Illinois State jumped out to an 18-0 lead and held off a late YSU comeback attempt to pick up their first Gateway Conference win of the season with a 35-25 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.

With the win, the Redbirds move to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference while YSU falls to 5-4 and 2-2. The Penguins' 11-game Homecoming winning streak was snapped in the loss.
Sha-Ron Edwards paced the Redbirds on the ground with 183 yards and two touchdowns while LaShawn Bullock added 106 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Mike Souza added 271 yards through the air with two touchdown passes despite throwing two interceptions.

Josiah Doby led the Penguins with 71 yards on nine carries while quarterback Aaron Marshall chipped in with 69 yards and one touchdown. Marshall was 13-of-29 for 131 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

The Redbirds outgained the Penguins 604 yards to 336 and won the first down battle 32 to 24.

ISU held a 35-17 advantage with 3:10 remaining in regulation, but YSU marched 44 yards in 1:18 as Marshall scrambled for a 20-yard touchdown then connected with Mike Roberts for the two-point conversion to make the score 35-25.

Placekicker Nick Terracina recovered his own onside kick at the YSU 46 with 1:52 remaining in the fourth, but the Redbird defense turned the Penguins away on the ISU 44.
The Redbirds scored on their first three possessions and added a safety to take an 18-0 lead with 14:54 remaining in the second quarter.

The Redbirds took a 3-0 lead on their first possession by marching 54 yards on 11 plays to set up a 43-yard field goal from Stephen Carroll with 11:22 remaining in the opening quarter.

ISU increased its lead to 10-0 on its next drive when Mike Souza found Lauren Robinson on a fade route in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 5:45 on the clock in the first.

The Redbirds tacked on a safety when they tackled YSU punter Joe Bishop in the endzone at the 2:48 mark in the first.

On the ensuing drive, ISU marched 63 yards on nine plays to up its advantage to 18-0 when Edwards scored from seven yards out on a rush over the right side with 14:54 remaining in the first half.

The Penguins got on the board with 9:47 remaining in the opening half on a 34-yard field goal from Nick Terracina to cap a 11 play, 60 yard drive.

ISU drove deep into YSU territory again on its next drive and faced a first-and-goal from the 2, but the Jeremiah Wright and Joe Juby stopped Edwards' plunge on fourth-and-inches to turn the Redbirds away empty.

The Penguins scored their first touchdown on their first possession of the second half when Marshall connected with Kyle Smith in the endzone from eight yards out to make the score 18-10.

However, ISU scored the next 10 points on a 22-yarder from Carroll and a nine-yard rush from Edwards to take a 28-10 lead with 14:55 remaining in regulation.

The Penguins worked their way back to get within 11 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to Mike Burns, but ISU answered right back on its next possession when Souza connected with Dwayne Smith on a 45-yard touchdown pass to make the score 35-17.

The Penguins will travel to Northern Iowa to take on the Gateway-leading Panthers on Nov. 1 at 5:05 EDT.