Rittenhouse leads Redbirds to victory of Youngstown State

NORMAL, Ill. – Coming off a bye week, Illinois State football returned to Hancock Stadium for a military appreciation game. The Redbirds took on the Youngstown State Penguins.

In the first quarter, both teams dominated on the defensive side of the ball, and neither team’s offense was able to score a touchdown. The quarter ended with ISU leading 3-2. But in the second, the Redbirds scored their first touchdown and ended the first half leading 9-2.

In the third quarter, the ISU offense got hot, scoring two touchdowns while giving up one on defense. To close out the game, the Redbirds won 23-16.

Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse would throw for 153 yards and two touchdowns with one touchdown with his feet. Runningback Wenkers Wright ran for 104 yards, and receiver Daniel Sobkowicz led the way with 81 receiving yards.

Linebacker Amir Abdullah made his return from a leg injury earlier this season and finished the game with six tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Followed by middle linebacker Tye Niekamp, who picked up an interception and 11 tackles.

The Redbirds move to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in MVC play and will travel to Cedar Falls next Saturday, November 9th, to take on UNI at 1 pm.