Macomb, Ill. -- The No. 2 Youngstown State football team suffered its first loss of the 2000 season falling at No. 7/6 Western Illinois 24-10 on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 13,418 fans at Hanson Field.

The Penguins, who dropped to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Gateway Football Conference, came up short all game as they had their eight-game road winning streak snapped. The Leathernecks, 7-1 and 4-0, now hold a one-game edge over YSU in the conference standings with two league games remaining for each team.

YSU played catch-up all afternoon in a game it never led. The Penguins tied the game in the first quarter, but fell behind 17-7 at the half. YSU cut the deficit to 17-10 in the third, but two turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown by the WIU defense, ended any comeback hopes.

Trailing 17-10 the Penguins had a golden opportunity to cut into the Leathernecks' lead when Gary Quivers recovered a Charles Tharp fumble at the WIU 33. But the Penguins failed to capitalize when P.J. Mays was stopped for a loss on fourth and inches at the Leathernecks 25.

However, the fatal blow came on YSU's next possession. On a third-down-and-five play at midfield, YSU quarterback Jeff Ryan avoided the pressure, but his dump-off pass was intercepted by Ryle Irish who raced 44 yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 WIU lead.

Following the kickoff, Ryan fumbled at the YSU 30 and Junior Robinson recovered. Ryan finished the game completing 9-of-17 passes for 103 yards.

To open the second half, the Penguins cut the deficit to 17-10 on a 28-yard field goal by Jake Stewart. YSU went 10 plays in 67 yards to pull within seven with 9:24 remaining in the third quarter.

The Leathernecks outgained YSU 288-172 in the first half en route to the 17-7 lead. Of the Penguins' 172 yards, Mays had 103 on 14 carries. Mays, YSU's first 100-yard rusher of the season, finished the game with 117 yards. For the game, YSU finished with 249 total yards, while WIU had 397.

In the second quarter, the Penguins had a chance to tie again on some trickery of their own, but Brandon Pedraza's pass to Ryan for an apparent 25-yard score was called back because of an illegal shift penalty. On that possession, YSU turned to ball over on downs when Eugene Mintze was stopped one-yard short on a fourth and 11.

The Leathernecks extended the lead to 17-7 at halftime on a 22-yard field goal by Joe Lopez with 53 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

WIU used some razzle dazzle to break the 7-7 tie when backup quarterback Frisman Jackson lined up at wide receiver and after taking a handoff from Clemons, Jackson threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Jammarl O'Neill one play following YSU's score.

The Penguins answered WIU's scoring march with an 11-play 79-yard scoring drive. Mays scored on a one-yard run to cap the drive with 4:03 left in the first quarter that tied the game at seven.

Western Illinois jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Clemons drove them 80 yards in 10 plays on their initial drive of the game. Avoiding the YSU blitz, Clemons stepped up to hit Jasen Isom in the flat on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Leathernecks ahead.

Youngstown State will look to get back in the win column when they play host to Indiana State on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. The game against the Sycamores is YSU's homecoming contest.