Lynchburg, Va. -- Mother Nature provided the first strikes around the stadium, then the Youngstown State football team struck even quicker inside scoring two touchdowns in a span of 1:15 in the second quarter to take control against Liberty in a 34-3 victory at Williams Stadium late Saturday night.

The contest was delayed 83 minutes late in the first quarter as the area was engulfed in a severe lighting storm. But once the weather cleared, the Penguins thundered their way to victory to finish the non-Gateway portion of the schedule at 3-2.

The delay seemed to help the Penguins the most and it stopped the Flames' momentum cold. In the opening minutes following the break, YSU had a new attitude stuffing the Liberty (1-4) offense on five plays from inside.

After the Flames held the Penguins on the ensuing possession, Joe Bishop's punt was mishandled by Adrian Hall and Jeremiah Wright pounced on the muff at the Liberty 20.
Three plays later, Aaron Marshall found Demetrius Ison in the flat and the redshirt freshman took the ball into the end zone for a touchdown putting the Penguins in front 7-0.

Just 75 seconds later, Waymann Peters picked off a Gus Condon pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to put YSU ahead 14-3. It was YSU's first interception return for a touchdown since LeVar Greene took a pick to the house against Western Illinois in 2001.

In a quarter that was full of YSU highlights, junior placekicker Nick Terracina provided a memorable one.

At the Liberty 39 with two seconds remaining before halftime, Terracina was called on to attempt a 56-yard field goal. He drilled it with room to spare breaking the school record held by current St. Louis Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins and former NFL Pro Bowler Paul McFadden. Both had 54-yard kicks in their careers, but their record fell as the Penguins built a 17-3 halftime edge.

Head Coach Jon Heacock said the series of play that changed the momentum the most was the goal-line stand.

"Our guys came out from the delay and the goal-line stand was critical." Heacock said. "Nick Terracina had an outstanding game as all three units contributed to this win."

YSU kept the onslaught rolling taking advantage of a solid kick return by Durell Preston. Preston returned the ball 45 yards to the Liberty 47. After six plays, Marshall ended the 47-yard drive on a two-yard keeper around the right side to put YSU ahead 24-3.

Burns added a three-yard touchdown score with 10:37 remaining to provide the final score for YSU.

For the game, Youngstown State finished with 327 total yards, 222 of which came on the ground. Liberty had 308 total yards, as Dre Barnes led the charge with 130 yards on 18 carries.

Marshall completed 8-of-17 passes for 100 yards, including his touchdown toss to Ison to offset two interceptions. He also had 36 yards rushing on six carries and a score. Josh Cayson led YSU on the ground with 69 yards on 10 carries as Damian Wright caught four passes for 54 yards.

Terracina struck again to open the fourth quarter. He kicked a 47-yarder this time to extend the advantage by three just five seconds into the period.

Liberty jumped on the board early scoring on a 30-yard field goal by Scott Kiovsky in the first quarter before the lightning delay.

The Penguins return to Stambaugh Stadium next Saturday when they open Gateway play against 4-1 SMS.