Youngstown State outscored Indiana State 31-7 in the second half behind 116 yards from Josh Cayson en route to a 45-20 victory Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.

The triumph gave the Penguins (3-6, 1-4 Gateway) their first Gateway Conference victory while the Sycamores fell to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

"It was a big win for this team and a big win for everybody," Head Coach Jon Heacock said. "It took a lot courage to come back after being down and they aren't a bad football team."

"I'm really proud of our guys and we've got to work to get two more wins."

The Penguins trailed 13-7 midway through the second quarter, but they scored 24 unanswered points to blow the game open at 31-13 with 11:50 remaining in the fourth.

After Kyle Hooper booted a 22-yard field goal to put the Sycamores up 13-7 with 11:59 remaining in the second, YSU grabbed its first lead of the game when Matt Rycraft took a wide receiver screen 17 yards into the end zone to cap a six-play, 61-yard drive.

The Penguins then scored on their only two possessions of the third quarter to go ahead 28-13.

On their first drive, Cayson rushed for 60 yards on nine carries with his final touch being a 1-yard touchdown. The junior running back broke a third-and-three 18 yards down to the INSU 41 and added a 30-yard scamper on the drive that put the Penguins at the INSU 1-yardline. Three plays later, Cayson bulldozed through the line to find the end zone.

Following a three-and-out for the Sycamores, Kyle Smith returned Brandon Anweiler's punt a career-best 27 yards down to the INSU 33. On the fourth play of the drive, Tom Zetts found Demetrius Ison for a 23-yard scoring drive to put the Penguins ahead 28-13.

The Penguins kept their scoring streak alive as they drove 60 yards on 11 plays on their first drive of the fourth quarter to go ahead 31-13. Zetts again hit Ison for a long gain as the fullback rumbled down to the INSU 11. Nick Terracina then booted a 27-yard field goal with 11:50 remaining.

Indiana State got within 11 on its next drive when Phillip Johnson hit Markus Naves in stride for a 61-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-five with 10:39 remaining, but the Penguin defense held the Sycamores scoreless the rest of the way.

Cayson found paydirt again with 3:11 remaining on a five-yard score and cornerback Steve Reynolds returned a Johnson interception 43 yards for a touchdown with 1:57 left.

Cayson finished with 158 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries while Regis Edgerson had 50 yards on eight rushes. Zetts completed 12-of-19 attempts for 140 yards and threw two touchdowns.

Johson finished with 230 yards and two touchdowns while completing 19 of 36 passes while Jamie Petrowski had 72 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Martuan Sample was the lead rusher for the Sycamores with 55 yards on nine carries.

The Sycamores took a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game when Johnson hit Petrowski for a 30-yard scoring strike with 9:58 remaining in the opening quarter.

YSU answered with its own touchdown as Ison found the end zone from one yard out on the 14th play of the drive to tie the score at 7-7.

INSU pulled back ahead on its next possession on Hooper's 21-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining.

YSU will travel to take on Western Illinois on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.