CHARLESTON, Ill. -- On a night where temperatures swelled to nearly 90 degrees at kickoff time, it was the offenses who came out red hot for both teams. The Sycamores were the first team to provide consistent defensive stops and forced a timely turnover before the half. Coupled with a stout Sycamore offensive attack, ISU rolled to a 55-41 victory over Eastern Illinois at O'Brien Stadium.
 
Indiana State improved to 2-1 on the season while Eastern Illinois fell to 0-3. It was the 86^th meeting between the two programs located a mere 45 miles apart. Prior to Saturday evening, the Sycamores last win came in Charleston came back in 2004 when ISU claimed a 33-30 overtime victory. Eastern Illinois had won each of the previous six meetings. ISU's last road win was on Oct. 22, 2016 – a 22-14 victory at Southern Illinois. The last non-conference road victory came on September 17, 2016 when the Sycamores scored twice in the final three minutes, including with 10 seconds remaining to earn a 27-24 come-from-behind victory at Southeast Missouri State.
 
Ja'Quan Keys finished the game with a career-high 232 yards rushing on 34 attempts, including four trips to the end zone. It was the sixth-highest single-game rushing total in program history. He has now eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in all three Indiana State games this season. Keys became the first Sycamore to eclipse the 200-yard rushing mark since Shakir Bell tallied 201 at Tennessee Tech in 2013. He is the first Sycamore to score three touchdowns in one half of football since LeMonte Booker did it in the first half of ISU's 2015 season opening victory over Butler. Keys is the first Sycamore to score four touchdowns in a game since Booker did it against Butler in 2015 and the first Sycamore to record four rushing touchdowns since Bell did it (in the first half) against Youngstown State in 2011.
 
Christian Covington carried the ball 14 times for 60 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns himself. Overall ISU amassed 326 rushing yards and reached the end zone six times via the ground.
 
In his first collegiate start, Ryan Boyle went 13-of-18 passing for 209 yards. He added 30 rushing yards. Boyle completed passes to six different Sycamores in the contest. His top target was Dante Hendrix who caught five passes for 99 yards. Michael Thomas added three receptions for 65 yards.  
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Jonas Griffith led the way with 11 total tackles, including nine total stops. Katrell Moss added eight total stops plus a key fumble recovery which set up a Keys' rushing touchdown late in the first half. Kaelub Newman picked up a quarterback sack on the play as he forced a fumble from the hands of John Brantley – the EIU signal caller.
 
The ISU offense proved to be prolific as they racked up 535 yards of total offense. Indiana State earned 26 first downs in the contest. The 31 points scored in the first half were the most by the Sycamores overall and in a road game since they tallied 35 in the second half of a 56-28 victory at Missouri State on October 3, 2015.  That is also the last time the Sycamores ran up over 50 points on an opponent.
 
Jerry Nunez was a perfect 7-of-7 on his PAT's and nailed a 22-yard field goal late in the first quarter. He added a 25-yard field goal with 59 seconds remaining in the contest. Travis Reiner had three punts and averaged 40 yards per kick. Dakota Caton continued the strong start to his freshman campaign as he amassed 178 yards of kickoff return yardage over the course of five returns. He averaged 35.6 yards per return.
 
Isaiah Johnson set up a touchdown drive for the Panthers to open the game with a 52-yard kickoff return to open the contest. From there it took six plays to cover the 35-yard short field when Alexander Hollins caught a 15-yard touchdown pass off the arm of John Brantley for a fast 6-0 lead. The extra point was blocked by Rex Mosley.
 
Not to be outdone, Ryan Boyle – making his first career collegiate start -- found Dante Hendrix for a 50-yard bomb on the Sycamores' opening play from scrimmage. Ja'Quan Keys then rushed three times – the final one from three yards out for a touchdown as the Jerry Nunez kick staked the Sycamores to a 7-6 lead just three and a half minutes into the game.
 
EIU's Brantley went a perfect 7-of-7 on the ensuing drive and once again found Hollins in the end zone – this time for a 17-yard touchdown pass to push the Panthers ahead 13-7 with 8:36 remaining in the first quarter. The drive covered 71 yards over seven plays as the Panthers regained the lead.
 
Indiana State continued the offensive display on their next drive to regain a 14-13 advantage. The drive started with a quarterback sack of Boyle but was given new life when he round Rontrez Morgan for an 11-yard reception. An eight-yard pitch and catch from Boyle to Joe Wildt got the initial first down before Christian Covington made the big play – a 33-yard run down to the EIU three-yard line. He capped the drive two plays later with a two-yard touchdown run at the 4:43 mark of the first quarter. The Sycamores' scoring march covered 75 yards on nine plays and Nunez tacked on the extra point.
 
The lead was short lived when Matt Reyna rattled off a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown as the Panthers regained the 20-14 advantage. Dakota Caton countered with a 40-yard kickoff return of his own as the Sycamores took over at their own 40-yard line. It took just one play to move across midfield as Boyle found Morgan for a 12-yard. Keys then rushed 37 yards down to the Panther 11-yard line as the Sycamores motored into the red zone on just two plays. ISU would move the ball inside the 5-yard line but a third-and-goal pass attempt by Boyle was knocked down and Nunez converted his first field goal of the year – a 22-yard attempt – to trim the deficit down to 20-17 with 2:38 remaining in a lengthy first quarter.
 
The Sycamores came up with the first defensive stop of the game as the defense picked up a three-and-out. ISU took over at their own 24-yard line following a 42-yard punt. ISU was able to muster one first down as they racked up over 200 yards of total offense in the opening stanza. The drive stalled before Travis Reiner put his leg on a 40-yard boot as EIU was forced to start at their own 25-yard line. A pair of breakups in the defensive secondary forced the second consecutive Panther three-and-out as ISU took over at their own 27-yard line.
 
Keys gained a first down on the ground before Boyle connected with Dante Hendrix twice including a 23 yarder which moved the ball to the Eastern Illinois 31-yard line. A holding penalty backed up the Sycamores but Boyle hooked up again with Hendrix on third-and-five to move inside the red zone and keep the drive alive. Keys moved over the 100-yard rushing mark for the third game in a row and Boyle kept the ball off a fake handoff as the Sycamores got down to the Panther four-yard line. Keys plunged in from four yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the contest to stake the Sycamores to a 24-20 advantage with 8:03 left before the half. The methodical drive covered 73 yards over 11 plays and consumed nearly five minutes of game time.
 
The two teams traded punts before the Sycamore defense grabbed a key turnover. With 4:10 remaining before the half, Kaelub Newman forced a fumble and was credited with a quarterback sack of Brantley which was scooped up by Inoke Moala where he returned the ball to the EIU 20. It only took one play and it was Keys who found the end zone for the third time in the first half as he scampered in from 20 yards out to push the ISU leads out to 31-20 as the clock ticked towards the four-minute mark. It marked the first time a Sycamore scored three touchdowns in a half since LeMonte Booker ran for two and caught another in the first half of the 2015 season opener against Butler.
 
Eastern Illinois put a stamp on the offensive tenor of the first half by driving down to the Indiana State 14-yard line. Matt Severino lined up for a 31-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds remaining before Rex Mosley blocked his second kick of the contest to give the Sycamores a 31-20 lead heading into halftime.
 
Keys finished the first half with 131 rushing yards and his three touchdowns. Boyle was 10-of-12 passing for 148 yards while his top target was Hendrix who caught four passes for 91 yards, including a long of 50 yards on the Sycamores' first offensive play from scrimmage. Indiana State racked up 326 yards off total offense in the first 30 minutes of play. The Sycamores scored on all five of their trips into the red zone in the first half.
 
Boyle opened the second half with a 17-yard rush as well a 23-yard completion to Michael Thomas. A quarterback stopped the drive before Reiner uncorked another nice punt which pinned the Panthers back at their own eight-yard line.
 
Brantley found Hollins for a 73-yard touchdown pass on the Panthers' first offensive series of the second half as they trimmed the Sycamore lead down to 31-27 with 9:27 remaining in the third quarter. ISU forced EIU into a third down situation, but used a short pass and Hollins' long run to the end zone for the score which capped a six-play, 92-yard drive to make it a one possession contest.
 
Dakota Caton, who had a kickoff return for a touchdown called back to open the second half this time had a 49-yard return with a flag on the ground again. This time the laundry was a facemask penalty against the Panthers which gave the Sycamores the ball at the EIU 31-yard line. Keys' number was called on the first three plays of the drive and he responded with 13 yards' worth of rushing. Boyle then found Hendrix for and eight-yard gain to move the ball to the Panther 10-yard line. Facing third-and-inches Boyle called his own number and plunged ahead to the five-yard line to keep the momentum moving forward. Keys took the ball down to the three before a pass fell incomplete to set up third-and-goal. Boyle then faked the handoff to Keys and scampered ahead three yards for the touchdown at the 5:52 mark to extend the advantage. Nunez converted the PAT and ISU led 38-27. It took the Sycamores nine plays to cover the 31 yards and answer the EIU touchdown earlier in the quarter.
 
Indiana State forced another Panther punt and went back on the move. Boyle found Michael Thomas for a 30-yard passing strike which moved the ball into Panther territory at the EIU 25-yard line. ISU moved the chains with a pair of runs by Covington and then a five-yard gain by Keys. An offside penalty moved the ball to the six-yard line where Covington plunged through the defense for his second rushing touchdown of the contest. The Nunez extra point extended the Sycamore lead to 45-27 with 55 seconds left in the third quarter. The 10-play, 66-yard drive chewed up over four minutes.
 
EIU came up with a 34-yard pass completion from Brantley to John Gooch which moved the ball down to the EIU 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Eastern Illinois got down to the one-yard line before a false start moved the ball back to the six. But on third-and-goal Brantley found Teriq Phillips for a six-yard touchdown pass with 12:42 remaining to claw closer at 45-34. The scoring drive proved to be 11 plays over 79 yards and took just over three minutes.
 
Caton put together another explosive return together as he returned a squib quick 49 yards down to the EIU 43-yard line. It took Keys just one rush to reach the end zone as he raced in from 43 yards out to stretch the Sycamore lead out to 52-34 with 12:25 remaining in the contest.
 
Brantley finished the game 37-of-49 passing for 443 yards and four touchdowns. Hollins amassed 167 pass reception yards and scored three times himself.
 
Indiana State enjoys a bye week next Saturday before opening Missouri Valley Football Conference play on Thursday, September 27 when they host Northern Iowa. The Thursday night game begins at 7 pm (ET). It is Youth Football Day at Memorial Stadium as all area youth football players will get in free by wearing their game jerseys.




 
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