Even with a 6-0 deficit on the scoreboard and being outgained 175 yards to 56 through one half, the Youngstown State football team was still calm. The Penguins knew that with their offensive weapons the game was far from over.

They were right.

The Penguins scored 21-unanswered points over a 6-minute, 38-second span in the third quarter en route to a 35-13 win over Slippery Rock on Thursday night at Stambaugh Stadium.

The YSU offense caught fire in the second half, outscoring SRU 35-7 and gaining 306 yards, but it was the defense that turned the game in the favor of the home team. The Penguin defense forced three second-half turnovers that led to three touchdowns.

"They did the same things in the first half, but we came out and played like Youngstown State is suppose to play (in the second half)," senior Matt Rycraft said. "The defense got the offense motivated by the turnovers and it really helped the offense get rolling."

Trailing 6-0 with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter, YSU cornerback Jason Perry picked off a pass and followed with an 18-yard return to midfield. Five plays later, YSU took the lead and never looked back.

Following Perry's interception, Josh Cayson spearheaded a five-play, 50-yard drive that gave the Penguins the lead that they would never lose. After redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Zetts connected with Kyle Smith on a 32-yard pass down to the SRU 22, Cayson posted runs of six and three yards before scampering 13 yards to the right corner of the endzone with 7:40 remaining in the third.

After the Penguin defense forced a three-and-out for The Rock, Zetts capped a 22-yard charge with a three-yard rush through the right side into the end zone to put YSU up 14-6.

Perry came up big again with his second interception of the contest at the YSU 22 and raced 32 yards on the return to the SRU 46. The offense responded quickly again as Zetts connected with Phil Larmon on a 30-yard completion to the SRU 16 on the first play of the drive and Cayson rushed for six yards on two straight carries to get the ball to the SRU 4. Demetrius Ison plunged in from the one two plays later to put the Penguins up 21-6 with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter.

"We were very calm at halftime," Head Coach Jon Heacock said. "We just regrouped figured out ways to block and ways to get them stopped. The kids went out and played and showed a lot of character."

The Rock cut the deficit to 21-13 on its first possession of the fourth quarter as Corey Manfull scored from 18 yards out, but Cayson took a screen pass from Zetts 72 yards to the end zone on the first play of YSU's ensuing possession to make the score 28-13.

SRU threatened to get within eight again with just under 7 minutes remaining in regulation, but Manfull fumbled on the YSU 18 and Mike Bracken recovered to give the Penguins the ball with their lead in tact.

Six plays later, Rycraft bounced outside and scored from one yard out for the final tally.
Zetts, who made his first collegiate start, completed 14-of-16 passes in his first game back from a season-ending broken collarbone injury suffered in the opener last season.

"He's a great leader on and off the field and he shows no signs of weakness at all," Rycraft said. "You could tell in the second half he was all business and everyone was making plays. He did a great job of keeping us together."

Cayson rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries and added 72 yards through the air. Rycraft had a team-high six catches for 16 yards while Smith finished with 66 yards on three catches.

Josh Kniess led The Rock with 134 yards on 26 carries.

After a scoreless first quarter, Slippery Rock scored on its opening two possessions of the second stanza to take a 6-0 lead.

Ryan Daniel connected on a 31-yard field goal with 10:38 remaining to break the scoreless deadlock and followed with a 26-yarder at the 2:31 mark.

With the win, the Penguins won their ninth-straight home opener and upped their all-time record to 26-0 against Division-II opponents.

YSU will continue its season on Sept. 11 when it plays host to Florida International at 5 p.m.