CHARLESTON, Ill. ? The Indiana State football team returned to the gridiron after an off-week and traveled to nearby Charleston, Ill., to face off against fellow FCS opponent and No. 20 ranked Eastern Illinois on Saturday night. The Sycamores (0-2) stiffened on defense in the second half, but the Panthers (1-2) were too much and secured a 38-3 victory at O'Brien Stadium.
The Sycamores started the game with the ball and moved down the field before ISU punter Gabe Mullane came in to punt the ball away to the Panthers. As Mullane attempted to get the kick off, C.J. James blocked the punt, recovered the loose ball and ran it back down to the five yard line, where he then fumbled the ball and Mullane recovered to give the Sycamores the ball back deep in their half of the field.
However, ISU could not move the ball past its own 10 yard line and Mullane had to punt the ball away to the Panthers. EIU took the short punt and started the drive at the Indiana State 22-yard line. The Panthers could not produce a first down, though, as the Sycamore defense stopped the Panthers on three-straight plays to force a 32-yard field goal which was made by Tyler Wilke to give EIU a 3-0 lead with 7:55 left to play in the first quarter.
That lead would quickly grow to 10-0 just five seconds later, as EIU cornerback Rashad Haynes picked off the Chuck Dowdell pass on the first play of the drive and ran the ball back 23 yards for the touchdown with 7:50 left in the first quarter. The rest of the quarter passed with both defenses stiffening up and the score remained 10-0 into the second quarter.
The score remained the same until Eastern Illinois put together an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. EIU running back Travorus Bess capped off the long drive with a 31-yard dash to the endzone, with the help of a spin move that moved him away from the ISU defense to give the Panthers a 17-0 lead with 5:49 left in the half.
On the next ISU possession, Dowdell fumbled once again and EIU's James Larson recovered the loose ball at the ISU 13 yard line to give the Panthers another prime scoring opportunity. On a third-and-five play, EIU quarterback Bodie Reeder connected with tight end Sean McGrath to extend the lead to 24-0 after Wilke's third extra point conversion of the game. The score would stay that way, thanks to a late fumble recovery by ISU's Nate Brown to take the score into the locker room at 24-0.
EIU opened the half with a methodical eight-play, 68 yard drive to widen its advantage. The Panthers kept the ball on the ground for most of the drive, but went to the air for the score as Reeder connected with Charles Graves on a 17-yard touchdown pass to make the score 31-0 with 11:41 left in the third quarter. The Panthers then tacked on a one-yard touchdown on a rush by Desmin Ward with 6:20 left in the third quarter to cap off an eight play, 48 yard drive to make the score 38-0 in favor of the Panthers.
The score remained that way until the start of the fourth quarter, when Indiana State capped off a solid 14 play drive to score its first points of the 2008 season. After moving the ball to EIU five yard line, the Panther defense held and forced ISU to attempt the field goal. Freshman Braulio Martinez then lined up for the 22-yard field goal and booted it through the uprights for his first collegiate make and points to put the Sycamores on the scoreboard at 38-3 with 14:09 remaining in the game.
The score would remain that way for the rest of the quarter, as EIU controlled the clock by running the ball. The Sycamores had chances to score, including one late in the game, but could not find the endzone and the score went final at 38-3. ISU was led on offense by Dowdell, who threw for 55 yards on 6-of-11 passing while carrying the ball 13 times for 52 yards. Darrius Gates added 48 yards on the ground on 10 carries for the Sycamores as well, while Ryan Patrick hauled in four receptions for 35 yards. Alex Sewall paced the Sycamore defense with nine tackles, including two solo stops, while Quinton Scott and Jayden Everett added seven stops each.
Indiana State returns to action next Saturday, when they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face off against FBS opponent Northern Illinois. Kick off is set for 4 p.m. ET at Huskie Stadium and the game can be heard live on the radio at The Crock 92.7 FM as well as on the internet at www.crock927.com.
