The third-ranked Youngstown State Penguins opened the season with a 24-10 victory on Thursday night at Stambaugh Stadium in front of a season-opening record crowd of 17,759.

The Penguins (1-0) opened up a 14-0 lead scoring two touchdowns in less than two minutes in the first quarter and then relied on their defense to shut down the Rockets (0-1). Josiah Doby scored on a two-yard run to put YSU ahead 7-0. On the Penguins' next possession, Jeff Ryan hit Andre Coleman on a 52-yard pass to take a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Slippery Rock scored when YSU punter Troy LeFever bobbled a snap in the end zone and was tackled by William Howell to make the score 14-2.
The Penguins increased their lead to 21-2 when P.J. Mays scored on a 25-yard run capping a 7-play 60-yard drive with 6:05 left in the half. For the game, Mays rushed for 99 yards on 11 carries.

In the second half, freshman Jake Stewart made his first career field goal from 19 yards to give YSU a 24-2 advantage. But Slippery Rock bounced back and cut the lead to 24-10 on an eight-yard touchdown run by Stan Kennedy and a two-point conversion pass from Randy McKavish to Joe Celashci with 1:58 remaining in the third.

But the YSU defense stepped up in the fourth quarter as Luke Schumacher made a key interception at the Penguins' 28-yard line with 3:36 remaining.

Youngstown State returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 9 when it plays host to Edinboro.