TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – A late interception ended Indiana State's fourth-quarter comeback as the Sycamores fell to visiting Illinois State, 27-21, on Homecoming Weekend at Memorial Stadium.
 
Both teams scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Illinois State's Zack Annexstad finding the end zone for the second time on a 3-yard touchdown carry, while Indiana State's Dante Hendrix broke two tackles in the right flat before breaking loose for a 67-yard score to put the game at 27-21 early in the fourth quarter.
 
The margin remained late in the contest as the Sycamores took over the ball at their own seven-yard line with 2:15 to play. ISU (1-6, 0-4 MVFC) took 13 plays on their final drive as the Sycamores moved the ball into Illinois State (5-2, 3-1 MVFC) territory. The big play on the drive came on 4th-and-20 near midfield as Cade Chambers connected on a 26-yard completion to Dante Hendrix to move the ball to the ILS 26-yard line.
 
After a quick spike to stop the clock with nine seconds remaining, Chambers targeted Hendrix down the left sideline near the end zone for the go-ahead score. However, Illinois State's Keondre Jackson stepped in front of the pass for the game-clinching interception to end the Sycamores' hopes.
 
Illinois State jumped out to the 20-0 lead early in the contest with a trio of touchdowns in the first quarter. Redbirds quarterback Zack Annexstad called his own number on the first score with a nine-yard touchdown keeper, while Jalen Carr (56 yards) and Brock Annexstad (18 yards) both hauled in touchdown receptions.
 
The Sycamores battled back with touchdowns following a pair of Illinois State turnovers with Chambers scoring on a 1-yard quarterback keeper, while Harry Van Dyne battled through a trio of Redbird defenders for a 16-yard touchdown reception prior to the fourth quarter.
 
Chambers went 14-of-33 through the air for 201 yards and two passing touchdowns in the loss. The redshirt freshman added his fourth rushing touchdown on the ground in leading the Sycamores offense. Hendrix added five catches for 107 yards and a score, while Van Dyne posted a career-high five receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Justin Dinka finished with 18 carries for 83 rushing yards in the loss.
 
Defensively, Geoffrey Brown (12) and Rylan Cole (12) posted double-digit tackles in the contest to lead Indiana State's defense. Lucas Hunter added six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Maddix Blackwell posted his first interception of the season. Jarin Johnson added a forced fumble recovered by Jake Hoper to highlight the defense.
 
Wenkers Wright was Illinois State's leader in the clubhouse with 36 carries for 180 rushing yards. Zack Annexstad went 24-for-38 through the air for 274 yards and two touchdowns with Jalen Carr (six catches, 99 yards, 1 TD) his primary target on the day.
 
Sy Dabney was the Redbirds defensive leader with seven tackles and a sack, while Deandre Lamont and Lavoise-Deontae McCoy both posted six tackles apiece.
 
How They Scored

• Illinois State opened the scoring on Zack Annexstad's nine-yard touchdown carry to cap the opening nine-play, 88-yard drive. The PAT attempt was blocked by ISU's Lucas Hunter to keep the score at 6-0 at the 11:22 mark.
• The Redbirds added to their lead at the 7:54 mark in the first quarter as Jalen Carr took a 56-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to cap the two-play, 56-yard drive and put ILS ahead 13-0.
• Zack Annexstad found Brock Annexstad for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:27 left in the first quarter to stretch the Redbirds lead to 20-0. The touchdown pass completed the 11-play, 79-yard drive.
• The Sycamores took advantage of a Maddix Blackwell one-handed interception to march down the field for their first score of the game. Cade Chambers capped a 10-play, 56-yard drive with a one-yard QB keeper on 4th-and-Goal to cut the lead down to 20-7 with 5:50 on the clock.
• Cade Chambers found Harry Van Dyne over the middle on a crossing route and the senior wide receiver battled through three tacklers for the 16-yard touchdown reception to cut the Redbirds lead down to 20-14 with 0:46 left in the third quarter. The touchdown reception was sparked by Jake Hoper's fumble recovery at the 50-yard line.
• Illinois State went up 27-14 with 13:45 left in the fourth quarter as Zack Annexstad took the QB keeper three yards up the middle to cap a seven-play, 64-yard drive. The drive was highlighted by Wenkers Wright's 48-yard carry down to the ISU 4-yard line.
• Chambers found Dante Hendrix in the short flat to the right and the redshirt senior wide receiver broke two tackles on his way to a 67-yard touchdown reception with 10:18 left in the fourth quarter. The one-play drive cut the Illinois State lead down to 27-21.

Inside the Numbers

• Indiana State finished the contest with 335 total offensive yards in the contest with 201 through the air and 134 coming on the the ground.
• The Sycamores posted 17 total first downs on the day and averaged 4.7 yards per play.
• The Sycamores posted two touchdown passes for the third consecutive game this season.
• Illinois State held the 34:04-25:56 edge in time of possession in the game.
• The Redbirds posted 473 total offensive yards in the contest with 327 yards coming in the first half.
• Illinois State converted 7-of-15 third down attempts while limiting Indiana State to 2-of-15 in the game.
• The Sycamores converted 3-of-5 fourth down attempts.

News & Notes

• Dante Hendrix continued his reception streak as the redshirt senior hauled in five passes for 107 yards in the game. It marked his 33rd consecutive game with a reception.
• Hendrix's 107 yards also marked his third consecutive 100-yard game and seventh of his career.
• Hendrix pulled within 55 yards of Sam Logan for the Indiana State career receiving yards list. Hendrix ended Saturday's game with 2,330 career receiving yards trailing Logan's 2,385 career yards set over the 2003-06 seasons.
• Justin Dinka's 100-yard rushing game streak came to an end as the redshirt sophomore was limited to 83 yards. It marked his fifth consecutive game with at least 70 rushing yards.
• Geoffrey Brown posted his sixth double-digit tackle game of his career with 12 stops in the contest.
• Brown has already surpassed his 2021 tackling efforts with 63 tackles in the 2022 campaign.
• Rylan Cole posted his second double-digit tackling effort with 12 stops.
• Harry Van Dyne hauled in his first touchdown reception of his Sycamore career. He became the sixth Indiana State player with a touchdown reception in the 2022 season.
• Indiana State blocked two kicks in the first half including a 30-yard field goal attempt late in the second quarter. It marked the first ISU blocked field goal since Gavin Dineen blocked a South Dakota State attempt last season on Sept. 25, 2021.

Up Next
Indiana State hits the road this upcoming weekend as the Sycamores travel to Brookings, S.D. to take on South Dakota State at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Saturday, October 29. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Jackrabbits is set for 3 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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