Three fourth-quarter interceptions and two late Brian Palmer field goals lifted Youngstown State to a 20-17 victory over Illinois State on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Penguins (4-1) trailed 17-14 with just under eight minutes to go in the Gateway opener for both teams, but interceptions by Mike Andrews and Aaron Scales inside the ISU 25 led to Palmer's makes that put YSU up 20-17. Joe Juby then sealed the game with an interception on the YSU 31 with 39 seconds left as the Redbirds were driving into field goal range.

YSU junior Marcus Mason rushed for a career-high 126 yards on 27 carries and scored a touchdown while quarterback Tom Zetts was 13-of-26 passing for 171 yards and a touchdown. Seven of Zetts' completions were to Kyle Smith, who finished with 97 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Brian Thompson rushed for 122 yards for Illinois State (3-2) and Luke Drone threw for 180 yards on 17 completions, but his four interceptions were the deciding factor.

The Penguins scored on their first possession of the game as they took the ball at their own 20 and marched 80 yards on seven plays for the score. Mason started the drive with back-to-back 12-yard gains and finished it with a 26-yarder into the end zone with 9:25 remaining in the opening quarter.

Illinois State kept YSU scoreless the rest of the half and had possession for more than 20 minutes as it built a 10-7 lead at the break. Drone found the end zone on a two-yard scamper with 1:30 remaining in the first to tie the score at 7-7, and Kevin Mazur added a 24-yard field goal with 5:18 left in the second to put the Redbirds up three.

Zetts connected with Smith on a 21-yard touchdown on the Penguins first drive of the second half to give them a 14-10 lead, but Rafael Rice scored on a 20-yard touchdown on the Redbirds' next possession to put ISU back on top at 17-14.

The Penguins were close to finding the end zone again on a quarter-opening drive in the fourth as they marched 44 yards to the ISU 9, but James Temple stripped Mason on second-and-four to end the threat.

Illinois State, however, gave the ball right back as Andrews intercepted Drone at the ISU 17 on the second play of the drive to set up a game-tying 26-yard Palmer field goal.

Aaron Scales then picked off Drone on ISU's first play of its next drive at the 22 to set the stage for Palmer's 21-yard game-winner.

The Redbirds got the ball back at their own 14 with 3:47 remaining and drove down close to field goal range at the YSU 30, but a holding penalty and Juby's interception all but ended it.

The Penguins will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.

-- GAME NOTES --

Smith Continues Reception Streak
With Kyle Smith's 15-yard reception in the first quarter, the senior moved his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 26 straight dating back to the 2003 season. Jeff Patterson holds the school record with 28 from 1980-1982.

Turnovers Key in Victory
The Penguins continued their streak of either winning or tying in the turnover ratio as they topped the Redbirds 4-3 in the category tonight. Illinois State intercepted two Tom Zetts passes and forced a Marcus Mason fumble, but YSU countered with four interceptions - two of which came deep in ISU territory in the fourth quarter. Codera Jackson picked off a pass on a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half while Mike Andrews, Aaron Scales and Joe Juby each recorded a pick in the fourth quarter. The four takeaways were also a season high for the Penguins.

Mason Stellar in First Start
Youngstown State tailback Marcus Mason made his first career start for the Penguins tonight against the Redbirds and made the most of it. The junior Potomac, Md., native rushed for a career-high 126 yards and scored YSU's opening touchdown in the win. He missed the first two games of the season with an ankle injury before making his debut at Liberty. He then received the bulk of the carries a week later against Pittsburgh but did not get the start.

Gateway Openers
With the win over Illinois State, Youngstown State improved to 7-2 in Gateway openers. It's only two losses came at Western Kentucky in 2000 and 2004.

Penguins 4-1 for Second Time Under Heacock
The win also gave the Penguins a 4-1 start for the second time under head coach Jon Heacock. The Penguins opened Heacock's first season at the helm in 2001 with a 6-1 record en route to a 8-3 finish.