By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – Two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter by Jake Kolbe and Spencer Schnell were not enough to push Illinois State (2-1) past Eastern Illinois (2-1) in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,391 on Family Day Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium.
It was a historic day for senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum, who set a pair of milestones to become the eighth player in school history to surpass 2,000 receiving yards and the 14th player in school history with 100 career receptions. Despite the loss, the Redbirds outgained the Panthers in total yards, 443 to 263, and controlled the throwing game, led by Kolbe throwing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Spencer Schnell led all receivers with 69 total yards and caught his first touchdown as a Redbird as time was winding down in the fourth.
The defense held their own picking up a combined three sacks and nine tackles-for-losses. B.J. Bello continued his strong start to the season recording nine tackles, one sack, 2.5 TFL and one pass breakup. Matt Swaine also was a valuable asset for the ISU defense tallying nine tackles, one sack and two TFL’s against the Panthers.
Throughout the afternoon the Panthers capitalized on ISU’s mistakes, beginning with EIU converting on a turnover by the Redbirds to put points on the board first. Vince Speller forced a fumble on a rush attempt by Jamal Towns that was recovered by EIU’s Seth McDonald. The Redbird defense held the Panther’s to a 42-yard field goal to put EIU up early, 3-0.
With the Redbirds deep in their own zone and needing a big play on third-and-12, Kolbe took matters into his own hands weaving through defenders to pick up a first down for the Redbirds. Three more first downs followed as the ‘Birds marched into Panther territory before ISU’s 14-play, 49-yard drive was stopped short of the EIU red zone forcing Sean Slattery to kick a 40-yard field goal that missed wide left to keep the score at 3-0 late in the first quarter.
Both teams exchanged punts at the start of the second quarter, before the Panther’s Tyree Stone-Davis got in the way on Kolbe’s pass to gain possession for the Panthers at ISU’s 17 yard line. Four plays later, EIU quarterback Mitch Kimble connected with Addison Bounds in the end zone to give the Panthers a 10-0 advantage heading into the locker room at the half.
The opening drive of the third quarter was capped off by a Redbird score in the corner of the end zone from Kolbe to Christian Gibbs to narrow EIU’s lead to three points, 10-7. The nine-play, 80-yard drive was highlighted by a 20-yard rush by Towns, and a 12-yard completion to Anthony Fowler on third-and-nine to pick up a critical first down for ISU. The Panthers answered on the following drive, when EIU’s tight end was left unguarded for the 34-yard touchdown by Ben Odugbesan to widen the EIU lead to 17-7.
Heading into the fourth quarter, EIU extended its lead over ISU to 24-7, thanks to a 30-yard dash to the end zone by running back Devin Church. Following an EIU punt, the Redbirds swung the momentum in their direction gaining possession at their own 42-yard line. On the opening play of the drive, Kolbe tucked the ball under his arm and ran for 58 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the season to narrow EIU’s lead to, 24-14. Illinois State’s defense held strong on the ensuing possession, forcing EIU to punt again as ISU regained possession at its own 33-yard line. Warrum got things going with a 33-yard reception from Kolbe down the sideline and the six-play, 67-yard scoring drive was topped off by back-to-back catches from Schnell for the touchdown to bring ISU within three points of the Panthers, 24-21.
An on-side kick attempt was recovered by the Panthers, who took a knee to end the game and come away with the victory. Illinois State will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, next Saturday to open Missouri Valley Conference play against Indiana State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
PODCAST: Listen to Brock Spack’s post-game interview with Eric Lapan here.
