Illinois State Football blows past Indiana State in season-high 52-20 win

Image courtesy of  Illinois State Football.

NORMAL, Ill.- Illinois State football earned its third win in a row on Saturday against Indiana State, 52-20. The Redbird offense put on a show with its highest-scoring game of the season.

ISU took control early with a 2-yard touchdown by Max Ziebarth after a pass from Tommy Rittenhouse. The Sycamores answered two drives later with a 25-yard passing touchdown from Talan White with two minutes left in the opening quarter. It took Indiana State just under two minutes to finish the drive after starting at its own 43-yard line.

The Redbirds started their second scoring drive with two minutes left in the first quarter and were able to seal the deal a minute into the second. A catch by Luke Mailander put the Redbirds on the Indiana State 6-yard line. Rittenhouse handed the ball off to Victor Dawson for a 6-yard rushing touchdown to give ISU a 14-7 lead.

The Sycamores fought back and tied the game just three minutes later. Keegan Patterson fired the ball 64 yards downfield to find Rashad Rochelle for the touchdown. The back-and-forth continued with ISU scoring on its next drive to take a 21-14 lead after a 3-yard passing touchdown from Dylan Lord. The Redbird offense kept the pressure on and scored on its next drive after the ISU defense prevented the Sycamores from evening the score.

Rittenhouse connected with Seth Glatz on a screen pass for his first touchdown of the season. Glatz ran the ball 20 yards to the end zone with 1:39 left in the first half. The ISU defense made its mark with just under a minute left in the second quarter. Patrick Bauer intercepted a pass from Patterson to give the Redbirds the ball back at the Indiana State 48-yard line. Rittenhouse capitalized on the turnover and scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown to give ISU a three-score lead, 35-14, with 22 seconds left before halftime.

The Sycamores received the ball to open the second half but could not convert. Rittenhouse continued his leadership in ISU’s first drive of the half, connecting with Daniel Sobkowicz for a touchdown in the receiver’s first game back after suffering a shoulder injury against Youngstown State on Oct. 18.

With a 42-14 lead, the Redbirds kept the momentum going. Glatz found the end zone on a 2-yard run with 7:28 left in the third quarter. The Sycamores tried to battle back with another touchdown when Deion Brown ran the ball 33 yards to the end zone, but Sebastian Lopez missed the extra point, keeping the score at 49-20.

Matt Maldonado went on to score a 49-yard field goal to add three more points for the Redbirds with 1:01 left in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was scoreless as the ISU defense kept the Sycamores at bay to secure the Redbirds’ third straight win and fourth road victory.

This was the Redbirds’ highest-scoring game since Sept. 12, 2015, and their 28 points in the second quarter were the most scored in a single quarter in school history. Lord had a career high of 87 yards and nine receptions. Sobkowicz had 30 yards on the day and increased his total career receiving yards to 3,031, putting him in second place all time at ISU.

The pieces seem to be in place for the Redbirds to secure a playoff berth. The return of Sobkowicz is huge for ISU, and younger players like Lord are stepping up at the right time.

The Redbirds travel to South Dakota this Saturday to take on No. 9 South Dakota State at 2 p.m. in a late-season thriller as ISU continues to fight for a playoff spot.

For all things ISU football, stay tuned to wznd.com.