By WJBC Staff

NORMAL, Ill. – Looking for its first win in Missouri Valley Conference play, Illinois State (3-4, 1-3 MVFC) held a small lead at the half and then scored 17 second-half points to earn its first MVFC victory over in-state rival Southern Illinois (2-4, 0-3 MVFC), 31-28, on CommUniversity Night in front of 10,211 fans at Hancock Stadium Saturday.

The Redbird offense recorded 341 total yards, with quarterback Jake Kolbe throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns to tie his career-best. Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum caught two of those touchdowns to move into sole possession of third place on the career touchdowns list with 24. For the second-straight week, true freshman running back James Robinson rushed for over 100 yards, highlighted by career-long 55-yard dash, that was followed by his first career rushing touchdown.

ISU’s defense was led by sophomore safety Mitchell Brees, who recorded a career-high 11 total tackles and eight solo tackles, along with his first two tackles-for-losses of his career. Junior tackle Dalton Keene also had a great game, blocking his second-career kick in the second quarter to prevent an SIU field goal, while also tallying nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, and forcing one forced fumble.

After a sluggish start, the Salukis scored first putting seven on the board midway through the first quarter on a seven-play, 52-yard drive to give SIU an early 7-0 lead over the Redbirds. Later in the quarter, SIU struck again adding three to their lead thanks to a 51-yard field goal from Saluki placekicker Austin Johnson to go up 10-0. The Redbirds responded inside the two-minute mark of the first quarter, as Robinson broke through the pack and never looked back dashing down the sideline 55-yards before being pushed out of bounds.  He then rumbled into the end zone from 14 yards out on the following play to narrow SIU’s lead to 10-7.

In the second quarter, the Redbirds put a stop to two Saluki scoring drives holding SIU to zero points, while scoring seven of their own to help give them a 14-10 lead. On its first possession of the second quarter, the Redbirds charged 38 yards down the field to put them within field goal range, before Kolbe’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by SIU’s Jeremy Chinn. The Salukis then drove the ball 59 yards down the turf only to be stopped by the Redbird defense, forcing SIU to attempt a field goal. Keene exploded off the defensive line and leaped to block the kick and prevent a SIU score.

The Redbirds capitalized off the blocked kick driving toward their end zone on seven plays, highlighted by a season-long 42-yard reception from Kolbe to Warrum to put the ball in the red zone. Kolbe capped off the drive by finding Warrum in the end zone from 18 yards out to give the Redbirds a 14-10 advantage. With seconds remaining in the second quarter and the ball in the hands of the Salukis on the Redbird one-yard line, DraShane Glass put his helmet on the football to force Cameron Walter to fumble into the end zone, where Alejandro Rivera fell on the ball to veto another SIU score to keep the ISU lead at 14-10 going into the locker room.

The second half sent Redbirds fans on a roller coaster ride filled with back-and-forth scoring drives from both teams. The Salukis moved into Redbird territory before, being stalled by the Redbird defense forcing SIU to kick a 39-yard field goal to bring SIU within one of the Redbirds at 14-13. The Redbirds answered on the following possession, when Kolbe launched one down the middle 51 yards to Christian Gibbs, who ran it into the end zone to extend the ISU lead to 21-13. SIU responded again on an eight-point scoring drive, after going for the two-point conversion, which tied the game at 21-21 late in the third quarter.

After the Redbirds were forced to punt, senior safety La’Darius Newbold made his presence known, picking off a pass from SIU’s Josh Straughan to give the Redbirds optimal field position at SIU’s 38-yard line. On the following play, Kolbe spotted Warrum and completed the 38-yard pass for the touchdown to break the tie and take the lead, 28-21.

At the start of the fourth quarter, ISU placekicker Sean Slattery was called to kick a 50-yard field goal to extend the Redbird lead, and he matched his career-long with the make to widen the lead to 10 points at 31-21. Despite a late touchdown by SIU to bring them within a field goal of ISU, the Redbirds held off the Salukis to end their four-game losing streak and snag their first MVFC win of the season.

Illinois State will hit the road next Saturday to square off against MVFC opponent South Dakota at the DakotaDome. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the game set to be telecast on ESPN3.