Georgia Southern's vaunted rushing attack provided a new twist to the "three yards and a cloud of dust" expression as the Eagles rambled for 638 yards and a 59-24 victory over Youngstown State in the Division I-AA Football Championship December 18 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Adrian Peterson was the leading rambler, rushing for a championship-game-record 247 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia Southern scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter to become the first team to win five Division I-AA titles.

Youngstown State got off to a strong start by scoring on its first two drives. Quarterback Jeff Ryan ran for a three-yard touchdown on the second play of the second quarter to give the Penguins a 14-10 lead.

However, Youngstown State had five punts and a missed field goal on its next six possessions. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern was on a run, scoring the first six times it had the ball.

Peterson's first touchdown, a three-yard run, put the Eagles ahead to stay at 17-14 with 10:25 left in the second quarter. Bennie Cunning

ham added a 57-yard scoring jaunt at the 9:05 mark, and Peterson contributed a 22-yard score with 5:27 left.

The second-quarter fireworks concluded when Anthony Williams upped the Eagles' lead to 38-14 by returning a punt 72 yards with 2:09 remaining.

"We executed well in the first half," said Georgia Southern head coach Paul Johnson. "I thought Williams' punt return was huge. That crushed (Youngstown State) there at the end of the first half."

The Eagles, who finished the year with a 13-2 record, averaged 10.8 yards on their 59 rushing attempts. With their incredible rushing proficiency, they attempted only four passes.

It was Georgia Southern's first championship since 1990 and followed a seven-turnover performance in a 55-43 loss to Massachusetts in the 1998 title game.

"We played great today and had no turnovers," said quarterback Greg Hill. "This answered every question about last year's misfortunes."

In addition to Peterson, Cunningham finished with 129 yards and Hill had 111 for Georgia Southern. The Eagles set a Division I-AA championship-game mark for points and a record for rushing yards in all division playoff games.

Peterson gained 897 yards in this year's four playoff contests, shattering his previous tournament record of 674, set last season.

"Georgia Southern has a great team," said Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel. "Their offense, defense and special teams all played very well.

"Top to bottom, they don't have any weaknesses."

Adrian Brown scored two touchdowns for Youngstown State and rushed for 160 yards on 22 carries. The Penguins, who had won 15 consecutive playoff games, including championships in 1993, 1994 and 1997, concluded 1999 with a 12-3 mark.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Ga. Southern -- 10 -- 28 -- 7 -- 14 Ñ 59

Youngstown St. -- 7 -- 7 -- 3 -- 7 Ñ 24

First Quarter

Ga. Southern Ñ Chris Chambers 25 field goal (10:20).

Youngstown St. Ñ Adrian Brown 2 run (Mark Griffith kick) (4:51).

Ga. Southern Ñ Greg Hill 42 run (Chambers kick (2:51).

Second Quarter

Youngstown St. Ñ Jeff Ryan 3 run (Griffith kick) (14:34).

Ga. Southern Ñ Adrian Peterson 3 run (Chambers kick (10:25).

Ga. Southern Ñ Bennie Cunningham 57 run (Chambers kick) (9:05).

Ga. Southern Ñ Peterson 22 run (Chambers kick) (5:27).

Ga. Southern Ñ Anthony Williams 72 punt return (Chambers kick) (2:09).

Third Quarter

Youngstown St. Ñ Griffith 30 field goal (4:47).

Ga. Southern Ñ Peterson 1 run (Chambers kick) (3:05).

Fourth Quarter

Ga. Southern Ñ Mark Myers 5 run (Chambers kick) (9:57).

Ga. Southern Ñ J.R. Revere 66 run (Chambers kick) (7:13).

Youngstown St. Ñ Brown 1 run (Griffith kick) (3:48).

-- Ga. -- Youngstown -- -- Southern -- State

First Downs -- 24 -- 17

Rushes-yards -- 59-638 -- 44-163

Passing Yardage -- 17 -- 175

Return Yardage -- 120 -- 0

Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) -- 1-4-0 -- 11-20-1

Punts (No.-Avg.) -- 1-25.0 -- 7-36.0

Fumbles (No.-Lost) -- 1-0 -- 1-0

Penalties (No.-Yards) -- 9-82 -- 3-11

Time of Possession -- 27:47 -- 32:13

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Ga. Southern Ñ Peterson 25-247, Cunningham 4-129, Hill 14-111, Revere 3-80, Cherard Freeman 2-42, Mike Stewart 4-16, Edmund Coley 2-13, Myers 3-7, Team 2-(-7); Youngstown St. Ñ Brown 22-160, Ime Akpan 4-9, Jerry Johnson 2-4, Jared Zwick 1-(-1), Ryan 15-(-9).

Passing: Ga. Southern Ñ Hill 1-4-0-17; Youngstown St. Ñ Ryan 11-20-1-175.

Receiving: Ga. Southern Ñ Dedric Parham 1-17; Youngstown St. Ñ Renauld Ray 4-90, Elliott Giles 2-46, Denver Williams 2-14, Casey Bogerd 1-17, Brown 1-7, Zwick 1-1.