NORMAL, Ill. – After nine days of workouts and hard work during fall training camp, the Illinois State football team took the field Saturday for its annual Red-White Scrimmage at Hancock Stadium.
It was offense vs. defense, with the scrimmage split into different situations. Â After 90-plus plays, the Redbirds had worked on coming off the goal line, driving the field and red zone action. Â The team also worked through live punt and field goal situations, all of which gave head coach Brock Spack a better look at his 2015 squad.
Quarterback Tre Roberson finished the day 7-for-14 for 83 yards and Jake Kolbe ended 5-for-13 for 63 yards. Marshaun Coprich rushed for 45 yards on five carries, including a long run of 34 yards. James Graham (45 yards on 14 carries) and Jamal Towns (22 yards on five carries) each tallied a rushing touchdown for the offensive unit. Four receivers hauled in four receptions, with Anthony Fowler leading the way with 36 yards. Jon-Marc Anderson (35 yards), Anthony Warrum (21 yards) and Christian Gibbs (18 yards) also got in on the action.
The defense looked sharp as it has for the majority of camp, finishing the day with eight sacks and two safeties and the defensive backs were consistent in their coverage, breaking up six total passes.
Pat Meehan led the way with seven tackles, including four solo stops, and transfer La'Darius Newbold finished with six tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and three pass break-ups. Nathan Iloilo and Matt Swaine each tallied 1.5 sacks, with Iloilo ending with two TFLs and Swaine with 2.5 TFLs. David Kenney also stood out, finishing with five tackles, including a TFL that resulted in a safety. Others recording sacks were Brent Spack, Blake Hooper and Matt McCown.
On the first play from scrimmage at the two-yard line, Kenney busted through the line to tackle Coprich in the end zone for a safety. And on the fourth series, Swaine and Daejgeon Love brought down Kolbe for a sack and safety. After working on getting the ball out of dangerous territory inside its own 10-yard line, the coaches moved the ball to the 34-yard line to work on driving the ball and it started out with a bang. Coprich took a hand-off and looked to be stopped in his tracks, but bounced to the outside, sprinting past would-be tacklers for a 34-yard gain down to the 33-yard line. The drive ended with a 31-yard field goal conversion by Sean Slattery.
Later, the Redbird defense shined when Newbold knocked a pass out of the hands of Mitchell Brees, while Swaine and Iloilo combined with Jalen Battle for sacks on back-to-back plays. Hooper tallied a sack, and then he and Jason Harris recovered fumbles to highlight the defensive plays. Roberson connected with Anderson for a 31-yard gain, when Anderson hauled in a short pass and shook his defender to take the ball inside the 15-yard line to wind down the first half.
The Redbirds came out in the second half firing with a completion from Roberson to Warrum, but the defense held when Kenney and Meehan stopped Graham on a fourth down run. The defense held the offense in check for most of the second half drives before the 'Birds moved on to red zone action.
Inside the 20-yard line, Roberson nearly connected on a touchdown with Gibbs but Davontae Harris was able to knock the ball out of the receiver's hands in the corner of the end zone. A couple of series later, Towns bounced a run to the outside and snuck the ball over the pylon for a 12-yard touchdown.
Overall, the kicking game throughout was strong, as Slattery finished 2-for-3, converting field goals of 31 and 35 yards while Zach Breen nailed his lone attempt of 35 yards. Slattery's miss—a 46-yarder—was blocked by Iloilo near the end of the scrimmage. The Redbird punters also shined, as Reece Attard booted a 40-yarder under pressure out of his own end zone, and later he kicked a 55-yard punt down to the 15-yard line.
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