By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – Illinois State (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) scored 28 first-half points and capitalized on two fourth-quarter turnovers to knock off Missouri Valley Football Conference leader No. 7 South Dakota State (5-3, 4-1 MVFC) by a score of 38-21 Saturday afternoon in front of 7,595 fans at Hancock Stadium as part of the inaugural Spack Stache Bash.
ISU’s defense had a big day, tallying three interceptions including one by senior La’Darius Newbold that he returned 92-yards for a touchdown to seal the victory. DraShane Glass led the defense with 11 total tackles and a key fourth-quarter interception that robbed the Jackrabbits of a score.
The Redbird offense favored the ground game, out-rushing SDSU 209-83 led by senior running back Jamal Towns, who scored his first touchdown of the season and rushed for a career-high 136 yards on a career-best 17 carries. Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum also had a good day, recording two touchdowns to bring his career touchdown total to 26.
ISU wasted little time at the start of the game, putting 14 points on the board on its first two possessions marking the first time the ‘Birds have scored two touchdowns in the first quarter all season. The first score came just one minute and 27 seconds into the game on a rushing-dominated effort that earned ISU an early, 7-0, lead. Towns got the drive started breaking away from the pack and darting 31-yards into Jackrabbit territory. The drive was capped off by an 18-yard dash by Jake Kolbe into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the season. On the following Redbird possession, Kolbe connected with Warrum and Christian Gibbs early, before finding Warrum in the end zone to blank the Jackrabbits, 14-0, after the first quarter.
The second quarter provided the fans a lot of fireworks, as the two team combined for 28 points. The Jackrabbits struck first, advancing downfield and marching into the Redbird’s zone to score its first seven points of the game to bring them within a touchdown of ISU, 14-7. The Redbirds responded, as the ISU running backs picked up a combined 39 yards during a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by Towns sprinting between defenders and into the corner of the end zone to pull away from the Jackrabbits 21-7. SDSU answered back on a four-play, 84-yard scoring drive to narrow the lead to 21-14. The Redbirds proved they were not done yet, punching back inside the one-minute mark of the first half with a 10-play, 84-yard drive highlighted by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kolbe to Warrum to send the Redbirds into the locker room at the half with a 28-14 lead over SDSU.
Just three minutes into the second-half, the Jackrabbits capitalized on a six-play, 75-yard drive to come within seven points of the ISU at 28-21. The Redbirds made the most of two key turnovers in the fourth quarter to run away with the victory. At the start of the period, SDSU made it into the red zone, before Glass picked off Taryn Christion’s pass in the end zone for the touchback. ISU charged down field, before Sean Slattery was called upon to nail a 39-yard field goal to widen ISU’s lead to 31-21. The momentum continued in ISU’s direction, when Newbold stepped in front of Christion’s pass and darted 92 yards down the sideline and into the end zone to end the game and hand SDSU its first MVFC loss of the season.
The Redbirds will travel to Macomb, Illinois, next Saturday to take on nationally-ranked Western Illinois (6-2, 3-2 MVFC) in their final regular-season road game of the year.
