Jackrabbits run away from Redbirds

Posted on October 27, 2018
Hancock Stadium
Illinois State suffered its second straight loss in the Family Weekend game. (GoRedbirds.com)

By Greg Halbleib

NORMAL – Illinois State and South Dakota State traded big scoring plays in the first two minutes, but the visiting Jackrabbits pulled away in the second quarter and held on for a 38-28 Missouri Valley Football Conference contest at Hancock Stadium.

Taryn Christion connected with Adam Anderson for a 64-yard scoring pass just 1:33 into the game for SDSU, but the Redbirds answered on their first offensive play when Brady Davis found Andrew Edgar on an 81-yard touchdown bomb to put the teams even at 7-7 after one quarter.

South Dakota State put the next four touchdowns on the board, three of which came in the second quarter, to take a 28-7 lead at halftime and a 35-7 advantage after three quarters.

Jake Kolbe took over at quarterback after Davis left the Redbird lineup due to a possible injury and connected with Tanner Taula on a 3-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter to break the drought.

Chase Vinatieri nailed a 48-yard field goal with 5:41 remaining for the final SDSU score. Illinois State dented the end zone twice more on a 9-yard strike from Kolbe to Tylor Petkovich and a 26-yard touchdown to Edgar with 1:09 left.

For Illinois State (5-3, 2-3 MVFC), Davis was 11-of-18 for 181 yards and a touchdown followed by Kolbe going 15-of-23 for 183 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Kolbe’s 45 yards on the ground led the Redbird rushing attack as running back James Robinson was held to 10 yards on 13 carries.

The Jackrabbits (5-2, 3-2) were led by Christion going 18-of-28 for 292 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Mikey Daniel led SDSU on the ground with 84 yards on 20 carries.

Illinois State hits the road for the next two Saturdays beginning with next weekend’s matchup at Number 17 Northern Iowa at 1 p.m.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected]. 

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