Round 2 brings rematch

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State's football team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Series and the Penguins' second-round opponent is a very familiar one.
YSU (10-2) will face Illinois State for the second time this season. The Penguins are hoping for a repeat performance of the Oct. 28 game in Normal, Ill., when they dominated the Redbirds, 27-13, at Hancock Stadium.
Saturday's kickoff will be at 6 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. As for television, the game will be available on ESPN's Game Plan, which is a pay-per-view telecast and available to viewers with a digital cable box for 9.99.
The Penguins and Redbirds finished 1-2 in the Gateway Football Conference standings.
Illinois State (9-3) will be playing an opponent for the second time this season for the second consecutive week. The Redbirds defeated Eastern Illinois, 24-13, in the opening round. Illinois State beat Eastern Illinois, 44-30, in the regular season.
YSU opened the playoffs last Saturday with a 35-31 come-from-behind victory over James Madison at Stambaugh Stadium. The fourth-seeded Penguins trailed the Dukes, 31-20, with more than 14 minutes remaining before rallying.
Different approach
YSU coach Jon Heacock said playing a team for the second time is no easy task.
"We are approaching this week as a completely different game," Heacock said. "That first one was four or five weeks ago, but this one is in the playoffs.
"The difference now is that if we win we keep playing and if we lose we pack it up for the year," Heacock said.
"This is not like a regular-season game, it's not a Gateway Conference game," he said. "You have to prepare and execute well or you won't be playing again next week."
Still, Heacock has to be hoping for another effort like the Penguins gave against the Redbirds on Oct. 28.
In that contest, the YSU defense flexed some muscle while quarterback Tom Zetts and tailback Marcus Mason each ran for more than 100 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.
Mason, who missed two games but still gained more than 1,500 yards rushing, had 176 yards on 34 carries and scored two touchdowns. Zetts had a career day running the ball, getting 110 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
Defense dominated
Even with Zetts and Mason having great games, the key to that victory was the play of the YSU defense, which had its best game of the season, limiting the Redbirds to just 18 yards rushing and 161 total yards.
YSU scored first in the contest as Mason ran in from the 1 for a 6-0 lead.
Illinois State came back to take the lead in the second quarter as Jarek Thomas picked off a Zetts pass and ran it 28 yards for a touchdown.
Senior tailback Monquantae Gibson had a 17-yard run for a score midway in the second quarter that put the Penguins into a 12-7 lead they never relinquished.
In the third quarter, Mason's second touchdown, a 7-yard run, and a two-point conversion from Zetts to tight end Louis Irizarry gave the Penguins a 20-7 lead.
After the Redbirds came back to score on a 2-yard run by tailback Pierre Rembert to cut the lead to 20-13, Zetts sealed the win by scoring on a 1-yard run with just more than four minutes remaining,
Rembert, who came into the game averaging over 130 yards a game rushing, was held to 11 yards on 14 carries .
"We played well in that game, but this is a whole new season," Heacock said. "But we're still going to need that same effort."
mollica@vindy.com