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Oct. 14, 2000
Football: Penguins Rally to Nip Panthers, 28-24
Youngstown, Ohio -- The No. 2/3 Youngstown State
football team rallied twice in the
fourth quarter to beat No. 18/23
Northern Iowa 28-24 on Saturday
afternoon in front of a Stambaugh
Stadium record crowd of 21,119.
YSU Quarterback Jeff Ryan threw a 26-yard touchdown
pass to diving Dennis Dlugosz with
1:17 left to rally the undefeated
Penguins back from a 24-21 deficit
and give YSU a 28-24 lead.
The Penguins (6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Gateway
Conference) then ended Panthers'
last ditch comeback attempt when Jon
Tekac sacked UNI's Ryan Helming with
just 12 seconds remaining.
For the fourth consecutive game, the Penguins were
outyarded, but still found a way to
win. UNI (3-3, 1-2) had 401 total
yards, while YSU finished with 379.
UNI took a 17-14 lead at halftime, before Ryan threw a
22-yard touchdown pass to Brandon
Pedraza with 7:51 left in the game.
Ryan finished the game with 179
yards passing on 10 completions.
Helming was 19-38 for 256 yards.
The Panthers answered when Michael Gerrell scored on a
seven-yard run with 2:58 left.
But the Penguins didn't wilt. Ryan moved YSU down the
field on an eight-play 66-yard drive
that resulted in the game winner.
YSU began the drive at their 34-yard
line with 2:48 remaining.
The Penguins picked up a first down on a pass
interference penalty before the
Northern Iowa defense stiffened at
midfield. But on 4th-and-17 with
1:46 left, Ryan fired a 30-yard
strike to Eugene Mintze for a first
down. Three plays later, on a
third-and-two at the 26, Ryan hit
Dlugosz who made a diving catch in
the corner of the end zone.
YSU will battle conference unbeaten and No. 7-ranked
Western Illinois on Saturday, Oct.
21 in Macomb, Ill. The Leathernecks
defeated Southwest Missouri State
14-10 on Saturday to improve to 7-1
and 3-0 in the league. |
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