NORMAL, Ill. – Indiana State used a late second quarter touchdown to tie their road contest against No. 7 nationally-ranked Illinois State right before halftime but the Redbirds put 17 points on the board in the second half en route to a 24-7 victory over the visiting Sycamores on a cold and rainy afternoon at Hancock Stadium.
 
With the loss, the Sycamores fell to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action while the Redbirds improved to 6-2, 3-1 MVFC.
 
Kurtis Wilderman went 11-of-18 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown on a difficult day to get the passing game going. Dakota Caton and Dante Hendrix were the top targets with three catches each while Caton led the way with 34 receiving yards. Michael Haupert gained 57 yards rushing to pace the Sycamore rushing attack.
 
Jonas Griffith owned 12 tackles in the contest to lead the Sycamores. He and Filip Zacok each had quarterback sacks for the Sycamores.
 
Illinois State scored first in the matchup when James Robinson capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive mid-way through the second quarter to stake the Redbirds to a 7-0 lead. Robinson set up his own score with a 41-yard rush on the second play of the drive.
 
A short field and effective use of the Wildcat formation late in the first half set the Sycamores up with a scoring opportunity and a chance to tie the contest before halftime. Indiana State took over at the Redbird 43-yard line with just under three minutes to go. Haupert had three first down rushes on the drive including a four-yarder which put the ball down at the Redbird six-yard line. After clocking the ball, Wilderman found Hendrix in the back of the end zone with 19 seconds remaining which knotted the score at seven after the Jerry Nunez extra point.
 
The Sycamores got a key stop midway through the third quarter when Timothy McCloyn took the football on fourth-and-goal and reached the line to gain but Michael Thomas forced a fumble in the open field and the Sycamores regained possession after Dayveon Higgs corralled the ball.
 
Illinois State was able to take the 10-7 lead with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter on a 38-yard field goal from Sam Fenlason despite only mustering two yards of total offense on the drive. The Redbirds were set up with a short field after a Petersen Kerlegrand ended the previous Sycamore offensive possession.
 
Indiana State responded with a drive deep into Redbird territory but Haupert fumbled as the Sycamores were moving towards the goal line. Robinson reached pay dirt for the second time in the contest on a 77-yard rush with 11:24 remaining in the fourth quarter to extend their lead out to 17-7. After an Indiana State fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Illinois State used five plays to move 25 yards and take a 24-7 lead on a Jeff Proctor one-yard TD run with 8:57 remaining and the Redbirds led 24-7.
 
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, November 2 when they host Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. ET inside the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium. The game will air nationally on ESPN Plus.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.