Nov. 10, 2005
Football: YSU Goes For Perfect Home Slate Against WKU
    The 19th/21st-ranked Youngstown State football team plays their final home game of the season on Saturday against 12th/14th-ranked Western Kentucky. Kickoff for the contest against the Hilltoppers at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Both teams will be looking to rebound after tough conference defeats from the previous week.
    The Penguins (7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Gateway) suffered a 31-17 loss at fifth-ranked Southern Illinois last Saturday. YSU led 17-7 at halftime but could not hold off the Salukis who scored on two passing touchdowns, a field goal and an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown. Two of those touchdowns came in the final five minutes of the game to pull out the victory.
    The Hilltoppers (6-3 and 4-2) had an equally disheartening loss falling to Northern Iowa 23-20 in overtime. WKU led 10-3 in the fourth quarter before allowing a punt return for touchdown. At the end of regulation, Chris James could not convert on two field-goal attempts as the game went to overtime. In the second overtime, WKU kicked a field goal, but UNI’s touchdown won the game.
    The winner on Saturday remains in the hunt for an at-large berth in the Division I-AA Playoffs. The Penguins will have their work cut out for them having lost four straight to WKU and 10 of 14 all-time meetings.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
  • A win gives the Penguins their third five-win Gateway campaign in school history.
  • YSU is 5-0 at home this season and is looking for its first perfect regular-season home mark since 1994 (6-0-1). The Penguins were also perfect at Stambaugh Stadium in 1993 and 1990 regular seasons.
  • The Penguins are 6-0 when having a running back rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season. YSU is 1-3 when a back fails to reach the 100-yard plateau.
  • The Penguins defense has posted two shutouts in 2005. That marks the first time since 1997 in which YSU has two shutouts in the same season. The last time the Penguins had three shutouts in a season was 1975.
  • Coach Jon Heacock is 0-4 against the Hilltoppers while WKU Coach David Elson is 2-0 against the Penguins.
  • A total of 19 seniors will be playing their final home game on Saturday (Josh Cayson and Jamel Lee could come back next year if they meet NCAA degree requirements). Of those 19, nine are fifth-year seniors.
  • Senior wide receiver Kyle Smith has caught a pass in a school-record 29 consecutive games. Entering the game he has 95 career catches and is just five shy of becoming the 11th player in school history to have more than 100 career receptions.
  • YSU is trying to snap a 14-game losing streak against ranked opponents. The Penguins’ last win against a ranked team was against WIU in 2001.

WKU Scouting Report
    Like the Penguins, Western Kentucky enters the contest having dropped consecutive hard-fought conference games to Southern Illinois and UNI.
Against UNI, the Hilltoppers held a 10-3 lead before Johnny Gray’s 70-yard punt return for a touchdown tied the game with 7:30 remaining. On the final plays of regulation, placekicker Chris James, who had made a 52-yarder in the first quarter, missed two field goals to force overtime.
    After both teams touchdowns on their initial overtime possession, WKU had to settle for a field goal in the second overtime. UNI won the game, 23-20, on a 20-yard pass from Eric Sanders to Justin Surrency.

Series Information
    Youngstown State has won just four of the 14 all-time meetings between the two schools in a series that dates back to a 1942 contest, which was played at Rayen High School. YSU’s last victory in the series was in 1990 at Bowling Green (17-14). The Penguins’ last win at home came in 1983 (24-13). Since WKU joined the Gateway Conference in 2001, the Penguins are yet to beat the Hilltoppers and have not scored 20 points in each of the four meetings.

Last Time in Youngstown
    Western Kentucky returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and after the Penguins recovered to pull within 13-10 in the second quarter, Dennis Mitchell returned an interception 84 yards for a score to turn the tide in a 37-13 WKU win on Nov. 15, 2003 at Stambaugh Stadium.
    Including the interception, the Hilltoppers scored 27 of the game’s final 30 points. Nick Terracina kicked two field goals and Josiah Doby had a touchdown run for the Penguins. YSU had 263 yards of total offense in the game and committed four turnovers. WKU had 398 yards of total offense, 285 of which came on the ground.

Last Year: WKU 44, YSU 19
    YSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead on sixth-ranked Western Kentucky, but the Hilltoppers came back to lead 13-7 at halftime before erupting for 31 second-half points in a 44-19 Penguin loss on Oct. 2 during last season.
    Monquantae Gibson scored on a one-yard run to put YSU ahead 7-0, but a rushing touchdown run and three Chris James field goals increased the lead to 16-7 late in the third quarter. Then the Hilltoppers scored four touchdowns in a 10-minute span to put the game away.
    YSU quarterback Tom Zetts completed 28-of-40 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a nine-yard score to Kyle Smith and a six-yard toss to Matt Rycraft.

Last Time Out: SIU 31, YSU 17
   Youngstown State jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead, but could not hold off fifth-ranked Southern Illinois as the Salukis outscored the Penguins 24-0 in the second half for a come-from-behind 31-17 win at a windy McAndrew Stadium.
    The Penguins scored on their first drive of the game when Tom Zetts threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Max King. After SIU tied the game at seven, YSU put 10 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a 72-yard Zetts to Aaron Marshall pass and a 30-yard field goal by Brian Palmer as time expired.
    But in the second half, SIU scored on its first possession and tied the contest at 17 late in the third on a 19-yard field goal by Craig Coffin. In the fourth, SIU converted a key 3rd-and-13 play to keep a drive alive that was capped by a nine-yard Joel Sambursky to Kellen Allen pass. Craig Turner’s 85-yard punt return 1:46 later sealed the victory.

Rush For 100, Means A ‘W’
    This season the Penguins are 6-0 when they have a tailback rush for 100 yards or more in a game. Marcus Mason rushed for 203 in the win over Missouri State. Mason had 125 against Western Illinois, 152 against Indiana State and 126 versus Illinois State -- all victories. Justin Reams rushed for 122 yards against Slippery Rock while Monquantae Gibson had a career-high 198 against Northeastern -- both victories. The only game YSU won without having a 100-yard rusher was at Liberty. The last two games YSU has failed to reach the 100-yard plateau.

Smith Sets YSU Reception Mark
    Senior wide receiver Kyle Smith set the school record by catching a pass in his 29th consecutive game last Saturday. Against Southern Illinois, Smith had three catches for 53 yards. In his career, he has 95 receptions, and has a chance to become just the 11th player in school history to have 100 catches for a career. He also has 1,425 yards receiving, ranking 12th in school history. During his streak, he caught a pass in every game in 2004 and had a reception in the first 11 contests of the 2003 campaign before missing the season finale.

YSU Looks to Stay in Playoff Hunt
    The Penguins can earn a three-way share of the Gateway title with a win and a Northern Iowa victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday. However, with as many as 30 teams vying for 16 playoff spots, the Penguins’ best chance for a postseason bid appears to be a victory over WKU and Southern Illinois victory at UNI. SIU would win the league title outright and YSU would finish solely in second place.
    Every year since 1995 the Gateway has placed two teams in the field of 16, but only once have three-or-more teams qualified -- four in 2003. YSU and WKU both started league play this season 4-0 before losing their next two games. Of the 21 teams to start Gateway play 4-0, 18 have qualified for the playoffs, including the 1999 Penguins. The winner of Saturday’s game remains alive, while the loser is done.

Penguins Take Flight
    The YSU offense has thrown for 570 yards the past two games. The last time YSU had consecutive games with that many yards passing was in 1995. In contests against McNeese State (281) and Delaware (293), YSU threw for a combined 574 yards. Of the 570 yards, Tom Zetts has thrown for 555 of those which is the most in consecutive games since Mark Brungard threw for all 574 yards in those two games back in 1995.

Zetts Goes Over 200 For 8th Time
    Sophomore quarterback Tom Zetts threw for a career-high 291 yards against Southern Illinois. It marked the eighth time in his two-year career he has thrown for more than 200 yards in a game.
    Five times this season, Zetts has eclipsed the 200-yard mark (SIU, UNI, Western Illinois, Liberty and Northeastern). Only once in school history has a YSU quarterback had six 100-yard passing games in a season -- Ron Jaworski in 1972.

Mason Making Impact Felt
    Junior tailback Marcus Mason has started all six of the Penguins’ Gateway games. In those six games, he has rushed for 721 yards on 130 carries and scored six touchdowns. He is averaging 120.2 yards per Gateway game.

19 Seniors Play Final Home Game
    A total of 19 seniors will be playing their final home game for YSU on Saturday. Those individuals are: Mike Andrews, John Bartos, Brandon Brown, Shawn Carlson, Josh Cayson, Tanner Dunlap, Jameson Evans, Nick Forro, Herb Jones, Joe Juby, Jamel Lee, Tony Limongi, Aaron Marshall, Brian Radakovich, Aaron Scales, Justin Scholes, Kyle Smith, Ryan Wisecarver and Damian Wright.

Sweetest Perfection
    The Penguins are 5-0 at home this season entering the contest against Western Kentucky. Since moving to Stambaugh Stadium in 1982, YSU has only had three unbeaten home regular-season campaigns -- 1994 (6-0-1), 1993 (6-0) and 1990 (6-0).

Takeaways Exceed 2004 Number
    Ten games into the 2005 season, YSU has forced a total of 22 turnovers, exceeding the number caused in 2004. Last year, the Penguins had seven interceptions and recovered nine fumbles for a total of 16. In 2005, YSU has 16 interceptions and six fumble recoveries. The 16 picks are tied for the fourth most in Division I-AA behind Wagner (19), Davidson (18), Eastern Illinois (17) and William and Mary (17). Entering the contest against WKU, YSU owns a Gateway-high plus-eight turnover margin.

YSU Stops the Run and the Pass
    The YSU defense has held an opponent under 100 yards rushing five times this season. Only twice in the last 10 seasons have the Penguins held five opponents under 100 yards in the same year. In 11 games in 2002, YSU was able to hold five teams under 100 yards while in 1997, the Guins held six teams under in 15 games. The Penguins have also held two teams -- UNI and Missouri State -- to under 100 yards passing.

Touchdown Tommy Zetts
    Sophomore quarterback Tom Zetts has thrown a touchdown pass in 13 of his last 16 games. Against Liberty, he became the seventh quarterback in YSU history to throw four touchdown passes in a single game when he completed the feat at Liberty. It was just the ninth time in the program’s history a quarterback threw for four scores in a game. He has thrown for a score in 16 of 22 career games played.

Tackle Lead Remains Up For Grabs
    Sophomore linebacker James Terry currently owns a one-tackle lead over senior linebacker Mike Andrews in the race to lead that statistical category. Terry has 63 total stops, including a team-best 41. Andrews has 62 tackles, including a team-best 40 assists.
    Senior defensive end Justin Scholes leads the squad with 5.5 sacks while Terry is second with 4.5 sacks. Junior cornerback Jason Perry leads the team with six pass breakups while Codera Jackson has a team-high six interceptions.

Seven Wins Most Since 2002
    YSU has won seven games this season, the most by the program since 2002. That year the Penguins were 7-4. The last eight-win campaign came in 2001 (8-3) while the last nine-victory season was in 2000 (9-3). This year, YSU won seven of eight games to start the season for the first time since 2000. Since 1991, the Penguins have won seven of eight games to start a season on five occasions (1993, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2000).

Staying in the Rankings
    The Penguins dropped to 19th in The Sports Network Poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week following the loss to SIU. YSU entered both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and The Sports Network Top 25 on Oct. 3 at the No. 22 spot. It marked the first time since Oct. 21, 2002, that the Penguins cracked the top 25.

Jackson’s Six Picks Lead Nation
    Junior cornerback Codera Jackson leads the Gateway Conference and ranks fifth in the nation averaging 0.60 interceptions per game. His six overall interceptions are tied for the most in the country. He trails Bethune-Cookman’s Bobbie Williams, Princeton’s Jay McCareins, Harvard’s Doug Hewlett and Brown’s James Gasparella in the national race as far as average per game. YSU is 6-0 when he intercepts a pass in a game.

I-A Transfers Big Part Of Program
    The Penguins have nine former Division I-A players who have seen action this year. Those are tailback Monquantae Gibson (Kentucky), fullback Regis Edgerson (South Carolina), cornerback Tyler Griffin (Eastern Michigan), wide receiver Jameson Evans (Purdue), quarterback Vince Gliatta (Penn State), nose tackle Greg Jacobs (Vanderbilt), cornerback Antuan Rose (West Virginia), tailback Marcus Mason (Illinois) and linebacker Maurice Smith-Davis (Michigan State).

Team Captains Well Known
    Seniors Kyle Smith, Aaron Marshall, Justin Scholes and Brandon Brown are captains this season. Smith and Brown are true four-year seniors while Marshall and Scholes are fifth-year seniors having redshirted as freshmen.

Numbers of Note
   • Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 69-12 when they win or tie in the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 11-27.
Since 1990 YSU is:
   • 112-14-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
   • 85-6 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
   • 95-10 when scoring 28-or-more points.
   • 55-5-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
   • 120-7 when leading in the fourth quarter.

Point-Scoring Streaks
   • YSU has won its last 32 games when scoring more than 30 points. The last loss came at Central Florida (44-32 in 1998).
   • YSU has won its last 29 games when scoring more than 40 points. The last loss came to James Madison (52-49 in 1992).
   • When scoring 21-plus points under Coach Jon Heacock YSU is 30-4. The Penguins are 1-20 when they fail to score 21 points.