The Illinois State football team used a first half onslaught to overwhelm the visiting Truman State Bulldogs, eventually closing the campaign with a convincing 49-6 victory Saturday night in front of 7,339 at Hancock Stadium.
After the Redbirds deferred the opening kickoff to Truman State, Bulldog running back Jerard Leverson fumbled on the second play from scrimmage. Boomer Grigsby recovered the ball at the Truman State 22 yard line.
Five plays later, Demetrus Johnson scored his second touchdown of the season from 1 yard out, putting the Redbirds up 7-0 just three minutes into the game.
Later in the quarter the Redbirds got some excellent special teams play from Andrew Papoccia. Papoccia faked out two Truman State defenders and advanced the ball 29 yards on a punt return into Bulldog territory. A pair of Redbird penalties couldnt stop the momentum as quarterback Mike Souza rolled right and found freshman Laurnt Robinson open in the end zone for his first career touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Redbirds caught a break on their next possession when it looked as if Johnson fumbled at mid-field. The referees awarded Truman State the ball, but reversed the call, saying Johnsons forward progress was down at the 50 yard line.
On the next play, Johnson scampered 49 yards along the right sideline for another Redbird touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
A Souza completion to Dwayne Smith and runs of 18 and 8 yards by Sha-Ron Edwards led to the Redbirds fourth score of the game. Edwards fought his way up the middle before finding an opening to the end zone for his third touchdown of the season.
Illinois State continued their stellar play on special teams as Pete Holak blocked a Truman State punt and Sesamir Yearby recovered the ball at the Truman State 36-yard line.
On third-and-11, Souza dropped back and sailed a pass to Smith who caught the ball in midair at the Truman State 3. Smith suffered a bruised tailbone on the play, but was able to walk off the field by himself. Three plays later, Tristan Davis scored his second career touchdown from 1 yard out, making the score 35-0 with 8:11 to go in the first half.
The Redbirds finished their first half scoring with Johnson tallying his third touchdown of the game. Johnson became the first Redbird to rush for three touchdowns in one game since Willie Watts did so against Indiana State in 2001. His 132 rushing yards was also a career high.
The evening ended for Souza once the halftime buzzer sounded, paving the way for Yance Vaughan.
Vaughan led the Redbirds on another scoring drive after junior cornerback Sam Yeargin snatched his second career interception at the Truman State 20. The turnover led to a 4-play, 20-yard drive, ending with a 9-yard touchdown run by Earl Newby, the first of his career.
The Bulldogs finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter when A.J. Eads took it in from 10 yards out. The extra point was blocked for the games final score.
--ISU--
