TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Rocco Ciocca took the handoff from Elijah Owens and rumbled through the Murray State goal-line defense for the go-ahead touchdown with 11 seconds remaining as Indiana State topped the visiting Racers on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, 31-27.
 
Indiana State (2-4, 1-1) trailed 27-24 with 1:57 remaining in the contest following James London's go-ahead 25-yard field goal conversion. It marked Murray State's (1-5, 0-3) first lead of the game and capped a furious second-half comeback which saw the Racers erase a two-touchdown second-half deficit.
 
The ensuing kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback and the Sycamore offense went to work in the two-minute drill. Owens connected on back-to-back passes to Rashad Rochelle to move the ball to the Indiana State 45, before the redshirt freshman quarterback called his own number to take the ball across midfield with a nine-yard carry.
 
Two plays later, Owens again tucked the ball going 13 yards over the left side and taking the ball down to the Murray State 33. Shen Butler-Lawson took the handoff on the next play and found daylight on the left side of the line. The Sycamore running back was finally brought down at the Murray State one-yard line with 46 seconds remaining setting up a 1st-and-Goal situation.
 
The Murray State defense stuffed back-to-back Indiana State quarterback keepers up the middle, setting up a 3rd-and-Goal as the Sycamores kept their jumbo package out on the field. Owens took the snap and handed off to Ciocca and the 6-5, 235-lb tight end took it the rest of the way going over the left side and into the end zone with 11 seconds left setting off the Sycamore sideline and the Memorial Stadium crowd with the go-ahead touchdown run.
 
Murray State had three pass attempts on their final drive, but quarterback Jayden Johannsen's attempts all fell incomplete, the final batted away by Micah Hauser to secure Indiana State's first Missouri Valley Football win of the season.
 
Indiana State jumped out to a 21-7 lead midway through the first half as the offense clicked early. Owens found Kai Rios over the middle on the Sycamores' first drive for an 18-yard touchdown pass, while Plez Lawrence (25 yards) and Owens (two yards) also scored rushing touchdowns on their way to jumping ahead of the Racers. Murray State cut the lead down to 21-10 on London's 24-yard field goal just before the halftime break.
 
The Indiana State lead hit 24-10 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter on Jake Andjelic's 39-yard field goal, before Murray State rattled off 17 consecutive points in taking their first lead of the game. Johannsen found Kade Neely for a two-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, and then connected with Justice Hill for an 11-yard touchdown on their first drive of the fourth quarter to tie the game up at 24-24. The Racers completed their comeback on London's 25-yard field goal after Joey Shew and Garret Ollendieck stuffed a pair of Murray State rushes up the middle to set the stage for Indiana State's offense to drive the length of the field for the game-winner.
 
Owens went 25-of-34 through the air for 218 yards to highlight the Indiana State passing attack. The Jacksonville, Ill. native connected with nine different receivers on the afternoon with Rochelle the primary recipient hauling in eight catches for 53 yards. Ethan Chambers (47 yards), BJ Wuest (34 yards), and Plez Lawrence (26 yards) all recorded three catches on the day.
 
The Sycamores utilized a four-pronged rushing attack on the afternoon highlighted by Butler-Lawson's season-high 68 yards on seven carries. Owens added 46 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts, while Devin Nelson (10 carries, 39 yards) and Lawrence (seven carries, 35 yards, touchdown) added to the Sycamores' 188 rushing yards on the afternoon.
 
Ollendieck recorded his fourth double-digit tackling effort of the 2024 season as the senior linebacker posted a game-high 12 stops in the contest. He added a season-high 2.5 tackles-for-loss in the win. Kendrick Milford posted five tackles and added to his team sack lead (4.5) with a solo quarterback takedown in the contest. The Sycamores broke up six passes overall on the day highlighted by Jorge Valdes' three.
 
Johannsen led the Murray State offense going 20-of-38 through the air for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. Hill was the primary target on the day hauling in seven catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, while J'Kalon Carter (36 yards) and Kylan Galbreath (31 yards) posted three catches apiece in the loss.
 
Northington had 15 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Q'Darryius Jennings added 15 carries for 49 yards for the Murray State rushing attack.
 
James Camden had a team-high 10 tackles for Murray State on Saturday afternoon. Dareon Goodrum was active along the line of scrimmage with 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble, while adding a pass breakup.
 
How They Scored

• Elijah Owens pulled up near the line of scrimmage and hit Kai Rios with a jump-pass on Indiana State's first drive of the game, and the redshirt freshman tight end went the rest of the way for an 18-yard touchdown reception with 10:04 left in the first quarter to give the Sycamores the 7-0 lead. The touchdown pass capped an eight-play, 58-yard drive highlighted by an 18-yard completion from Owens to Ethan Chambers on 3rd-and-12 to keep the drive alive near midfield.
• Murray State evened the game with 7:36 to play in the first quarter as Jawaun Northington took the ball into the end zone from two yards out to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game up at 7-7.
• The Sycamores added their second first-quarter touchdown at the 3:32 mark as Plez Lawrence took the ball around the right end for a 25-yard touchdown run ending a seven-play, 77-yard drive and giving Indiana State the 14-7 lead.
• Elijah Owens added Indiana State's third touchdown of the game as the quarterback kept the ball on an option keeper around the left end for a three-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7 Sycamores with 5:12 remaining in the second quarter.
• Murray State added a James London 24-yard field goal with 2:52 left in the first half to put it at 21-10 heading into the break.
• Jake Andjelic put Indiana State back in the scoring column with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter as the redshirt sophomore kicker connected on a 39-yard field goal to cap a nine-play, 45-yard drive and gave the Sycamores the 24-10 lead.
• Murray State scored before the third quarter break as Jayden Johannsen targeted Kade Neely for a two-yard touchdown pass off play action to end an 11-play, 75-yard drive and cut the deficit down to 24-17 with 3:53 to play in the quarter.
• Johannsen added his second touchdown pass of the game with 11:18 remaining in the fourth quarter as he found Justice Hill for an 11-yard strike just inside the right boundary line inside the end zone to tie the game up at 24-24.
• The Racers took their first lead of the game at 27-24 with 1:57 remaining on James London's go-ahead 25-yard field goal to end a five-play, 45-yard drive sparked by a short Indiana State punt.
• The Sycamores converted 3rd-and-Goal from the six-inch line with 11 seconds remaining as Rocco Ciocca took the handoff from Owens and went around the left end for the game-winning touchdown to give Indiana State the 31-27 advantage. The drive was aided by Shen Butler-Lawson's 32-yard carry setting up 1st-and-Goal from the Murray State 1-yard line with 46 seconds remaining in the contest.

 
News & Notables

• Indiana State improves to 6-5 all-time against Murray State and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Racers dating back to 2005 with Saturday's win.
• The Sycamores picked up their first MVFC win of the 2024 season with Saturday's win moving to 1-1 overall in the league.
• Elijah Owens' 218 passing yards on Saturday afternoon marked the second-highest passing total of his collegiate career, while his 25 completions were also second-most in the 2024 season. He previously posted career-highs of 30 completions and 260 yards at Eastern Illinois.
• Shen Butler-Lawson's 68 rushing yards marked an Indiana State-high for the running back, while Devin Nelson added a season-high 38 yards in his second extended action of the season.
• Rashad Rochelle recorded a season-high eight catches for 53 yards on Saturday afternoon, both season-highs for the Sycamore wide receiver.
• BJ Wuest's three catches for 34 yards on Saturday marked a career-high for the redshirt freshman wide receiver.
• Rocco Ciocca and Kai Rios both scored their first collegiate touchdowns on Saturday afternoon in the win over Murray State.
• Garret Ollendieck's 12-tackle game on Saturday afternoon gave him an MVFC-leading 69 stops for the 2024 season. The Cresco, Iowa native is averaging 11.5 tackles per game on the year.
• Geoffrey Brown continues to climb in the Sycamore tackling ranks as his nine stops moved him to 268 career tackles. He's 32 tackles shy of becoming the 19th Sycamore to achieve 300 career tackles at Indiana State and first since 2019.
• Jake Andjelic's 39-yard field goal in the third quarter marked his third field goal of 38-plus yards in the 2024 season.
• The Sycamores' offense posted 200-plus passing yards and 100-plus rushing yards for the first time since October 28, 2023, against North Dakota.
• Indiana State's 188 rushing yards marked the second-highest total of the 2024 season, while their three touchdown runs equaled the season-high.
• Indiana State won the time-of-possession battle for the fifth time in the 2024 season as the Sycamores held onto the ball for 31:21 in the contest.

Team Green Law Postgame Press Conference

 
Up Next
Indiana State continues Missouri Valley Football play next weekend on the road as the Sycamores travel to Robert W. Plaster Stadium in Springfield, Mo. to take on Missouri State. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Bears is set for 3 p.m. ET with the game set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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