Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Indiana State fell to Missouri State by the score of 31-7 on a bright, sunny afternoon at Plaster Field in front of 4,825 fans.
ISU fell to 1-9, 1-6 MVC while the Bears improved to 6-4, 4-3 MVC.
Missouri State scored first in the contest as a Matt Hottelmann field goal gave the Bears a 3-0 advantage. Hottelmann's 27-yard boot capped a 15-play, 71-yard drive with 7:06 left in the opening period.
ISU freshman Dillion Painter ended the first Missouri State drive of the second quarter with first career interception inside the Sycamores' own five-yard line.
After the turnover, the Sycamores got a pair of first downs, but a fumble by senior Antoine Brown with just under 10 minutes to go after 10 yard rush ended the ensuing drive and set the Bears up offensively at the ISU 30-yard line. It took just five plays for MSU to move those 30 yards and it ended with MSU taking a 10-0 lead with 7:34 left before halftime on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kirby to Jared Emery.
Missouri State scored with 10:52 left in the third quarter to stretch the lead out to 17-0 on a short two-yard plunge into the end zone on fourth-and-one. The Kirby rush ended a 7-play, 52-yard scoring drive to open the stanza.
The Bears got the ball back from the Sycamores after one play, a Roberts interception by Cedric Alvis which gave Missouri State the ball inside the ISU 30. MSU scored six plays later on a 15-yard run up the middle by Chris Douglas to give the Bears a 24-0 lead with 7:52 left in the third quarter.
Indiana State benefited from a roughing the punter penalty and moved the ball inside the Bears' 20-yard line. A 32-yard pass play from Roberts to Alex Jones helped move the ball down the field, but came at a cost as Roberts was knocked from the game for the remainder of the series. Matt Seliger entered and helped the Sycamore move into a first-and-goal situation on an 11-yard pass completion to Michael Mardis, but the drive ended when Seliger was intercepted in the end zone.
Braulio Martinez missed a 43-yard field goal with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter as a the Sycamores were not able to capitalize on a length 15 play drive.
The ISU defense continued to hold strong and got the ball back after holding the Bears offense to three plays and a punt following the missed field goal.
After Seliger was knocked out of the action on the next drive, Chris Stutzriem came into the contest and capped a nine-play, 63-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 24-7.
After a failed onside kick attempt, the Bears made it 31-7 on a 43-yard touchdown run by Chris Douglas.
Indiana State was led in rushing by Brown with 47 yards. Reece Craig came off the bench to post 42 yards on five attempts, all in the fourth quarter.
Roberts was 9-of-18 passing for 82 yards while Seliger was 6-of-12 for 76 yards. Mardis paced the Sycamores with four pass receptions for 51 yards while Craig had three catches for 31 and Jones had three catches for 40 yards.
Wozniak paced the team on defense with a career-high 11 tackles while Aaron Archie had 10. Larry Carter and Painter each had interceptions. Wozniak had a pair of sacks as did Archie.
The regular season concludes next Saturday, November 14 when the Sycamores host North Dakota State. Kickoff is slated for Noon (ET).
