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Stambaugh Stadium’s Most Memorable Games

Nov. 25, 2006 • Head coach Jon Heacock captured his first-career playoff win in his first post-season game as Penguin coach. Tom Zetts engineered two late touchdown drives and the Penguin defense held on the final series to upend the 2004 National Champion James Madison Dukes 35-31.

Nov. 4, 2006 • The Penguins continued their march to the out-right ’06 Gateway Championship with a thrilling win over league rival Southern Illinois. Senior linebacker Marty Hutchinson tackled SIU quarterback Nick Hill near the goal line as time expired to help YSU win 31-24.

August 30, 2001 • Head Coach Jon Heacock enjoyed a victory in his debut as the Penguins’ coach with a 38-7 win over Lock Haven. P.J. Mays rushed for 226 yards and YSU returned a kick off and a block punt for touchdowns.

Nov. 4, 2000 • YSU overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 6:15 behind two Jeff Ryan touchdown passes to force overtime. After each team scored in the first overtime, Ryan threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Pedraza on the first play of the second overtime, and on the final play of the game, Tim Johnson intercepted a desperation pass to preserve a 42-35 victory in the stadium’s longest game.

Dec. 11, 1999 • The Penguins overcame a 24-13 fourth-quarter deficit for a 27-24 victory over Florida A&M in the NCAA semifinals. Tim Johnson’s interception turned the momentum of the game and with 44 seconds remaining, Jeff Ryan connected with Damion Matthews from 10 yards out for the game-winning score.

Sept. 25, 1999 • The Youngstown State defense came up big in the end with a goaline stand in the final minute to preserve a 28-24 win over Western Illinois. WIU had a first-and-goal at the YSU five with just under two minutes remaining and had two cracks from the one in the final minute. But the Penguins defense led by Dave Vecchione kept the Leathernecks out of the end zone.

Dec. 3, 1994 • Youngstown State used another playoff comeback to keep its drive for the national title alive beating Eastern Kentucky 18-15 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Eastern Kentucky trailed 11-0 in the fourth quarter before scoring 15 unanswered points. But with 1:02 remaining, Mark Brungard threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Bracy to keep the title drive alive.

Nov. 25, 1994 • YSU defeated Alcorn State 63-20 in the first round of the 1994 playoffs in a contest that was shown across the country on ESPN. Steve McNair, quarterback of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, threw for 514 yards on 82 attempts, but the Penguins sacked him six times. Shawn Patton rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

Sept. 26, 1992 • James Madison defeated YSU 52-49 in the highest-scoring game ever at Stambaugh. Both teams had more than 500 total offensive yards on the day. Tamron Smith rushed for 159 yards and scored four touchdowns. Nick Cochran was 19-for-23 for 243 yards and one touchdown. The Dukes were too much to handle as David McLeod caught seven passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

Dec. 14, 1991 • With the help of the home crowd the Penguins shut out Samford 10-0 to advance to the 1991 NCAA I-AA Championship Game. Samford turned the ball over 10 times on six interceptions and four fumbles. The Bulldogs were held to just 144 total yards for the game and minus-four yards rushing. The Penguins held the ball for 42:45, more than two thirds of the game.

Nov. 30, 1991 • Youngstown State used a miraculous catch by Herb Williams to set up a game-winning field goal as the Penguins beat Villanova 17-16 in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. YSU trailed 16-14 with less than two minutes remaining in the game and faced a fourth-and-11 from their own 41-yard line. Williams’ caught a tipped pass with one hand as he was falling to the ground for a 41-yard gain to set up a 33-yard game-winning field goal by Jeff Wilkins.

Nov. 24, 1990 • Youngstown State hosted its first home playoff game against Central Florida after posting an 11-0 regular-season mark. UCF’s Franco Grilla kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired for the victory after the Penguins rallied from a 17-6 halftime deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

Oct. 15, 1988 • Youngstown State defeated Towson State 41-39 in a high-scoring battle as eight different receivers caught a pass for YSU. Lorenzo Davis scored three touchdowns and rushed for 133 yards. Darren Morgan was 4-for-4 in field goals. TSU’s Dave Meggett scored three touchdowns. TSU tried to tie the game in the forth quarter with a two-point conversion, but the Penguins defense denied TSU and won by two points.

Nov. 21, 1986 • Youngstown State defeated Akron in a high-scoring 40-39 in a game that featured eight lead changes. Trenton Lykes passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Elliot Fedd had 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Sept. 6, 1986 • Jim Tressel’s first game as the head coach of Youngstown State was played against Nicholls State at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins were defeated 34-17, but this game marked a new era in Youngstown State history.

Nov. 3, 1984 • Youngstown State defeated Akron 3-2, in the lowest scoring game in stadium history. Akron scored first, when YSU snapped the ball over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone. John Dowling kicked a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the only YSU score.

Sept. 18, 1982 • Youngstown State earned its first victory at Stambaugh Stadium by a score of 37-14 over Tennessee Tech. Paris Wicks rushed for 136 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Sept. 4, 1982 • The first game at Stambaugh Stadium was played between Youngstown State and Akron in front of a sellout crowd of 15,833. The Penguins scored the first touchdown at the new stadium on a 65-yard run by Paris Wicks. Paul McFadden made four fields goals including two from 42 yards. Akron won the game with a 48-yard field goal by Dennis Heckman with only one second remaining.