TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Zechariah Prince broke loose for a school-record 99-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to highlight Indiana State's efforts on Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium as the Sycamores fell to the visiting Salukis in MVFC play, 37-20.
 
Prince took the hand-off and found the seam through the right side of the Indiana State (2-8, 0-6) offensive line before breaking free of the secondary around the INS 20-yard line. From there, the redshirt junior saw nothing but open field ahead as he out-ran the Saluki (5-5, 3-3) secondary to the end zone to cap Indiana State's longest rushing play in school history and the first 90-plus yard touchdown run since 2009.
 
Brock Riddle, pressed into the game at quarterback following an early game injury to Brady Allen, found Torey French for a 29-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as well to highlight an Indiana State offense that outscored the Salukis 14-6 over the final 15 minutes. Sebastian Lopez converted a pair of field goals as well for the Sycamores in the contest.
 
Southern Illinois built a 31-6 lead through the first three quarters of the game led by quarterback DJ Williams' four-passing touchdown game. Williams targeted wide receiver Kyle Thomas for three of the scores, while adding a 25-yard scoring connection to Markell Quick in the third quarter. Williams finished 16-of-29 through the air for 211 yards in addition to the four touchdowns.
 
Three Sycamore quarterbacks saw time in the backfield with freshman John Bargen making his 2026 debut following an early injury to starter Brady Allen. Bargen finished 11-of-18 through the air for 57 yards and two interceptions, while Brock Riddle went 3-for-4 for 65 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
 
Zechariah Prince finished with six carries for a team-high 121 yards in the game, while Jayden Reed led the team's receiving efforts with four catches for 66 yards. Torey French added three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
 
Defensively, Xavier McIntyre posted a team-high 15 tackles in the game, while Alex Rose added 13 stops, 1.0 TFL, and a pass breakup. Jayden Childers added a sack among his five tackles in the game.
 
How They Scored

• Indiana State took advantage of two Southern Illinois pass interference calls to move the ball down the field on the opening possession before Sebastian Lopez connected on a 34-yard field goal to put the Sycamores ahead 3-0 with 10:43 left in the first quarter.
• DJ Williams found Kyle Thomas for a 57-yard touchdown pass over the middle to put the Salukis ahead 7-3 with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.
• Seth Adams made the score 10-3 for SIU in the second quarter as the Saluki kicker connected on a 50-yard field goal attempt.
• Southern Illinois went up 17-3 with 7:55 left in the second quarter as Williams connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Thomas to add to the lead.
• The Sycamores cut the deficit down to 17-6 with 1:08 remaining in the first half as Lopez converted a 41-yard field goal to highlight an eight-play, 44-yard drive. The drive was highlighted by a 32-yard completion from John Bargen to Jayden Reed on the first play.
• Southern Illinois extended the lead to 24-6 with 5:24 to play in the third quarter as Williams found Markell Quick for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
• SIU went up 31-6 with 2:29 remaining on the clock in the third quarter as the Williams tossed his fourth touchdown of the game after finding Thomas for a seven-yard score.
• Weston Schofield added to the SIU lead with a 22-yard field goal with 13:33 left in the contest to make it a 34-6 game.
• Zechariah Prince broke loose for a 99-yard touchdown run with 9:24 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Sycamores back on the board and cut the deficit to 34-13.
• The Sycamores continued to cut into the lead as Torey French hauled in the 29-yard pass from Brock Riddle with 5:15 to play in the game to highlight the four-play, 73-yard drive to make it a 34-20 game. Riddle connected on a 31-yard pass to Jayden Reed on the play prior to the touchdown pass to move the ball into SIU territory.
• SIU closed out the scoring in the contest on Weston Schofield's 23-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining in the game to provide the final 37-20 scoring margin.

 
News & Notes

• Zechariah Prince's 99-yard touchdown run marked the longest rushing touchdown by an Indiana State player in school history.
• Prince's fourth quarter rushing touchdown was the first 90-plus yard rushing touchdown by a Sycamore since Ryan Roberts scored on a 91-yard carry against Western Illinois back on October 24, 2009.
• Prince's 99-yard carry surpasses the previous longest run by a Sycamore set by Bob Wilbur against Franklin back on September 17, 1955, as Wilbur went for a 93-yard carry in the contest.
• Zechariah Prince finished the game with six carries for 119 yards and a touchdown marking his first collegiate 100-yard rushing and Indiana State's third overall in the 2026 season.
• With quarterback Elijah Owens unable to play on Saturday due to injury and Brady Allen suffering an injury on the opening drive, true freshman quarterback John Bargen made his Indiana State debut in the first quarter against the Salukis.
• Bargen's appearance marked the first game played by a true freshman quarterback since Elijah Owens started back on September 16, 2023, against Ball State.
• Brady Allen, John Bargen, and Brock Riddle all completed passes in Saturday's game against Southern Illinois, marking the first time three different Sycamores completed a pass in the same game since November 23, 2024, when Elijah Owens, Rashad Rochelle, and Harry Traum all completed a pass against Northern Iowa.
• Saturday's contest marked the first time Indiana State has had three quarterbacks see time on the field in the same game since November 5, 2022, against North Dakota, when the Sycamores had Gavin Screws, Evan Olaes, and Cade Chambers all receive snaps in the game against the Fighting Hawks.
• Xavier McIntyre recorded his first double-digit tackling game at Indiana State finishing with 15 tackles on the day.
• Alex Rose added 13 tackles for his third career double-digit tackling game and first of the 2026 season. He added a TFL and a pass breakup.
• Spencer Conrad added eight punts and averaged 48.4 yards per attempt in the contest, posting three punts of 50-plus yards overall.
• Sebastian Lopez connected on field goals nine and 10 overall on the 2026 season as the redshirt junior kicker converted from 34 and 41 yards overall.
• Lopez became the first Sycamore kicker since Jerry Nunez (14-of-20; 2019) to convert double-digit field goals in a single season.

Postgame Press Conference


Up Next
Indiana State remains home on Saturday, November 14, as the Sycamores welcome Murray State to Memorial Stadium for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Football, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.