Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The No. 20/22 Indiana State Sycamores scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to take a late lead against visiting No. 15 Illinois State but a field goal near the end of regulation gave the Redbirds a 20-18 victory in front of 7,534 fans on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium.
The Sycamores saw a four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 4-2, 1-1 MVFC while Illinois State remained undefeated at 5-0, 2-0 MVFC.
Senior quarterback Mike Perish did not play in the game due to a medical issue and redshirt freshman Matt Adam gained his first career starting nod under center. He responded by going 21-of-42 passing for 201 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns as he nearly engineered a come-from-behind victory.
Illinois State took a 17-6 lead with a two-yard touchdown run by Bryce Holm with 9:45 remaining in the contest to set up two scoring consecutive scoring drives. Buck Logan rushed for one yard to give the Sycamores their initial first down of the first drive. After a Redbird penalty gave the Sycamores a first down, Indiana State faced a 2nd-and-14 when Adam found Gary Owens for 16 yards and moved the ball down to the 36. Owens was the target again on 3rd-and-2 for 10 yards and set up the Sycamores with a first down at the Redbird 18.
After three consecutive incompletions, Adam found Owens for a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown with 5:41 remaining to draw Indiana State within 17-12.
The Sycamore defense forced a three-and-out and took over at their own 34-yard line with 3:11 remaining in the contest. Logan ripped off runs of four and 16 yards to once again move into Redbird territory. He then found Logan on a 16-yard pass to move to the 35 before Illinois State grabbed a tackle for loss and set the ball at the Illinois State 37.
From there Adam found A.J. Johnson along the home sideline and he escaped a Redbird defender while staying in bounds. Johnson then raced to the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown reception which pushed the Sycamores ahead 18-17. The two-point conversion failed and would give Illinois State the ball with 1:13 left in regulation.
A squib kick was touched early by a Redbird and gave them the ball at the Indiana State 49. After two Tre Roberson incompletions, Roberson came back to find Lechein Neblett for 16 yards. Marshaun Coprich rushed for 27 yards to the Indiana State six-yard line. After timeouts from both teams, Nick Aussieker connected on a 20-yard field goal with three seconds remaining for the 20-18 lead.
A short kick from Illinois State set up the Sycamores with the chance for a return as time ticked away on the clock, but the Sycamores were not able to move the ball past their own 30-yard line through a series of lateral passes to give the Redbirds a win.
Logan led the Sycamore ground game with 69 rushing yards on 15 attempts while LeMonte Booker had 28 yards on seven carries. Gary Owens led the way for the receivers with seven catches for 70 yards, including one touchdown while Robert Tonyan had four receptions for 20 yards. Johnson added two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.
The Indiana State defense was stout against an Illinois State offense which came into the game ranked first in the league. Kendall Walker led the way with 10 total tackles, including one for a loss. Mark Sewall and Travis Starks each contributed eight.
Connor Underwood had seven tackles, including one quarterback sack which kept alive his streak of six consecutive games with at least one. He added two tackles for a loss. Underwood now has 21 quarterback sacks in his career and is just 3.5 away from Kyle Mitchell's school record of 24.5
Lonnell Brown had two quarterback sacks in the game and 2.5 tackles for a loss, while Jameer Thurman posted one sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss with a fumble recovery.
Alex Stowers contributed an early interception and a return of 26 yards which set up the Sycamores' first score of the game.
Osborn Umeh continued his strong season with nine punts for 340 yards -- an average of 37.8 yards per punt, including a long of 52 yards and he pinned Illinois State inside their own 20 a total of three times.
Eric Heidorn finished 2-of-3 on his field goal attempts including a 25-yard attempt in the first quarter as well as a career long 49-yard make at the end of the second quarter.
After Indiana State and Illinois State traded punts to begin the game, the Sycamores received a break on the Stowers interception and return down to the four-yard line. After three plays, Heidorn hit the 25-yard field goal for the 3-0 lead with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Illinois State was driving and tried to convert on fourth-and-sixth when Roberson found James O'Shaunessy for a five-yard completion and he fumbled as and recovered short of the line to gain. The Sycamores embarked on an 11-play, 38-yard drive which ended with Heidorn sneaking a career-long 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half for the 6-0 halftime lead.
The Redbirds got within 6-3 on a Aussieker 34-yard field goal with 12:27 remaining in the third quarter. Illinois State took a 10-6 lead on Coprich's 26-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left in the third and extended their lead out to 17-6 on Holm's two-yard scoring plunge with 9:45 remaining.
Indiana State returns to action against their fourth consecutive nationally-ranked team in a row when they travel to No. 1 North Dakota State on Saturday, October 18. Kick-off is set for 3:30 p.m. (ET) and will be nationally-televised on ESPN3.
