NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State senior wide receiver Eyad Salem caught nine passes to set a new Illinois State record for receptions in a season, but none were more important than an eight-yard pass from freshman quarterback Matt Lancaster with less than a second remaining to lift the Redbirds to a 22-20 win over No. 9 Northern Iowa at Hancock Stadium Saturday.
Salem passed former Redbird Laurent Robinson for first place on the single-season receiving list with 91 catches during the 2009 season, and used his ninth grab to carry Illinois State (6-5, 5-3 MVFC) to its first winning season since 2006. Lancaster, who filled in for injured Redbird starter Matt Brown, completed 14-of-19 passes for 95 yards and led the Redbirds on a five-play, 59-yard scoring drive, capped with a pass to Salem over the middle for the go-ahead points.
Illinois State jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a career-long 52-yard field goal from Zach Kutch in the first quarter and a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown from Chris Garrett. Kutch wrapped two more field goals around a Billy Hallgren kick for UNI (7-4, 5-3 MVFC) to give Illinois State a 16-3 edge at the break.
UNI scored 17 unanswered points in the second half and took its first lead of the game with 44 seconds remaining after Zach Davis connected with tight end Schuyler Oordt for a 36-yard score. Hallgren's extra point made it 20-16 for the Panthers and set-up the final Illinois State drive.
Starting from the 41 yard line with 39 seconds on the clock, Lancaster hit Salem for 11 yards and a quick first down to midfield, then found Ben Ericksen for 24 yards to the UNI 24. In hurry up mode, Lancaster scrambled for 13 yards to the 11 yard line and the Redbirds called the first of two timeouts remaining. A short pass to Cliffton Gordon moved the ball to the eight, but the Redbirds were forced to take their final timeout with five seconds left on the clock. Illinois State bunched three receivers to the left for the final play and Lancaster hit Salem in the end zone as he streaked across midfield from the right.
Kutch finished the game with three field goals, which pushed his new single-season mark for field goals made to 21. Kutch had never kicked a field goal longer than 50 yards before knocking two through on Saturday. Garrett's interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter was off a tipped pass and was his second of the season.
Freshman linebacker Michael Zimmer had his first-career interception in the second quarter, also on a tipped pass. Northern Iowa quarterback Pat Grace was knocked out of the game on the play and did not return. Redbird junior cornerback E.J. Jones picked off the first of his two interceptions in the game in the second quarter also. Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown was also knocked out of the contest with an injury in the first half. Brown had completed 8-of-9 passes for 74 yards before Lancaster was called on as his replacement.
Salem finished his career in second-place on ISU's career reception list with 186, just behind former teammate Laurent Robinson (192), who was in attendance Saturday and received an award for being named to the Valley's Silver Anniversary Team.
Illinois State's season ended with a winning record for the first time since the Redbirds went 9-4 in 2006. It was the team's first win over a ranked opponent since 2007, when the Redbirds upset No. 12 Youngstown State, 27-22.
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