YSU FOOTBALL Transfer magic working again

Tailback Marcus Mason and linebacker James Terry have found new homes.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State University football team has been pretty successful over the years with the Division I-A transfer players it has brought in.
Two good examples this season are junior tailback Marcus Mason and sophomore linebacker James Terry.
Mason, who came to the Penguins this past summer from the University of Illinois, is a 5-foot-9, 197-pound speedster from Pontiac, Md., who has moved into the YSU starting lineup over the past two weeks.
Terry came to the Penguins by way of the University of Virginia, although he never played for the Cavaliers. He was redshirted there as a freshman before transferring to YSU a year ago.
Mason has been brilliant the past two weeks as the Penguins starter, rushing for more than 100 yards in both games. Last Saturday against Indiana State, he rushed for 152 yards on 18 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.
Offensive honors
Mason was named the Hill, Barth and King offensive player of the week.
Terry, a 6-2, 225-pounder from Stafford, Va., has had back-to-back big games defensively for the Penguins.
He had 13 tackles to lead the team two weeks ago against Illinois State and added seven more to again lead the team last Saturday against the Sycamores. Those included two sacks, a pass breakup and several bone-rattling tackles.
One of those tackles, and it could have been just about any of his six solo shots, also earned him the Wash-on-Wheels Derrick Pixley Hit of the Week for the second straight week as well as being named the defensive player of the game.
Bishop saluted
Special team honors for the Indiana State game went to junior punter and kickoff specialist Joe Bishop of St. Thomas High.
Bishop had only two punts, but one was a 52-yarder and he averaged 43.5 with both kicks inside the Sycamores' 20.
He also kicked off eight times, two of them into the end zone and two others the Sycamores started inside their own 10.
The Jim Zdelar offensive lineman of the game award went to senior John Bartos as the YSU offense, behind the front line, rolled up 567 total yards and 379 yards rushing, both season highs.
Bartos, a 6-3, 291-pound tackle, is an Ursuline High graduate.
The Jermaine Hopkins defensive lineman of the game was junior linebacker Jeff Koval of Austintown. Koval was right behind Terry in total tackles with five and also had a tackle for loss and one sack.
The Haines Family player of the game, selected by the YSU radio broadcast team, was senior offensive guard Tony Limongi.
The 6-0, 300-pounder from Niles was beside Bartos on the Penguins line.
mollica@vindy.com