By ISU Sports Information
BROOKINGS- In another tough top-25 showdown, the Illinois State football team was unable to pull out another comeback, falling to South Dakota State, 25-20, Saturday afternoon at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Brookings, S.D.
The Redbirds (7-2, 5-1 MVFC) dropped into a tie with North Dakota State (7-2, 5-1) for first place in the Valley, as they could not complete their second straight come-from-behind victory in the final minutes. ISU, trailing 25-14, scored a touchdown with just over one minute remaining, but could not come up with an onside kick as the Jackrabbits (7-2, 4-2 MVFC) moved into second place in the conference.
Receiver Anthony Warrum led the Illinois State offense, exploding for a career-high 241 yards on eight catches, including three scores. Quarterback Tre Roberson opened the scoring with a four-yard touchdown pass to Warrum on ISU’s second drive of the game following a 32-yard connection to Warrum on a spot pass in which the receiver shook a defender and sprinted up the right sideline. Following the score, it was a defensive slugfest for most of the first half as both defenses stood tall throughout until an interception by Jesse Bobbit set the Jackrabbits up with great field position.
After an ISU pass interference call in the end zone, quarterback Taryn Christion ran off tackle for a 10-yard score to knot the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. The Jackrabbits quickly took the lead following a seven-play, 74-yard drive lasting just 57 seconds, culminating in a 14-yard connection from Zach Lujan to Jake Wieneke for a 13-7 lead after a blocked PAT.
SDSU took control out of the second half gate with an 85-yard drive capped off by another 14-yard pass, this time from Christion to Brandon Andrews as the Jackrabbits used a two-QB system throughout the game. But the ‘Birds responded with a 70-yard touchdown catch-and-run by Warrum in which the receiver hauled in a pass in the open field before outrunning a pair of defenders to pay dirt to cut the lead to 19-14.
The Jackrabbits added some insurance with a 74-yard touchdown from Christion to Wieneke with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Redbirds’ comeback bid fell short, though, following a frantic 65-yard drive that was capped by another touchdown from Roberson to Warrum. The ensuing onside kick attempt fell short as SDSU was able to take a couple knees to wrap things up.
Safety Alec Kocour intercepted a pair of passes in the loss for the Redbirds and Josh Burch added another for ISU. David Perkins led the Redbirds with nine tackles and added a tackle-for-loss in the contest.
The ‘Birds will hit the road once again for a conference tilt against Southern Illinois (3-6, 2-4) next Saturday with kickoff slated for 2 pm in Carbondale.
