Junior tailback Marcus Mason rushed for 203 yards and a touchdown while quarterback Vince Gliatta ran for two scores as No. 14 Youngstown State defeated Missouri State 31-7 on Homecoming at Stambaugh Stadium Saturday.

The 7-1 Penguins are off to their best start since the 2000 season, and they are 4-0 in the Gateway for only the second time in school history.

Missouri State (3-4, 1-3) led 7-3 in the second quarter, but the Penguins scored 28 unanswered points - including scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to blow the game open.
Mason's 203 yards came on 32 carries while Gliatta rushed four times for 33 yards.

Monquante Gibson rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries while Justin Reams added 32 yards and a touchdown as the Penguins rushed for 331 yards.

Tom Zetts completed 13-of-18 passes for 105 yards while Gilatta was 2-for-2 for 33 yards. Deke Ison led all receivers with six catches for 45 yards.

The Penguin defense limited the Bears to 116 yards on the ground and 49 yards through the air. Jeff Koval finished with seven tackles an an interception for YSU while Codera Jackson picked off a pass for the fourth straight game. Derrick Byrd had a game-high 14 tackles for the Bears.

YSU led just 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but YSU held the ball for more than 10 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter and rushed for 153 yards. Gliatta scored on a play-action bootleg from nine yards out with 8:52 remaining to put YSU up 17-7.

Jackson then intercepted Scott Carroll and returned the ball to the MSU 30 to set up a 14-yard Gliatta score with 5:25 remaining. Reams added a seven-yard touchdown with 15 ticks left on the clock for the final tally.

The Penguins got off to a good start on both sides of the ball, forcing the Bears into a three-and-out on defense and taking a 3-0 lead on their first offensive possession. Mason picked up three of his 55 yards on the drive to give the Penguins a second-and-goal on the MSU 1, but a false start and an incompletion on third down forced YSU to settle for a 19-yard Brian Palmer field goal.

MSU had an opportunity to get on the board early in the second quarter as Jason Anthony returned a blocked punt down to the YSU 17, but a sack by Brandon Brown and James Terry pushed the Bears back to the 22. Jon Scifres' field goal try from 37 yards was wide right and MSU was turned away scoreless.

A fumbled fair catch by YSU punt returner Jason Perry at the 7:00 mark gave the Bears another opportunity with the ball on the YSU 28. Three plays into the drive Michael Cooper rumbled into the end zone from 18 yards out to give MSU a 7-3 lead.

The Penguins answered on their ensuing possession to go up 10-7 with 2:27 left in the opening half an 80-yard drive that resulted in a 26-yard Mason touchdown. Mason rushed seven times for 55 yards on the drive, and Vince hit Max King on an 18-yard reception to set up the go-ahead score.

The Bears threatened to at least tie the score before the end of the half as they drove down to the YSU 9, but linebacker Jeff Koval picked off Carroll at the 7 with under 10 seconds to go to end the threat.

The Penguins will now hit the road for two weeks in key Gateway games against Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. YSU's bout with NIU on Oct. 29 at the UNI Dome will kickoff at 4:07 p.m.

Game Notes

The Penguins' 7-1 start is its best in Jon Heacock's five years and its best since they started 8-1 in 2000.

Mason went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth consecutive game. Tamron Smith was the last Penguin to accomplish the feat in 1991. The junior tailback from Pontiac, Md., also scored a touchdown in his fourth consecutive game. Since making his start in week five against Illinois State, Mason has rushed for 606 on 98 carries and scored 6 touchdowns. Mason also became the first Penguin to rush for more than 200 yards since P.J. Mays rushed for 210 against Southern Illinois on Nov. 2, 2002.

Codera Jackson picked off his sixth pass of the season against the Bears. The junior from Rochester, N.Y. has also intercepted a pass in four straight games. His pick along with Jeff Koval's at the end of the first half gave the Penguins their 13th and 14th of the season. YSU picked off seven passes last season.

YSU has scored on its game-opening drive in six of its eight games this season.

The 21-point fourth quarter was the second time the Penguins scored 21 points in a quarter this season. They also scored 21 in the second quarter against Liberty on Sept. 17.