By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Illinois State football team played strong on both sides of the ball to cruise past Valparaiso, 50-13, in its home opener Saturday evening in front of 10,026 fans at Hancock Stadium.
The Redbirds controlled the game on the ground, as the six running backs and quarterback Jake Kolbe combined to out-rush Valpo 271-22 and scored four times. Sophomore George Moreira led the way with 93 yards on seven carries and scored the final touchdown of the game for the Redbirds. True freshman tailback James Robinson was also impressive; as he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and took a shovel pass 33 yards for his first career touchdown. Redshirt freshman DeMarco Corbin scored twice, and Kolbe added a six-yard run to solidify the rushing attack.
On defensive, Dalton Keene led the team in tackles with seven, while B.J. Bello led the Redbird defense with two sacks and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Alejandro Rivera got the scoring started, when he returned an interception 27 yards for a score and DraShane Glass added another pick later in the contest.
Although it took the ISU offense a while to get things going, the Redbird defense wasted no time scoring just one minute into the first when Rivera picked off Valparaiso’s Ryan Clarke and weaved his way for the touchdown to give the Redbirds an early 7-0 lead. After an unsuccessful six-play drive by the Crusaders, the Redbird defense held Valparaiso to a field goal late in the first quarter. The 45-yard field goal attempt by Jake Simpson was ruled good to put Valparasio within four of ISU at 7-3.
Early in the second quarter, the defense was at it again as Bello roared past the Crusader’s offensive line sacking Clarke to force a fumble. After several failed attempts to recover the pigskin from either team, Glass secured the ball at the bottom of the pileup at the Valpo nine yard line. It took the ISU offense just two rushing plays, both by Corbin, to reach the end zone and put Redbirds up 14-3.
After a punt by Valparaiso, the Redbirds took over at the Crusaders 45 yard line. Valparaiso stopped ISU’s scoring drive short, forcing Redbird kicker Sean Slattery to boot a 25-yard field goal allowing the Redbirds to go up by a pair of touchdowns at 17-3. The momentum continued in ISU’s favor late in the second quarter, when the Redbirds drove toward the end zone on a seven play, 37-yard drive that ended with Kolbe keeping the ball for a nine-yard score to push the lead to 24-3.
Valparaiso’s defense kicked it into high gear late in the second quarter, as Hughes intercepted Kolbe’s pass on first-and-ten to return the ball 30-yards diving into the end zone for the touchdown to narrow ISU’s lead to 24-10. Inside the two-minute mark of the second quarter, the Redbirds responded with a quick three-play, 64-yard drive that took just 25 seconds off the clock. Kolbe went 2-for-3 on the drive, first completing a 31-yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Warrum before shoveling a short pass to Robinson, who ran up the sideline 33 yards and into the end zone to make the score 31-10.
With a 34-10 lead after another Slattery field goal as time expired in the first half, the Redbirds took a 34-10 advantage into the locker room at the half. ISU got the ball to start the third quarter and preceded to string together an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was topped off by Corbin’s nine-yard carry. However, Slattery’s extra point attempt missed wide and the Redbirds maintained a 40-10 advantage over the Crusaders.
Slattery’s third field goal of the day, this one from 37 yards out, put the Redbirds up 43-10. The Redbirds came out rumbling in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 68-yard breakaway by Moreira who was pushed out of bounds by Valparaiso’s Joey Diaz-Martinez just short of the goal line. The following play, Moreira carried the ball in two yards for the touchdown to gain a 40-point lead over Valparaiso.
With the 50-13 victory over Valparaiso, the Redbirds remain a perfect 8-0 in home openers over the last eight seasons under head coach, Brock Spack. The Redbirds will hit the road next Saturday for their first road game of the season to face off against Northwestern. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Ryan Field, and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
