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Indiana State University Athletics

win
14
North Ala. UNA 0-1
17
Winner Indiana State INS 1-0
North Ala. UNA
0-1
14
Final
17
Indiana State INS
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
UNA North Ala. 0 7 0 7 0 14
INS Indiana State 3 3 0 8 3 17

Game Recap: Football | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Sycamores top Lions in overtime to open 2022 season

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It took going to overtime on Thursday night, but Rylan Cole secured the game with his second interception of the night and Ryan O'Grady connected on three field goals in his first collegiate appearance to lead host Indiana State past North Alabama in the 2022 season opener, 17-14.
 
Trailing late in the contest, North Alabama (0-1) marched down the field to tie the game up at 14-14 with 48 seconds remaining on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Noah Walters to Corson Swan.
 
The Sycamores (1-0) took possession first in the overtime period and moved the ball down to the UNA 7 before setting for an O'Grady 25-yard field goal. On UNA's ensuing possession, the Lions were pinned back deep after a shotgun snap sailed over Walters' head and was recovered at the 33-yard line. Faced with a 4th-and-33, Walters' desperation heave was batted around before Cole secured it for the game-clinching interception.
 
Cole's final interception was indicative of Indiana State's entire defensive effort on Thursday night as the Sycamores limited the Lions to just 156 yards of total offense in the contest, including eight net rushing yards in a dominant performance up front. The Sycamores combined for a Curt Mallory-era 8.0 sacks in the contest paced by 2.0 each from Juju Williams and Kris Reid Jr. in bottling up the Lions throughout the contest. Geoffrey Brown added a personal-best 16 tackles in the win.
 
ISU's offense rode the two-headed rushing attack of Tee Hodge (20 carries, 78 yards) and Justin Dinka (10 carried, 65 yards) to a 135-yard effort on the day. Quarterback Gavin Screws drew the start and went 16-of-30 through the air for 141 yards and a touchdown.
 
Walters led three UNA quarterbacks on the day with a 6-for-13 effort through the air for 64 yards and a score. Powell picked up 80 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to lead the Lions' rushing attack, while Kobe Warden was the top receiver with four catches for 29 yards.
 
Kyree Fields led the UNA defense with seven tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, while Zakobe Shoulders added seven tops and a tackle-for-loss.
 
The Sycamores held a moment of silence prior to the game in honor of their former teammates Christian Eubanks and Caleb VanHooser, as well as ISU student Jayden Musili who passed away following the tragic accident on August 21. Indiana State football unveiled a new helmet sticker honoring the former players that will be worn throughout the entirety of the 2022 season.

Game Winner  
How They Scored
  • Ryan O'Grady connected on a 22-yard field goal to give the Sycamores the early 3-0 lead at the 6:22 mark in the first quarter. The 8-play, 62-yard drive was sparked by a 46-yard Tee Hodge run down the left sideline on the opening play.
  • O'Grady added to the Indiana State lead with 8:25 left in the second quarter as the freshman placekicker connected from 26-yards out to give ISU the 6-0 lead. Justin Dinka took the ball for 29 yards down the right sideline to highlight the 12-play, 71-yard drive.
  • North Alabama took the lead just before half as ShunDerrick Powell ran the ball up the middle from 12 yards out to give the Lions the 7-6 lead with 4:55 on the clock. Terrell Bailey's 49-yard interception return gave UNA the short field in taking the lead.
  • Indiana State took the 14-7 lead with 11:42 left in the fourth quarter as Gavin Screws rolled out and found Tyce Ferrell over the middle for the two-yard touchdown strike to cap the 4-play,17-yard drive. Screws found Daijon Collins for the two-point conversion connection. The drive was started by a Rylan Cole interception that gave the Sycamores the short field.
  • Noah Walters marched the Lions down the field in the final minute of the fourth quarter with the right-hander finding Corson Swan for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone to tie the game up at 14-14.
  • O'Grady converted for the third time in the overtime period as the freshman put it through the uprights from 25 yards out on the Sycamores possession to cap the scoring in the contest.
Inside the Numbers
  • Indiana State's offense posted 276 yards of total offense (141 passing, 135 rushing) and 11 first downs in the contest in their first win of the season.
  • The Sycamores held onto the ball for 24:25 in the contest in the win.
  • North Alabama picked up 156 yards of total offense (148 passing, eight rushing) and 17 first downs in the game.
  • North Alabama won the turnover battle on Thursday night forcing a trio of Sycamores miscues, while ISU had Rylan Cole's two interceptions.
  • The Sycamores averaged 39.4 yards per punt on the evening with freshman Harry Traum handling the kicking duties in his first game at Indiana State.
  • Eleven different Indiana State players combined for 15.0 tackles-for-loss in the game led by Rylan Cole's 2.5 stops.
  • Juju Williams and Kris Reid Jr. both had two sacks apiece to lead seven different Indiana State players in the quarterback takedown column.
News & Notes
  • Thursday night was arguably one of the top defensive moments in the Curt Mallory coaching era at Indiana State with the Sycamores setting new marks in fewest rushing yards allowed (eight), fewest total yards (156), team sacks (8.0) and team tackles-for-loss (15.0).
  • Rylan Cole made it back-to-back season openers with a Sycamore safety hauling in two interceptions. ISU alum Michael Thomas hauled in two picks last season in the opening 26-21 win over Eastern Illinois back on August 28, 2021.
  • Indiana State has won each of its last three season-opening home openers dating back to the 2018 season.
  • Geoffrey Brown's 16-tackle game was the second double-digit tackling performance of his ISU career and most since he recorded 12 stops in last year's season finale against Illinois State (Nov. 20, 2021).
  • Rylan Cole's 2.5 tackles-for-loss made him the 16th player in the Curt Mallory coaching era to record at least 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage in a single game.
  • All four of Indiana State's starting defensive lineman recorded at least one tackle for loss, while three of the four picked up sacks in the win.
  • Johnathan Edwards tied his personal-best mark with three of ISU's six pass breakups.
  • Ryan O'Grady's three field goals made him the first Sycamore placekicker to convert at least three attempts since the 2019 season when Jerry Nunez converted all three of his attempts against Northern Iowa back on November 9.
  • The Sycamores won their second consecutive overtime contest dating back to the 2018 season when ISU topped South Dakota, 51-48, in triple overtime on November 3 in Terre Haute.
Up Next
Indiana State is back in action on Saturday, September 10, as the Sycamores travel to Ross-Ade Stadium for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Purdue University. The game is set to be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
 
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