Youngstown State senior tailback Marcus Mason ran for three touchdowns and three different receivers caught touchdowns on their first career catches as the Penguins defeated Slippery Rock 51-21 on Thursday evening at Stambaugh Stadium.

Mason's final touchdown, a 48-yard scamper late in the third, blew the game open at 42-21 after The Rock had closed to within seven early in the second half.
The win gave the Penguins their 11th straight victory in season openers, and YSU improved to 11-0 all-time against The Rock.

Mason finished with 101 yards on 17 carries while Monquante Gibson ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. YSU outrushed The Rock 237 to 88.

YSU junior quarterback Tom Zetts completed 10 of 13 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns while senior signal caller Mike Schneider went 3-for-6 for 69 yards and a score.

Mason scored from one yard out to cap a 15-play drive on YSU's first possession, but Slippery Rock quarterback Nate Crookshank found Colin Goldin in the end zone on the ensuing possession to tie the score just before the end of the first quarter.

The Penguins then scored on their first three possessions in the second quarter to go up 28-7 with 5:48 to go in the half. Gibson ran for 54 yards on the first play from scrimmage in the quarter to set up a three-yard touchdown plunge on the next play, and Zetts hit Rory Berry from 20 yards out on YSU's next possession to make the score 21-7.

After Marty Hutchinson recovered a Frank Cremonese fumble at The Rock 43, Mason capped a seven-play drive with a six-yard touchdown.

Crookshank hooked up with Luke Wetzel on an eight-yard touchdown with 34 seconds remaining in the half to cut the margin to 14, and Travis Sarver scored on a 29-yard rush on SRU's first second-half possession to make the score 28-21.

From that point, YSU's defense held The Rock to 34 yards, and the offense put up 21 points on touchdown passes to Da'Michael Horne and Brandon Nicholson and Mason's 48-yard score. The Penguins also got two points when a snap sailed through the end zone on a punt attempt in the fourth quarter.

Crookshank finished with 194 yards and two touchdowns on 15 completions, and Sarver ran for 66 yards on 19 carries.

YSU senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright led all tacklers with 14 stops while Hutchinson finished with 11.

The Penguins will play host to Maine on Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.