays with a 6-yard pass and then ran for 9 more, before Mays took over and carried the final two times from 10 yards out for the score, with Stewart adding the placement.
mollica@vindy.com