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Aug. 31, 2006
Penguins Post Seven
Touchdowns in Season Opening Victory
Over Slippery Rock
Youngstown -- Youngstown State senior tailback Marcus Mason
ran for three touchdowns and three
different receivers caught
touchdowns on their first career
catches as the Penguins defeated
Slippery Rock 51-21 on Thursday
evening at Stambaugh Stadium.
Mason's final touchdown, a 48-yard scamper late in the third,
blew the game open at 42-21 after
The Rock had closed to within seven
early in the second half.
The win gave the Penguins their 11th straight victory in
season openers, and YSU improved to
11-0 all-time against The Rock.
Mason finished with 101 yards on 17 carries while Monquante
Gibson ran for 85 yards and a
touchdown on 10 carries. YSU
outrushed The Rock 237 to 88.
YSU junior quarterback Tom Zetts completed 10 of 13 passes
for 118 yards and two touchdowns
while senior signal caller Mike
Schneider went 3-for-6 for 69 yards
and a score.
Mason scored from one yard out to cap a 15-play drive on
YSU's first possession, but Slippery
Rock quarterback Nate Crookshank
found Colin Goldin in the end zone
on the ensuing possession to tie the
score just before the end of the
first quarter.
The Penguins then scored on their first three possessions in
the second quarter to go up 28-7
with 5:48 to go in the half. Gibson
ran for 54 yards on the first play
from scrimmage in the quarter to set
up a three-yard touchdown plunge on
the next play, and Zetts hit Rory
Berry from 20 yards out on YSU's
next possession to make the score
21-7.
After Marty Hutchinson recovered a Frank Cremonese fumble at
The Rock 43, Mason capped a
seven-play drive with a six-yard
touchdown.
Crookshank hooked up with Luke Wetzel on an eight-yard
touchdown with 34 seconds remaining
in the half to cut the margin to 14,
and Travis Sarver scored on a
29-yard rush on SRU's first
second-half possession to make the
score 28-21.
From that point, YSU's defense held The Rock to 34 yards, and
the offense put up 21 points on
touchdown passes to Da'Michael Horne
and Brandon Nicholson and Mason's
48-yard score. The Penguins also got
two points when a snap sailed
through the end zone on a punt
attempt in the fourth quarter.
Crookshank finished with 194 yards and two touchdowns on 15
completions, and Sarver ran for 66
yards on 19 carries.
YSU senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright led all tacklers with
14 stops while Hutchinson finished
with 11.
The Penguins will play host to Maine on Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. |
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