It’s the first time the Penguins (8-3, 5-2 Gateway) have defeated the Hilltoppers (6-4, 4-3 GFC) since Western joined the league prior to the 2001 season.
Zetts completed 14-of-20 passes, including each of his first four attempts. Kyle Smith had a pair of touchdowns among his six catches — he finished with a game-best 111 yards — while three other Penguins all also hauled in multiple receptions.
Mason accounted for 89 of YSU’s 151 rushing yards, carrying the ball 26 times, with Monquantae Gibson adding 58 yards on nine attempts.
The Penguins were 8-of-13 on third-down conversions, holding the ball for 33 minutes and 47 seconds.
Although YSU outgained WKU by just 22 yards in the opening half, defense and special teams play allowed the Penguins to start three drives in Topper territory.
The Penguins forced two fumbles on Western’s first four plays from scrimmage, taking advantage of a short field to build a 14-0 lead in the first four-plus minutes. After Brandon Brown forced a fumble by Chris Jackson following a 5-yard catch, Zetts completed a pair of passes to Smith — the second went 4 yards for a score — to complete a four-play, 31-yard drive. Stephen Willis fumbled two plays later after a 6-yard gain, leading to a four-play, 38-yard possession that culminated with Mason’s 10-yard scoring run with 10:40 left in the first quarter.
Brown was one of three Penguins to record 1.5 tackles for loss on the day, while Dorian Chenault — who recovered the Willis fumble — later added an interception, finishing with six stops. Jeremiah Wright and James Terry matched Brown’s tackle for loss total in ending with nine and eight stops, respectively, and Mike Andrews also posted eight tackles for the Penguins.
“When you play a good football team like Youngstown State, you can’t turn the ball over in your own territory,” said WKU head coach David Elson. “You have to give them credit for forcing the fumbles, but we needed to step up on defense and make a play, which we didn’t do.”
Western cut its deficit in half two seconds before the end of the period when Sam Sexton returned what was ruled by the officials as a Zetts fumble 21 yards for a touchdown.
YSU ran back the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to set up a 41-yard drive, as the Penguins answered when Zetts found Smith for a 41-yard touchdown on third down 93 seconds later.
The teams exchanged lengthy scoring drives as the half wound down, leaving YSU ahead 28-10 at the break. Mason capped a 12-play possession with a 1-yard touchdown run at 1:12, while Justin Haddix completed five passes to set up a 37-yard Chris James field goal as time expired.
The Penguins dominated the third quarter, extending to a 42-10 advantage at the end of the period with two 10-plus-play touchdown drives that lasted more than five minutes. Zetts found T.J. Peterson in the back of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal on YSU’s first possession, while Demetrius Ison added to the lead with a 1-yard run 38 seconds before the end of the quarter. YSU held the ball for over 11 minutes in the period while outgaining the Hilltoppers, 129-41.
The 42 points were the most allowed by Western in a league game since joining the Gateway Conference.
WKU ended tha day with 354 total yards after collecting 133 in the final quarter. Willis had eight carries for 69 yards, Lerron Moore added 45 on 14 carries and G.J. Wooldridge finished with 38 yards as the Toppers recorded 188 on the ground.
Haddix completed 14-of-35 attempts for 166 yards, with Jackson posting a team-best five receptions for 47 yards. Maurice Perkins added four catches for a team-high 57 yards.
Western committed two miscues in each half in finishing minus-two in turnover margin.
Jon Hedges, Deion Holts and Marion Rumph paced WKU with eight stops each, with Holts collecting 1.5 tackles behind the line and a fumble recovery. Andre Lewis and Antonio Thomas both added seven tackles.
The Hilltoppers will conclude the regular season Saturday with a 5 p.m. (CST) kickoff against Florida International in Miami.
